She was an honor graduate in a pre-Ranger School course run by her unit, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Divison, according to a report by People.
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Two female soldiers will graduate from the Army’s legendary Ranger School this week, the first women to complete the course since it was opened to them on an experimental basis this year, the U.S. Army said Monday evening.
The Ranger course tests soldiers’ ability to overcome fatigue, hunger and stress during combat operations. While they’re the only two to receive that coveted Army Ranger tab, all but one of those 19 badass women survived the first four days of training-widely known as the harshest part of the course.
Her older brother, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mike Griest, also serves in the Army as an aviator.
“We are extremely proud of Shaye Haver and her recent completion of Army Ranger School“, according to the statement from Superintendent Joe Burns.
“It’s just completely awesome”, Haver’s father, Chris Haversaid.
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She told me straight-out: ‘I love my feminism, and I love dressing up,
‘ ” Herrera said.
The two West Point graduates were a part of the elite program’s first class to include women and participated alongside 380 men and 17 other women!
Sean Mahon was her track coach at Amity High School, where Griest was captain of the team. 1st Class Tiffany Myrick, a military police noncommissioned officer who served as an observer and adviser at Ranger Schools, told Defense One.
A West Point instructor who met Griest through another cadet, but declined to be identified, told the Defense One website this week, “She had talked about (going infantry) from when she was a cadet”.
His daughter followed in his footsteps to become an Apache pilot; Griest is an MP.
“The thing about Kristen is that she was always pretty tenacious and was goal-oriented”, Anna Mahon said.
Mahon said she sees Griest occasionally at Orange Congregational Church, where they are both members.
Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, who has reported on women in the military, said Griest and Haver’s achievement could increase women’s interest in certain military positions.
But unlike their male counterparts, they are not eligible to join the 75th Ranger regiment, a special operations force. I hope that the military services, particularly the Marine Corps (which is reportedly considering a request to ban all women from infantry), will now rise to their challenge, complete the work that Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman Marin Dempsey directed, and open all units, positions and jobs in the military to anyone who is qualified, regardless of gender.
For example, women found themselves at the sides of special US forces during night raids in Afghanistan, and were tasked with establishing contact with Afghan women who would never have spoken to men. Women comprise 15 percent of our military forces, which in turn comprise one half of 1 percent of the American public.
He said the Ranger School teaches “hard lessons” and the two women will be better leaders because of it.
Haver said that it was “pretty cool that they have accepted us”.
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Teachers and friends of the two female officers said Wednesday that while both women were strong, disciplined athletes, perhaps the most distinguishing feature was their focus. And truthfully there are probably a few folks who want you to fail.
