This year marks the first occasion women were allowed into the U.S. Army Ranger School on a trial basis, and the stakes were high. The program sits among the most difficult training courses in the world. All prospective rangers endure 62 days of arduous trials, including sleep deprivation, ultra-rough conditions, and limited food. Once completed, an Army Ranger tab earns the recipient “a mark of distinction in the military and civilian community and proof positive of proven leadership under the toughest conditions possible.”
We’re not just talking about graduates who stand among the few and the proud. Graduates of the program are the hardiest of the hardy. To place the odds in perspective, the current Army Ranger class began with 381 men and 19 women. Then this happened:
The students were forced to train with minimal food and little sleep and had to learn how to operate in the woods, mountains and swamplands. Students also had to undergo a physical fitness test that included 49 pushups, 59 sit-ups, a 5-mile run in 40 minutes, six chin-ups, a swim test, a land-navigation test, a 12-mile foot march in three hours, several obstacle courses, four days of military mountaineering, three parachute jumps, four air assaults on helicopters, and 27 days of mock combat patrols.
The end result? A mere 94 men and two women — Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver — passed muster. These women shall wear the Ranger tab; however, they will not yet be allowed to apply to the 75th Ranger Regiment. This is the only Ranger Regiment in existence, and the current rules hold that women may not apply, even if they’ve graduated from Ranger school.
The reason for this omission, so far, is that female members of the U.S. Army still cannot serve in combat roles. This presents an obvious hurdle since the 75th Ranger Regiment is “the world’s premier light infantry fighting force, specializing in raids and assault missions deep inside enemy-held territory.” The Rangers serve in short-notice combat deployments as “the largest special operations combat element in the U.S. Army.”
What does graduating from Ranger school mean for Griest and Haver? Right now, nothing. The women shall be sent back to their usual duty assignments.