1st women to pass Ranger School are Army pilot, military cop

(AP) — The first two women to pass the Army's notoriously difficult Ranger School impressed male classmates left in their dust during road marches and proved their mettle as teammates by helping carry heavy weapons when others were too fatigued to lift another ounce.

Griest, 26, of Orange, Connecticut, and Haver, 25, of Copperas Cove, Texas, will become the first women to wear the Army's coveted Ranger tab when they graduate alongside 94 male soldiers Friday at Fort Benning.

Despite proving their grit in the two-month Ranger course, the two women are still unable to join infantry, armor and special forces units — including the 75th Ranger Regiment.

At a news conference Friday, the women stopped short of saying they earned a place in combat units by finishing the notoriously grueling two-month Ranger course — something only about 3 percent of Army soldiers accomplish.

Several male classmates chosen by the Army to attend a news conference with Griest and Haver acknowledged they too weren't sure at first that female soldiers could handle long marches and patrols carrying rucksacks, rifles and other gear weighing 100 pounds or more.

Christopher Carvalho, a medic in the same Ranger school class, said his skepticism ended on the first road march when the women left many of their male counterparts far behind.

Ranger School teaches soldiers combat skills, from standard patrols to raids and air assaults, while pushing the limits of the trainees' physical and mental endurance.