Defense

Three women wash out of Ranger School, 16 remain

Sixteen out of 19 women remain in Ranger School after the first day began on Monday. 

Three women and 78 men washed out of the elite training school after Monday morning’s physical fitness test, the Army Times reported.  

The Army is allowing women for the first time to go through Ranger School, in its efforts to prepare for the integration of women in previously closed combat jobs.  

The school began Monday morning with a total of 399 men and 19 women hoping to become Rangers,  a spokesman told the paper. 

Monday’s fitness test required enrollees to do 49 pushups in two minutes, 59 sit-ups in two minutes, a five-mile run in 40 minutes or less, as well as six chin-ups. 

The school is two months long, and only about 45 students graduate. Failure usually occurs during the first four days of the school known as the Ranger Assessment Phase. 

To be eligible for Ranger School, women had to successfully complete the Army National Guard Ranger Training Assessment Course. 

Women who successfully complete Ranger School will receive a certificate and be awarded the coveted Ranger tab, but will not be assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment.