Six More Female Soldiers Qualify for Army Ranger School

Military.com ^ | April 1, 2015 | Richard Sisk

[QT3.14]

Six more female soldiers have qualified to attend Army Ranger School later this month after passing the same physical fitness standards as men, including six pull-ups, 49 push-ups in two minutes, 59 sit-ups in two minutes and a five-mile run in 40 minutes, Army officials said Wednesday.

The six additional women, all of them officers, will join at least six other female soldiers who have passed the Ranger Training Assessment Course that qualified them to attend the first gender-integrated Ranger School course that will begin April 20 and last for two months.

[Night Hides Not]

My ROTC detachment was small, but a third of my class of 20 earned the tab. Over half of us, including me, made it through Airborne School. I knew my limitations: I'm not a runner, though I can handle long range patrols. I also didn't have the burning desire, a most important element of being a Ranger.

I went ADA (Air Defense Artillery), so it didn't matter. Had I gone Infantry, it would have made a difference. The small unit tactics training in ROTC prepared me just fine for one of my extra duties: leading a platoon to augment a nearby Nike Hercules should they be attacked.

That experience was the basis for several of my fondest recollections of my tour in Germany. It was always a challenge, to assemble 40 men who have had zero infantry training after boot camp, and run them through an evaluation at a nuclear capable site. My last one was Dept of the Army level. The out briefing was attended by the Deputy CG. Hell, I was just a dumb LT doing his 4 year active duty requirement. Lol

[Future Snake Eater]

I’m not talking about day-to-day PT, I’m talking the APFT you have to take in the first hours of Ranger school at Benning.

[Manly Warrior]

No, the USMC Infantry Officer course just closed to women after 18 mos of unsuccessful attempts by woman Marines. They kept the bar high, as do all special forces type programs. The US Army Ranger school has a lot of prestige at stake, I doubt the Army will roll over so easily, the USMC did not either.

I doubt any females will make it. If they do, I do not see any real value for them- they will be an anomaly in a support field anyway.

[Manly Warrior]

No, the USMC Infantry Officer course just closed to women after 18 mos of unsuccessful attempts by woman Marines. They kept the bar high, as do all special forces type programs. The US Army Ranger school has a lot of prestige at stake, I doubt the Army will roll over so easily, the USMC did not either.

I doubt any females will make it. If they do, I do not see any real value for them- they will be an anomaly in a support field anyway.

[MSF BU]

I hope you are correct. Then again, I’ve been hoping a member of the Romney family would serve in uniform. Thus far, I have been disappointed.