A Look At Women In The U.S. Army's Elite Ranger School

Soldiers participate in the chin-up portion of the Ranger Training Assessment Course in Fort Benning, Ga., earlier this month. Sgt. Sara Wakai/US Army

Anna Mulrine, CSM: What's it like for women soldiers in Ranger training? A glimpse inside.

The Army is opening its elite Ranger School to women, and six women have now qualified. To make it, they've had to do 49 push-ups and remember when to go to the latrine.

Washington — Halfway through its preparations for the first-ever coed Ranger School in April, the Army took a moment to publicly take stock of how women are doing.

Eight military officials, one of them a woman, held a briefing Tuesday to talk about topics ranging from the need to add bras to soldiers' packing list to why more women (and men) than expected failed to complete the most recent Ranger Training Assessment Course (RTAC).

WNU Editor: The pass rate is 14 percent for women, 45 percent for men.

Lipstick and Kalashnikovs: Women In The Russian Armed Services

One of the 16 finalists of the Miss Shoulder-Straps beauty contest, which involved all military districts and branches the Russian Armed Forces. The contestants varied in rank from private to captain. © Sputnik/ Dmitry Korobeinikov

WNU Editor: The photo gallery starts here.

Will The U.S. Marines Drop Their Standards For Women Who Attempt Their Infantry Officers Training Course?

Photo from Girls Just Wanna Have Guns

Pressure Grows For Marines To Lower Standards For Women -- Washington Free Beacon

27 Female Marines Have Attempted the Infantry Officers Training Course. None Have Passed.

When it was reported at the beginning of October that three female Marine officers had passed the Combat Endurance Test (CET), the initial entry screener for the Corp’s challenging Infantry Officer Course, the news was widely reported. You can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here.

The story was indeed news. Up to that point, of the 24 women who had attempted the CET, only one had passed, and she had reportedly later been dropped from the overall course due to an injury. Struggling to get enough female officers into the course to produce a statistically significant result for its study of introducing women into combat roles, the Corps had directed that more seasoned female officers could attempt the course. Now three had made it over the first hurdle.

Read more ....

My Comment: Some are arguing that the standards were deliberately raised before women started to apply .... hence making it impossible for them to perform. I do not know about that .... but I will not be surprised that in the future the standards will be changed there by making it more easier for women to complete the course.