It has been said that the hardest thing about getting a new idea in, is getting the old idea out.
That is what is going on now in the US Army. Two female Soldiers have successfully completed the most challenging course the Army has to offer – US Army Ranger School. They are to be commended for their efforts. They knew how difficult the course was going to be, but they volunteered to attend anyway and accepted the challenge. They worked thru very difficult tasks and situations, and then successfully completed the course. I am very proud of them.
I am disappointed, however, that folks can’t (or won’t) accept the fact that they competed the course successfully. There is way too much negative traffic on social media today. Some folks allege that the US Army lowered their standards at Ranger School so that the female Soldiers could graduate. I don’t buy that. The Army Ranger community is clearly standards based. To wear the Ranger Tab one has to achieve established standards. I doubt that anyone in the Ranger community would allow those standards to be lowered.
So what do we do now that two female Soldiers are Rangers? Let’s welcome them into Ranger units if they want to join. Let’s get rid of the “old idea” that Rangers are “men only” and accept the fact that there are female Soldiers who have achieved the standards. Let’s embrace the “new idea” and include them in Ranger units. The diversity provided by their inclusion will be wonderful.