Remaining eight women wash out of Ranger School; three can start course over
The eight women remaining in the first U.S. Army Ranger School class to accept females were dropped on Friday after failing to pass the Camp Darby phase for a second time, according to the Army.
None of the eight women were given the chance to recycle and repeat Darby for a third time. However, three of the women were given the opportunity to recycle the Ranger course from the beginning. They will join the next class on June 21.
The women were among 19 who started the historic class on April 19. Steadily their numbers dwindled to zero. Three were dropped the first day after failing the initial physical assessment that included pushups, situps, chinups and a timed 5-mile run. Eight more were dropped after the first week of physical assessment and land navigation, leaving the eight who were cut from the course on Friday.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis L. Smith, whose last assignment was with the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning ending in 2012, said he was not surprised that no woman made it out of the first of three patrol phases.
“I thought there was a chance statistically that one might make it, but it’s tough — really tough,” Smith said. “There are not many men who can do it.”
Colonel David G. Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, said he and Command Sgt. Maj. Curt Arnold met with all of the Ranger students this week, according to a news release from the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning.
“The group that was unsuccessful was, of course, disappointed in their performance,” Fivecoat said in the news release. “However, each Ranger student, whether successful or unsuccessful, learned more about themselves, leadership and small unit tactics, and returns to the Army a better trained soldier and leader.”
There were 195 soldiers who will move from the Darby phase to the mountain phase beginning this weekend at Camp Merrill near Dahlonega, Ga. The final phase is at Camp Rudder in the Florida swamps near Destin.
There were 54 male soldiers who were recycled and will repeat the Darby phase beginning next month.
The Darby Phase of Ranger School is 15 days of intensive squad training and operations in a field environment on the eastern edge of Fort Benning.
The phase includes:
Running the Darby Queen, an advanced obstacle course.
Training in patrol techniques.
Two days of cadre-assisted patrols.
Three days of student-led patrols.
One day of retraining.
Three days additional of student-led patrols.
Counseling on student performance.
There were 29 soldiers — including five of the eight remaining women — who were dropped.
“For a variety of reasons, these students were unsuccessful at meeting the standard — some for leading their graded patrols, some for a poor evaluation of their teamwork from their peers, some for accumulating too many negative spot reports, and some for a combination of all three,” according to the news release. “However, the vast majority who are being dropped from the course were unable to successfully lead a patrol. All students received multiple opportunities to lead a patrol as a squad leader or team leader.”
Smith has admiration for the three women who took the recycle and will start the course over from the beginning.
“These women are tough, they are hard,” Smith said. “They have already been through a month of crap. But what they are about to do not many men can do. They have been through Darby twice, they have been through the physical assessment. Now, they have to do it again.”
One of the positives is they will get three weeks to regroup as they stay at Camp Rogers on Fort Benning.“They won’t have it easy, but they get some rest and start with a clean slate,” Smith said.
The April 19 Ranger School class, which will graduate on June 19, was initially the only one that the Army said would admit females. Opening a Ranger School class to women is part of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Soldier 2020 effort. The plan aims to integrate women into previously closed military occupational specialties.
Earlier this week, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said the Army is looking at allowing female soldiers to attend “a couple more” cycles of Ranger School, according to Army Times.
“We’ll probably run a couple more pilots,” Odierno said. “It’s been a real success for us, and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
About 45 percent of the men who start Ranger School graduate. It is considered the most physically demanding school in the Army and less than 30 percent who start the school go straight through without repeating a phase.
“My hat goes off to all of the women who have attended the course,” said Smith, who owns Uncommon Athlete, a downtown Columbus gym. “I am telling you there is a female out there who is going to pass Ranger school. There is no shame in this. There are thousands of men over the years who have not made it.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2015 at 5:04 PM with the headline "Remaining eight women wash out of Ranger School; three can start course over."