This past August, two women were the first females to graduate from Army Ranger School, which allowed them to try out for the first time in 2015. This is an historical moment! Army Ranger School is described as “the Army’s premier combat leadership course, teaching Ranger students how to overcome fatigue, hunger, and stress to lead Soldiers during small unit combat operations.”
The class began with 381 students, only 19 of whom were females. They trained with the minimal amount of food and sleep and learned to operate in forests, mountains, and swamps. They also had to complete a grueling fitness test. The women insisted that they be held to the same standards as the men, and they were.
It is unclear what jobs Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver will be assigned because unlike their male counterparts, they are not allowed to apply to the 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite special operations force. But, since women were permitted to fight on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq, legislation is surely coming that will allow women to participate in the Special forces. The Pentagon isn’t expected to make final decisions about exactly what combat roles women will be allowed to fill until later this year, but by January 1, 2016, all roles must open to women, or a reason must be given as to why they will not.
So, what’s next? In 2016, the U.S. Navy SEALs will permit women to enter BUD/S, the SEALs’ equivalent of Army Ranger School for the first time. “Why shouldn’t anybody who can meet these (standards) be accepted? And the answer is, there is no reason,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jon Greenert said in an interview that caught politicians unaware. “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.'”
Want to know what I think? I think if there are women who want to be SEALs and can meet the same standards as the men, they have my full support. In fact, I’d like to write a female SEAL into one of my future books. What do you think?