Two women passed the U.S. Army’s Ranger School, one of the most intense and grueling of military programs, reported CBS News. However, despite successfully completing Ranger School, the two women are not guaranteed a place in the Army infantry and will not serve in the Rangers.
Their names have not been released for fear of “harassment by die-hards” who would likely oppose the idea of women being in the U.S. Army Rangers. The two women are graduates of West Point, and were the only of 19 women to pass the 62-day-long Ranger School. The men and women were held to the same standards and were pushed to their physical and mental limits.
“One of the key things that the students learn is that the limit they believe exists probably doesn’t, and they they’re capable of doing much more under very difficult circumstances,” said U.S. Army Ranger Association president Travis West. “For those women who are able to complete the course, it will probably help them in some ways in their careers.”
Although these women will be denied from serving in the Rangers, perhaps their completion of the program will strengthen the argument that women should be allowed to serve in the infantry. CBS News noted that it’s a “major step in that direction.”
