5 female soldiers successfully completed the Ranger Training Assessment Course

[cutiger83]

From the Army Times:

 

http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/careers/army/2015/02/04/pre-ranger-assessment-women/22875325/

 

Five female soldiers successfully completed the Ranger Training Assessment Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, moving them one step closer to attending the Army's storied Ranger School this spring.

A total of 58 soldiers — 53 men, five women — completed the two-week course Jan. 30, officials at Fort Benning announced Wednesday.

 

The Army announced in January that it plans to conduct a one-time, integrated assessment at Ranger School in April.The assessment is part of a wider effort to determine whether and how to open combat arms jobs to women. This assessment will be a first for the two-month Ranger School, which until now has been open only to men.

 

Women who successfully complete Ranger School will receive a certificate and be awarded the coveted Ranger tab. They will not, however, be assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, which is separate from Ranger School.

 

There are no plans to change the standards for Ranger School or RTAC, Miller said.

 

"There's some emotion about the course, but there's absolutely no intention to change any of the current standards," he said.

 

Of the 26 women who started RTAC in January, 16 completed the training. Five of those 16 successfully met all the course standards and requirements, Jones said.

 

"I want to make it really clear. If they do not meet the prerequisites at the RTAC, I'm not recommending them to move forward to the Ranger course," Miller said. "We're trying to set the soldiers up for the best possible chance of success as we go forward. This is soldiers being afforded the opportunities commensurate with their abilities."

 

All five of the soldiers who successfully completed the RTAC are officers. One is a major and the others are first lieutenants, Woodard said.

 

Those five have been invited to attend the Ranger School assessment in April, Jones said.

 

"They've qualified themselves to be invited," he said.

 

During the first iteration of RTAC, the female candidates were thankful for the opportunity to participate, Woodard said.

"They definitely wanted to be treated the same, no deference paid," he said.

 

It's too early to know how many women will end up qualifying to attend Ranger School in April, Miller said.

 

"To me, the right number is those candidates who are best prepared for the course," he said. "It's always great to see any soldier, male or female, that's willing to raise their hand and voluntarily step forward and undertake some of this rigorous training."

 

[jmar]

Hi Kat,

 

My admiration and congratulations to these pioneering women, who in the best tradition of American spirit and courage, have completed a grueling ordeal to pass the Army Ranger training assessment. Awesome!

 

Thank you for posting!

 

Best wishes,

 

Joe

[cutiger83]

Joe,

 

Thanks so much for responding. I am glad you liked this article. I too think this is awesome. I really liked the last statement in the article:

 

"It's always great to see any soldier, male or female, that's willing to raise their hand and voluntarily step forward and undertake some of this rigorous training."

 

...Kat

[Hatz50228]

I think that this process is very important to the decision of if/when women will be allowed to serve in the Infantry. For Infantry officers, earning the Ranger Tab is an unwritten job requirement; and as such Ranger School must be open to women if women are going to serve in the Infantry. Personally I am all for it as long as what I have read is true and the standards will not change. I just hope that Ranger School doesn't become a big political battleground in April when the Coed class begins. 2 Important statistics to remember: Historically, 50% of those that start Ranger School EVENTUALLY finish (with recycles); only about 15% go straight through. If 20 women start the course and 62 days later 20 graduate then everyone in the Army will be calling BS and it will probably have a worse effect then if no woman passed the entry PT test. However, based upon the numbers at the Pre-Ranger Course, it looks like the standards are being held.

 

I reached out a couple weeks ago to a friend of mine that currently works in RTB about anything on the Coed class and all I got back was the entire ARTB is under a gag order with everything in regards tot hat issue. Guess we will see what happens APR-JUL.