Female Soldiers Apply To Ranger School
BY Herschel Smith
10 years ago
The U.S. Army’s top officer said he expects between 70 and 80 women to apply to become the first-ever female students at Ranger School.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno cited the figures on Wednesday during an interview at Atlantic Media’s Defense One conference in Washington, D.C.
When asked how many women will apply to the historically all-male combat training course, Odierno said, “We’re still waiting to see. By December-January, we’ll know the number of women who have asked to actually participate in Ranger School. I expect it will be somewhere around 70 or 80.”
Like the other military services, the Army must open all combat jobs to women by 2016 or seek a waiver and explain why any must remain closed. The Pentagon last year lifted its ban on women serving in such roles, but gave the services time to integrate female troops into male-only front-line positions.
The Army recently picked 31 women — 11 officers and 20 noncommissioned officers — to undergo training to become observers and advisers for the course, most of which takes place at Fort Benning, Georgia. The punishing two-month ordeal is designed to train future infantry leaders. More than three dozen women had applied for the positions.
The so-called observer-advisers underwent a week of modified training last week to give them a sense of what the program is like so they can work alongside male instructors and help observe the female students selected for the first-ever co-ed class, known as the Ranger Course Assessment, tentatively scheduled for this spring.
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“It’s going very well,” he said. “We still have some final assessments to do. For me, it’s about talent management.
Uh huh. If it’s all about “talent management,” then why the “modified training?”
Prior: Women In Combat
On November 24, 2014 at 3:48 am, Bubba said:
Just another example of soetoro-obama’s change and transformation. But hey, I didn’t vote for the usurper. And now, look at the demise of the country at his hands. Ranger school is now a joke.
On November 24, 2014 at 7:02 pm, Miles said:
It’s not a joke…..yet.
If the Cadre keep to it’s statement that the level of performance need to score a ‘go’ will not be gender modified (and they’ve sworn it won’t be). We will probably see what the Marine Infantry Officer Course has seen.
On November 24, 2014 at 5:41 pm, DirtyMick said:
Herschel the modified training is make sure the female OCs can keep up with RIs during their shift when they go out with Rangers for their graded patrols.
On November 25, 2014 at 8:11 pm, Ned Weatherby said:
This should turn out well…
On November 26, 2014 at 6:53 am, Seerightthere! said:
This will degrade the combat effectiveness of the Rangers down to “Boyscout level 1”.
On December 3, 2014 at 11:06 am, Matheus Grunt said:
What a joke……..