The first women to ever finish Army Ranger School graduated at Fort Benning on Friday in a well-attended, history-making ceremony that ended a six-decade period of the school being an all-male institution.
First Lieutenant Shaye Haver and Captain Kristen Griest performed all the same grueling tasks as the 94 men in their graduating class, according to Yahoo! News.
"No woman that I know wanted to go to Ranger School if they changed the standards," Griest said. "[If they did] it degrades what the tab means, and it would lower training for everyone, and reduce that quality of training for the entire Army."
The two women may now wear the Ranger tab on their uniforms with pride, a coveted emblem. However, they are still barred from serving in the infantry and Special Operations units, and they will not become part of the 75th Ranger Regiment for an odd, if not ironic reason.
It does not accept women.
Currently, the US Army is made up of about 15 percent women. The military is currently assessing plans to intergrate women into normally male-restrcited posititons.
Both women have impressive military records already. Griest is a military police officer who is also Airborne-qualified. Haver is an Apache helicopter pilot, according to KCCI.
"For me, the biggest accomplishment was that it was a goal I had for so long...It was always just about trying to get the best training that the Army can offer us," Griest said.
It was "definitely awesome to be part of history," Haver said.
The historic graduation ceremony is possible thanks to new rules in the Army that has opened more doors for female soldiers. A second Ranger course, which will also be open to women, will open at Fort Benning in November, according to The Guardian.
