FORT BENNING, Ga. — 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.
As the Pentagon weighs a decision on allowing women to serve in combat jobs long held by men only, a Ranger School comrade offered a blunt assessment of Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver as they spoke to reporters Thursday.
“They can serve by my side anytime because I know I can trust them,” 2nd Lt. Erickson Krogh said. “Especially these two. I’d have no qualms about serving with them in combat.”
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. That could change next year after the Pentagon makes its recommendations.