Posted on Mar 14, 2018
First female Ranger grads open up about the aftermath and joining the infantry
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Posted 6 y ago
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They were West pointers to begin with and very motivated and now they passed muster, so they earned it!
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Congrats to those Rangers. I don't have a tab and therefore will not speak on any of the things in this article. I will speak on the differences between Enlisted-NCOs and Commissioned Officers in the Infantry.
I had a Col who broke it down to me and a few others. He spoke of the relentless grind that an Enlisted Infantryman endures. Enlisted SMs arrive as a Privates. They are in the dirt. Sweating, digging, running, shooting and bleeding for poverty wages. The good ones will be promoted to SPC at the 18 month- 24 month at the latest. Still grinding and possibly deploying multiple times. Once promoted to Sergeant they are leading their team through the grind. They are expected to be the most motivated and disciplined Soldier in their team. Once they have proved they have what it takes they are promoted to Staff Sergeant and then Sergeant First Class. SFC is the first time that they may see a break from the "normal" hardship an Enlisted Infantryman will see. They will still be in the field but not enduring the entirety of the physical demands as his subordinates. So this is an Average of 10-13 years.
A 2LT in the Infantry Branch will endure the same, if not, slightly more physical demands than his SFC counterpart. He will be promoted to 1LT in 18 months. He may still remain a Platoon Leader or he may be moved to the S3 shop or take over as the Company XO. He is eligible for promotion to CPT at 2 years but definitely by 4 years. This will put the "Regular Army" Officer's grind time to 18-24 months.
I am proud of these females for being trailblazers. I believe the real testament to the abilities of the female body and mind will be to see the attrition rate of the newly minted female Enlisted Infantrymen. I have put off knee surgery for 5 years and finally had my shoulder surgery on 12FEB2018 after putting that off for 3 years. I have seen a lot of physical specimens get broken down by the training tempo and overuse injuries stacking up. These females may have completed Ranger School but it is not the same as 10-13 years of the enlisted sacrifice.
I had a Col who broke it down to me and a few others. He spoke of the relentless grind that an Enlisted Infantryman endures. Enlisted SMs arrive as a Privates. They are in the dirt. Sweating, digging, running, shooting and bleeding for poverty wages. The good ones will be promoted to SPC at the 18 month- 24 month at the latest. Still grinding and possibly deploying multiple times. Once promoted to Sergeant they are leading their team through the grind. They are expected to be the most motivated and disciplined Soldier in their team. Once they have proved they have what it takes they are promoted to Staff Sergeant and then Sergeant First Class. SFC is the first time that they may see a break from the "normal" hardship an Enlisted Infantryman will see. They will still be in the field but not enduring the entirety of the physical demands as his subordinates. So this is an Average of 10-13 years.
A 2LT in the Infantry Branch will endure the same, if not, slightly more physical demands than his SFC counterpart. He will be promoted to 1LT in 18 months. He may still remain a Platoon Leader or he may be moved to the S3 shop or take over as the Company XO. He is eligible for promotion to CPT at 2 years but definitely by 4 years. This will put the "Regular Army" Officer's grind time to 18-24 months.
I am proud of these females for being trailblazers. I believe the real testament to the abilities of the female body and mind will be to see the attrition rate of the newly minted female Enlisted Infantrymen. I have put off knee surgery for 5 years and finally had my shoulder surgery on 12FEB2018 after putting that off for 3 years. I have seen a lot of physical specimens get broken down by the training tempo and overuse injuries stacking up. These females may have completed Ranger School but it is not the same as 10-13 years of the enlisted sacrifice.
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there was a time I would have told you that it would never happen but these two Ranger qualified Infantry Officers are doing well. I have said it a million times you cant change the standards.
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SPC (Join to see)
LTC Jeff Shearer the problem is, Sir, that they did. There is a whole background to this that got hushed up a lot over the first two females that went through (granted, I can't speak for the third) regarding the lax standard and the breach in policy that allowed these two to succeed at the school. Unfortunately, the standard is not the same in most of these pilot and beta programs, which is why I disagree with it. If they wanted to run the test to see if it was feasible, you do it hush-hush like the silent professionals that SOCOM is so proud to claim, and you hold the candidates to the same standards across the board. Regrettably, such is not the case in many of these trials, to include BUD/S, RASP/RS, and even the push with SFAS/SFQC (referencing the female captain that sued her way to the Long Tab).
I would truly like to see a genuine success story, and I will definitely be reading up on it more to see if they raised the standard back to its original place and if they will hold females to the same standard as males (same job should mean the same demands and standards, should it not?) in order to provide viable success and operational capabilities.
I would truly like to see a genuine success story, and I will definitely be reading up on it more to see if they raised the standard back to its original place and if they will hold females to the same standard as males (same job should mean the same demands and standards, should it not?) in order to provide viable success and operational capabilities.
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