"Love being in the Army. But, this debate over Women being able to
attend Ranger School and the things I am hearing people say, just
another reinforcement of why it is time to step away."
Perhaps I was too ambiguous with my last wall post, so I figured I would fire back up the blog and take this moment to share my perspective (not that my perspective means anything, but it gives you an opinion). First off, the past year has been difficult, and making the decision to leave the Army was not easy. The reason it was not easy is because I love serving my country and I love the Army and what it stands for. I do not believe the Army is becoming worse or in bad shape. I do believe this issue of Ranger School has exposed some of the underlying issues that still remain in our organization.
Secondly, lets throw out everything that would discredit me from this conversation. Yes, I failed out of Ranger School. Yes, I have no tab. Yes, I am on my way out of the Army. Ok now that we have gotten that out of the way, I want to share my opinion as a spectator since there is no tab protecting from me as an outsider. My mother was a 1980 graduate of the United States Military Academy, the first class of females ever admitted. At the time, students at the school as well as older alumni considered this to be an insult to allow women. It would taint the very prestige of the University. It would become too easy. I will not speak for my mom, but from the stories she has told me students made it a point to ensure that females knew the males opinions of their admittance. Now, not everyone shared these opinions so we can not stereotype or group it all together. A male cadet was asked by a local news reporter, "Do you think it's weird that women will be going to school with you at West Point?" The male cadet responded, "Well I have been going to school with girls all my life, I think it would be weird if there weren't women at school." That male cadet was my father. My mother was in the Army for 23 years, and served our country to the fullest. Many times she was told "You can't do that, you're not strong enough, not cause your weak, but because you are a female."
Well guess what, West Point still exists, it still ranks in the top 5 every year on the Forbes College list and I think we are still producing quality leaders committed to serving the nation. Since this debate over Ranger school has started, I have been exposed to how naive I am to all this. Sure I knew guys joked about the lack of ability in woman soldiers, but I thought the respect level was still there. And it is, on the surface, but scratch one level down and hit that nerve and out comes the truth. "Females are incapable", "No female could ever pass a Ranger PT test, they're just not strong enough." "Females can't do it, how would they do hygiene." "Can you believe it, the Army has gone to shit now." Just to share a few wall posts I have read. This sounds familiar, "They are too dumb to go to white schools," "They are too unhealthy to use our water fountains or our bathrooms." You may think that's a stretch, but re-read the comments and I believe there is a connection. Ahh, but this is not the issue here. It is an assumption, but people complaining about this deeply believe that women are second class citizens in this country. They belong in the kitchen, they should take care of the kids, (insert stereotypical comment). There is only one thing that promotes these comments in history...fear. Fear of competition, fear of losing your spot at the top. It is a lot more comfortable knowing someone is considered lower on the food chain. People may hide behind comments about prestige but it is the fear of equality that drives this. Several times in history people have found themselves on the wrong side of issues like this, and it most definitely was the individuals who viewed anyone as "second class".
Here is the second resounding argument I have heard, "There is no way that Females will be held to the same standard, it just won't be enforced." The Soldiers that run ranger school are E-6 and above, and CPT and above. They are proven combat leaders and have been chosen by the Army based on their ability to uphold the standard and lead. You may not believe all that, but that is how it is stated. Now if we honestly think these leaders will not enforce the standard, then we have a much larger issue in the Army. That is an insult to all proven leaders in the Army and to all Ranger Instructors. So we prevent females from going because the raters will not enforce the standard. Don't hold that against the females, hold it against the raters. I know several individuals who are RI's and I can assure you the ones I know are great leaders and will uphold the standard.
There are a million counterarguments to this and I would be glad to hear them. Please feel free to post below and we can talk. I will leave with this. Allowing females to enter Ranger school is one step of many towards the equality of females in the service. If this makes you cringe, than wait for when females are allowed to enter combat arms, if you have a problem with that perhaps you should start preparing now because it is coming. The biggest tragedy of this whole situation is not the perceived "Army getting soft" or "Ranger school losing its prestige", the biggest tragedy is our Army still needs to grow up and accept that certain women can do any job that a man can do. Hey, its my opinion, perhaps history has shown which side of this debate lands on correct. Thank you for reading.
