Did Female Ranger School Candidates Receive Special Treatment?
The accusations about special treatment that allowed the two female officers to graduate the US Army’s Ranger School has just gotten more serious:
But whereas men consistently were held to the strict standards outlined in the Ranger School’s Standing Operating Procedures handbook sources say, the women were allowed lighter duties and exceptions to policy.
Multiple sources told PEOPLE:
• Women were first sent to a special two-week training in January to get them ready for the school, which didn’t start until April 20. Once there they were allowed to repeat the program until they passed – while men were held to a strict pass/fail standard.
• Afterward they spent months in a special platoon at Fort Benning getting, among other things, nutritional counseling and full-time training with a Ranger.
• While in the special platoon they were taken out to the land navigation course – a very tough part of the course that is timed – on a regular basis. The men had to see it for the first time when they went to the school.
• Once in the school they were allowed to repeat key parts – like patrols – while special consideration was not given to the men.
• A two-star general made personal appearances to cheer them along during one of the most challenging parts of the school, multiple sources tell PEOPLE.
The end result? Two women – First Lts. Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver – graduated August 21 (along with 381 men) and are wearing the prestigious Ranger Tab. Griest was surprised they made it.
“I thought we were going to be dropped after we failed Darby [part of Benning] the second time,” Griest said at a press conference before graduation. “We were offered a Day One Recycle.” [People Magazine]
The whole article is worth a read, but I think the words from Major General Miller in the article in regards to a woman will graduate Ranger School need further context to be a smoking gun. As far as the claims of special treatment I think it is fair to say that the female Rangers did get special treatment compared to male Ranger candidates from non-infantry MOSs. Infantry soldiers that attend Ranger school have an advantage over other candidates especially the officers because of the training they do to become proficient in their MOS which feeds naturally into tasks required during Ranger School. It appears the Army senior leadership made a decision to give female candidates as much of an advantage to pass the course as infantry soldiers receive.
Women should be allowed into Combat after they’re allowed into the NFL…
@1- There is nothing stopping women from playing in the NFL if they have the physical ability to make the team. That is what I have been saying should be the approach towards allowing women into the infantry. If they can meet the physical standard than they should be allowed to serve. But my concern has always been that there would be so few that could meet the standard that the Army would give in to political pressure to drop standards.
This happened for fighter pilot training as well. Women who hooked flights and should have been thrown out got second, third, forth chances. Every commander wanted to say he was the first to graduate a female fighter pilot, so they put pressure on the instructors. Unsurprisingly they had a lot of shyte female pilots in the first couple of crops (and crashes). They’re better now.