Two American women have passed the gruelling training programme of the US Army Rangers – one of the military’s most elite special operations forces.
Advertisement
The Army has not released the names of the two women or the 165 men who also will graduate in the class.
The military services have until the end of the year to submit plans for opening all jobs to women. But the toughest jobs remain closed to female soldiers – including infantry, armor and special operations positions. Griest is a military police officer and Haver is an Apache helicopter pilot.
The U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence announced yesterday that 96 soldiers, including two women, met the standards of the Swamp Phase and will graduate from the Ranger Course August 21.
The military is working determine how to best integrate women into combat roles.
Based on early talks, officials say the Army, Navy and Air Force likely will not seek exceptions that close any jobs to women.
Today, about 220,000 positions are open only to men. Approximately 34 percent of students recycle at least once.
The fact that women aren’t allowed to perform certain roles comes as a surprise to many millenials, said Council on Foreign Relations senior fellow for defense policy Janine Davidson. Women had been historically excluded from Ranger school because it was thought they lacked the strength and stamina to complete the program.
He said women could be a distraction if integrated into infantry units in the field.
Reactions varied as news of the women’s accomplishments spread.
The Griest and Haver families issued a joint statement Wednesday saying the women “are just like all the soldiers in Class 8-15 – happy, relieved, and ready for some good food and sleep”.
This is the first year women have been allowed to take the 62 day test. In April, 19 women began the three stage process. A third female soldier remains in training, but the others have washed out. Ninety-seven men have graduated and earned the coveted Ranger tab. Their exclusion has been cited as a ceiling on female officers as it can in practice prevent them from reaching the highest military ranks where combat experience is considered indispensable. Officials said Navy leaders concluded that since women can serve in all the same jobs on other ships no real exclusion existed. They include concerns about privacy and mental toughness. “She’s always been even keel and pleasant and I can see how she could be a good leader in any capacity”, she said. “They’ve shown they can do it”.
Advertisement
“In the United States military, we don’t look at gender, we look at performance”.
