Two women are set to make history as U.S. Army Ranger school graduates
The 75th Ranger Regiment is the U.S. Army's premier special operations unit. This week, the Army announced two female soldiers were the first to complete Ranger school and earn
Ranger tabs:
Two female soldiers are making history as the first women to graduate from the Army's Ranger School, reports CBS News national security correspondent David Martin.
The Army has not yet released their names, in part to protect them from harassment by die-hards who cannot stomach the idea of females wearing the coveted Ranger tab.
The two women, both West Point graduates, are expected to appear before the media Thursday ahead of their graduation Friday.
The women completed the 61 days of grueling Ranger training, which sees a
nearly 40% drop out rate in the first four days of training and an overall dropout rate of 68%.
And while the women will receive their Ranger tabs, they will not be allowed to join the unit because women are not currently allowed in combat roles. But, that's something the Army is evaluating:
“The women in Ranger School are another example of, if they can meet the standard, they should be able to go, and they should be able to earn their Ranger tab,” Odierno said. “And I think that’s how we want to operate as we move forward.”
Odierno said no final decisions have been made on whether to open the Army’s infantry or armor units to women, but he expected those to be made shortly.
“The feedback I’ve gotten with these women is how incredibly prepared they are,” he said of the remaining women in Ranger School. “The effort that they’ve put forward has been significant. They’ve impressed all that they’ve come in contact with. They are clearly motivated … and frankly, that’s what we want out of our soldiers.”
See more on the kinds of obstacles the Rangers overcome during training here: