Connect with Point of View   to get exclusive commentary and updates

Female Army Rangers

The United States military now has its third female Army Ranger. She’s Major Lisa Jaster, a 37-year old engineer, officer in the Army Reserve and mom of two. “A lot of doors can open for women if we go about it the right way,” she said in an interview posted on Facebook. “The right way,” she said, ‘includes being professional, thick skinned, and ensuring that we minimize any special treatment.”

Minimize special treatment? A male who went through this year’s training class, that for the first time allowed women, says they received a level of preparation not available to any of the men.

It takes a minimum of 61 days to pass the grueling course. Major Jaster took 180. But, hey. She made it. The course, based at Ft. Benning, Georgia, began in April. Nineteen women started. None passed the first phase. The Washington Post reported that, during each phase of the course, Major Jaster was “held back through what is known as ‘recycling,’ a common practice in which students are allowed to repeat a portion of the course, but only if they show promise and fell short in a specific aspect of training.”

Two younger females, Captain Kristin Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, also graduated Ranger school a few weeks before Major Jaster. They were both also recycled, twice, in phase one. At a press conference they said they were surprised they were allowed to repeat so many sections of the course in order to graduate.

PEOPLE magazine reported on the advantages awarded the women, which included a special two-week training to get them ready for the school and previews of tough courses which the men didn’t get.

But the fix was already in January 2013 when then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta declared all military jobs would be open to women. He gave the military three years to figure out how. One way: Open up the elite forces. It’s not just the Rangers. The Navy is planning to open SEAL training to women.

The Marine Corps is balking at this. It conducted a study comparing the performance of all-male infantry squads to co-ed squads. Not even close. But the Marines were accused of fixing the study. Too much good science for the new, politically-correct military.

So – this January, the US military is set to lift all restrictions and limits for women serving in the armed forces.

viewpoints_horizontal_penna

Viewpoints sign-up