The two-month Ranger course tests soldiers’ ability to overcome fatigue, hunger and stress during combat operations.
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“It’s just completely unbelievable”, Chris Haver, Shaye Haver’s father, told the Associated Press.
Haver followed in her father’s footsteps when she became a pilot of attack helicopters.
The news that two female soldiers will graduate from the Army’s physically demanding Ranger School this week is a dramatic breakthrough for expanding the role of women in the military, but it won’t lift the ban on women in front-line combat jobs.
The military services have until the end of the year to submit plans for opening all jobs to women. The official was not authorized to disclose the name publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, a civilian who never served in the military, is expected to rule on each request by January with guidance and feedback from senior military officials.
State Rep. Themis Klarides, R-Derby, issued a statement calling Griest “truly a groundbreaking woman for her commitment to excellence which proved that there really are no bounds for women and girls”.
In the infantry course for enlisted Marines, 144 women graduated out of 401 who volunteered to attend the school.
“We owe soldiers the opportunity to serve successfully in any position where they are qualified and capable, and we continue to look for ways to select, train and retain the best soldiers to meet our nation’s needs”, McHugh said.
Echoing that fact, more than 9,000 women have been recognized for their service, receiving Army Combat Action Badges for “actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy”, according to a recent Congressional Research Service study. Her op orders that she gave were very thorough. They represented about 2 percent of U.S. military deaths in those wars.
Arnold said the women seemed determined to prevail “because you know everyone is watching”.
A female Ranger student during rappel training on July 12. “I think it’s something that we should all be really proud of”.
The Marine Corps set up a task force this year to set gender-neutral job standards and determine whether incorporating women into small squads affected unit cohesion or combat readiness. A third woman candidate, also a West Point grad, is now in the mountain phase of Ranger School, the second of three arduous training stages. The program sits among the most hard training courses in the world.
In this photo taken on August 4, 2015, a female Army Ranger crosses the Yellow River on a rope bridge during Ranger School at Camp Rudder on Eglin Air Force Base, in Fla.
This is the first year that the Army allowed women to compete in the course on a trial basis, CNN reported.
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Women also are serving on Navy submarines and in Army artillery units.
