Aug. 21 will be a historic day for the Army Ranger program. For the first time since the school's beginning in 1950, a woman has finished the grueling 61-day training program. In fact, two women completed the training and will graduate with the rest of the class at Fort Benning, Georgia. The names of the women have not been released, but NPR reported that they are both in their 20s, graduated from West Point and are ranked as lieutenants.
For decades, the Army Ranger School admitted only men. In January, the decision was made to allow women into the program. Ranger School is an exhausting combat training course. Only 40 percent of the trainees graduate what is frequently referred to as the most difficult combat training program in the world. For two months, participants are subjected to combat drills in the mountains of Georgia and in the swamps of Florida.
"This course has proven that every soldier, regardless of gender, can achieve his or her full potential," Secretary of the Army John M. McHugh told CNN.
Of the 19 women who were part of the trial inclusion, the two program finishers will be given the coveted Ranger patch. However, the Pentagon has decided that they will not be allowed to apply for the 75th Ranger Regiment, an elite special operations force.