Dimon Kendrick-Holmes: They carried the weight

Today, the U.S. Army has two women with Ranger tabs on their left shoulders.

And one question: Were the standards lowered to allow this to happen?

Our reporter, Chuck Williams, has asked that question to a lot of people. The brass in charge say absolutely not -- which is what they're going to say.

At the same time, old Rangers on the Internet, or at least old guys who say they're Rangers on the Internet, have stories involving extra food and sleep, trash cans full of bad peer evaluations, and extra chances at recycling -- and of course a secret plan crafted by Obama.

Again, not surprising.

But it was surprising what a Ranger instructor told Chuck in the swamp. First Sgt. Jeremy Lemma, one-half of the defending Best Ranger team, said every guy with a Ranger tab had probably questioned the process of gender-integrating Ranger School.

But that there was a more important question that every Ranger should ask himself: Why does this bother him?

"Is it a pride thing?" Lemma asked. "Do you feel that tab you have earned is less masculine now because females are now equal to you? If that is the case, then that is you. You've got to look at yourself. Obviously, you are not comfortable with who you are. You feel intimidated. I think you have to question why you feel that way."

Oh, and Chuck also talked to Col. Ralph Puckett, the legendary Ranger.

"There has never been a Ranger course that had more effort, more command supervision on it to ensure that the standards were not lowered," Puckett said. "It probably comes as close to perfect as it could be. I am proud of the cadre there. They have done a great job."

That was good enough for a lot of people.

But what convinced me was the weight.

Before Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, now the first female Rangers, failed the Darby patrolling phase for the second time and were offered a grueling Day One recycle, the commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade was talking to Chuck about peer evaluations.

Col. David G. Fivecoat said this: "Strength and endurance is a premium in this course. Usually with peers, it will focus back on if a soldier will carry extra weight. In that small microcosm of a squad, if he is willing to carry extra weight, then I don't have to."

Back in the early 1990s, when I was in an armor battalion, one of my fellow officers wrote a letter to the Stars and Stripes in which he said women should never serve in combat because they weren't strong enough to pull him out of a burning tank. (He drank a lot of beer and ate a lot of schnitzel.)

I thought about that letter on Thursday when two male soldiers told basically the same story about Griest and Haver. The men, both second lieutenants, said they were about to break under the load of carrying heavy squad machine guns for days on end. They asked their fellow squad members for help.

Only two soldiers said yes. Who?

You got it: Griest and Haver.

They carried the weight when nobody else would, and now they're the first female Rangers.

Makes sense to me.

Contact Dimon Kendrick-Holmes, executive editor, at dkholmes@ledger-enquirer.com.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Dimon Kendrick-Holmes: They carried the weight ."