Two women have made military historical past by turning in to the 1st female troopers to complete the U.S. Army’s grueling Ranger Course, the Army formally announced late Monday.
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The accomplishment marks a major breakthrough for women in the armed services at a time when each of the military branches is required to examine how to integrate women into jobs like infantryman in which they have never been allowed to serve. They train in woodlands at Fort Benning, in mountains outside Dahlonega, Ga., and in coastal swamps at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. Nineteen women and 381 men began the course on April 20.
“Congratulations to all of our new Rangers”. He said the course has proven that “every soldier, regardless of gender, can achieve his or her full potential”.
The Army’s Ranger headquarters in Fort Benning, Georgia, says the women and 94 men passed the tough 62-day course that tests their ability to overcome fatigue, hunger and stress during combat operations. Rangers work alongside other special operators like the Army’s Night Stalkers, the secretive aviation wing that helicopters elite units into and out of the most special missions under cover of darkness.
NPR’s Tom Bowman reports that the women, whose names haven’t been released, attended West Point and will graduate with the rest of their Ranger class on Friday.
However, the Pentagon isn’t expected to make final decisions about exactly what combat roles women will be allowed to fulfill until later this year.
The course includes a physical test of 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups, a five-mile run in 40 minutes, 12-mile march on foot in three-hours and much more. When a majority of young men routinely fail the ranger course, what are the odds one of only a handful of female volunteers would pass the course – even if it’s a third try? Of those 97 soldiers who’ve already earned their Ranger tabs, just 37 of them went straight through without having to recycle or repeat a phase.
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The intense programme is divided into various phases that test soldiers’ physical and mental toughness, some phases of which have to be repeated to pass. The Pentagon has ordered that all occupations be open to women after this year.
