After successfully surviving four months of grueling training, the first two women to pass Ranger school still can’t serve in the Ranger regiment. But experts say the prestigious Ranger tab will help them in their careers and make them better leaders.
Of the 19 women who began the first gender-integrated Ranger school course in April, two successfully completed the Army’s most rigorous test this week and will receive their Ranger tabs at a graduation ceremony on Friday.
Lt. Gen. David Barno, who served three times in the 75th Ranger Regiment, said that earning the Ranger tab in itself makes soldiers better leaders regardless of where they serve.
“It’s the ultimate credential to have for combat leaders, that’s always been,” said Barno, who serves as a distinguished practitioner in residence at American University’s School of International Service. “It’s an incredibly big deal. There’s not a bigger deal out there in terms of symbolic significance of women wearing Ranger tabs.”
The gender-integrated Ranger course, the first of its kind, was designed to help the Army define the standards to serve in combat, similar to studies in other services. Under a 2013 initiative to open combat jobs to women, all positions must be open by Jan. 1, 2016, unless services receive a waiver to keep that job closed.
Gen. Ray Odierno, who retired as the Army chief of staff last week, said he expected the Army to run another gender-integrated Ranger course in November.
The two women at Ranger school were pushed to their physical and mental limits while operating on minimal food and sleep for almost four months, since they had to recycle the first phase of training twice before passing. While they met the standards, however, a billet in the elite 75th Ranger Regiment is closed to women.
Men who complete Ranger school can serve in the Ranger Regiment, but still must apply to join the elite special operations force even after receiving their tab. Many men go to Ranger school, but continue to serve in non-Ranger billets, Barno said.
After graduation, the two women will return to the units they served with before attending Ranger school and bring an “incredible” array of leadership skills that will serve both them in their careers and the total Army, Barno said.
All gender-integration studies by the services will wrap up this fall so the defense secretary can make a final determination on any exceptions requested by the services by January 2016, said Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The Army, Navy and Air Force are planning to open all combat positions to women, even special operations jobs like the Navy SEALs or Army Delta Force, the Associated Press reported late Tuesday night.
Marine Corps officials told the AP, however, that they have some concerns about women serving in the infantry.
Since 2013, the Pentagon has notified Congress of 200,000 individual combat positions that were previously closed that will be or have been opened, Davis said.
Barno said women have proved they can serve in the Rangers, as well as in other combat specialties that use similar skill sets.
“It’s game over for a discussion of whether women can successfully serve,” he said.
Each service will make their own recommendations for which, if any, jobs they’d like to keep male-only. Some have speculated that it could be problematic if one service opens special operations or infantry positions while others keep it closed.
Barno said the women’s success in Ranger school, which is highly respected among all the services, will likely influence other branches. If services decide on different standards, it’ll be up to individual branches to defend the discrepancies for jobs with similar requirements, like Marine Corps and Army infantry billets.
“The onus is on the Marines now to explain why they’re different from the entire U.S. military,” Barno said. “I think the burden is on them to show how they’re different from everyone else.”
Adm. Jon Greenert, chief of naval operations, said Tuesday that anyone who could meet the standards should be allowed to serve as a SEAL.
“Why shouldn’t anybody who can meet these [standards] be accepted? And the answer is, there is no reason,” Greenert told Navy Times. “So we’re on a track to say, ‘Hey look, anybody who can meet the gender non-specific standards, then you can become a SEAL.'”
Greenert also said at an All Hands call in San Diego on Monday that services should work together to reconcile any differences in standards for similar jobs.
While the services sort out details of which jobs should remain closed, the two women who made history will likely be celebrating what Barno said is a huge accomplishment. Barno said he expects to see Army leaders at Friday’s graduation at Fort Benning, Georgia, but hopes higher-ranking officials like President Obama or Defense Secretary Ash Carter skip the ceremony.
“This is an Army school,” Barno said. “I think there’s some risk in making it bigger than what it is.”
The White House said the president, who is expected to still be on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, will not attend the ceremony.
