On Aug. 20, two female servicemembers will join the ranks of the Army elite as they become the first women to graduate Army Ranger school. In January, the Pentagon made the decision to include women in the training program. Since 1950, when the Army Ranger school was created, only men had been allowed to participate. It is a grueling program where participants are allowed one meal a day and only a few hours of sleep. Despite all that, they must endure some of the most strenuous combat training drills in the world.
The Pentagon was initially withholding the names of the female graduates. As of Aug. 19, their names have been released to the public. The women who have made military history are 26-year-old Kristen Griest and 25-year-old Shaye Haver. Both women, graduates of the prestigious West Point, will return to their units after their graduation at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Only 40 percent of participants finish the program. Of the 18 women who started the program in April, Griest and Haver were the only two who completed it. Because of their accomplishment, the Pentagon is considering allowing women to become a part of the Army Ranger school permanently.