First women to graduate from elite Ranger School
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Two American women will tomorrow become the first female soldiers to graduate from the elite Ranger School combat leadership course, the United States military said.
Graduates of the training program are some of the toughest and most physically fit soldiers in the army, trained in airborne and air assault operations.
The women who graduate this week will still not be allowed to serve with the 75th Ranger Regiment, which has yet to lift its bar on female soldiers.
But women are increasingly being permitted into combat roles in other US Army units. The notoriously challenging Ranger School welcomed women for the first time this year, following President Barack Obama’s 2013 request that the Pentagon order all branches of the armed forces to open up ground combat roles to women by 2016.
“Congratulations to all of our new Rangers. Each Ranger School graduate has shown the physical and mental toughness to successfully lead organizations at any level,” said Secretary of the Army John McHugh.
“This course has proven that every soldier, regardless of gender, can achieve his or her full potential.”
Nineteen women began the rigorous 61-day training program in April but most were eliminated — along with many men — and one was sent back to try part of the course again.
“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 added.
The intense program is divided into various phases that test soldiers’ physical and mental toughness, some phases of that have to be repeated to pass.
The progress of the women has been closely monitored by the military community, where the idea of female forces in combat is still a divisive issue.
The exclusion of women from combat roles has been cited as a ceiling on female officers as it can prevent them from reaching the highest military ranks where combat experience is considered indispensable.
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