Six female soldiers now qualified for Ranger course in April
A woman was among the 36 soldiers who completed the second pre-Ranger course on Saturday at Fort Benning, clearing the way for another female to possibly attend the first integrated U.S. Army Ranger Course in April, officials said Tuesday.
That brings the total of female soldiers successfully completing the two-week prep course to six. More candidates, male and female, are expected to qualify in the last two Ranger Training Assessment Courses scheduled for March 6-21 and April 3-18. The integrated Ranger course begins on April 20.
During a roundtable briefing on Tuesday, post officials called the second class an anomaly and said numbers should improve next month.
Maj. William “Shep” Woodard Jr., who trains soldiers at the National Guard Warrior Training Center on post, said the 36 percent success rate may be attributed to the time of the year or just the class population. The class started with 100 soldiers, including 17 women. “For whatever reason, this was an underperforming class,” Woodard said. “I don’t like to see that but that’s what it was.”
The pre-Ranger course requires candidates to do 49 pushups, 59 sit-ups and six chinups and complete a five-mile run in 40 minutes. Students are also put through a swim test, land navigation and a six-mile foot march. The success rate of the course was about 57 percent last year but dropped to under 50 percent this year. Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, has said female soldiers must successfully complete the Ranger Training Assessment Course before moving to the integrated Ranger Course.
“Ranger School, it is tough,” Miller said. “It’s very demanding. It’s our toughest school in the U.S. Army. The Ranger Training Assessment Course is tough as well.”
The school to prepare Ranger students is open year-round at Fort Benning. It’s been voluntary for male students but many commands require their students to successfully complete the course before entering Ranger School.
So far, 37 women have attempted to complete the pre-Ranger course. Woodard said factors that led candidates to be dropped from the course included failure to meet physical fitness standards, a lack of motivation and medical reasons.
Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Eaton, a Ranger instructor at the Warrior Training Center, said pushups present a challenge for some of the women. “Sometimes, it is the form, and a few simply do not have the capability to perform 49 pushups,” he said. “It’s not one set thing for females across the board. Sometimes, it varies. Sometimes it’s physical strength.”
Pushups are a problem for some men too. Col. David G. Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, said three male students in Ranger School were lost Monday to pushups alone. “It’s not just the women,” he said.
The woman who successfully completed the recent course is a first lieutenant from Fort Carson. Woodard said other females who didn’t meet standards during the first week were allowed to keep on training. “They continued to take advantage of that opportunity and stay in the training,” he said. “I find that to be noteworthy and commendable. They seemed to see the intrinsic value of the training and the opportunity to stay.”
Integrating women into the Ranger prep course has forced some changes at training sites. Sgt. 1st Class Tiffany Easter, an observer and adviser during training, gives the Ranger instructors and cadre feedback on tasks that each Ranger student goes through.
“We help to ensure the standards remain the same,” Easter said. “We also assist them in any gender specific issues they may have.”
Soldiers sleep in the same barracks but a schedule was set up for females and males using the restroom and the showers. Miller said standards are not going to change as the post prepares for the historic assessment in April. “We are looking at all these volunteers, admiring what they are attempting to do there,” he said.
This story was originally published February 24, 2015 at 8:27 PM with the headline "Six female soldiers now qualified for Ranger course in April."