"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.
Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI agree with many things you have said and believe you are correct. Like many others I do like the fact that having a Ranger Tab makes me feel more qualified as an Infantry officer to perform my duties. However, I also realize that change happens. When change happens there are always two extremes that take place, rarely anything in the middle ground. These two groups are the survivors, and well the ones that don't.
People that don't accept the change will not survive in the new environment that has been created outside of their control. They are so resistant to change and refuse to take steps to change they will fail, and subsequently be mitigated in their jobs and life.
Conversely, survivors are just the opposite. They accept that things are going to change and find way to work with the change to ensure not only their survival but the survival of a larger organization, in this case the US Army. This new change will certainly stir up feelings and emotions much like you have already stated.
When you mention standards you never mentioned the fact that the entire physical training regiment is based on separate standards for both men and women. If we are truly going to accept women as equals then the PT standards for both men and women must be the same. The argument that women are genetically different than men and cannot run, do more pushups and sit-ups, no longer applies to this argument because if this is true then they truly couldn't pass Ranger School. If women truly want/need to be equal, and want to be treated equally, the PT standards need to be changed to reflect that, then there will be no question (at least in the Army's eyes) as to what an individual soldier (not man or women) can achieve.
However, having friends that are currently Ranger Instructors at Ranger School, I am not worried that they will lessen their standards for any individual that comes through the course. What I am worried about, and what I have seen is political and higher headquarters pressure to allow select individuals to receive their tab.
Like in many Army schools, the Army welcomes foreign countries to send select soldiers to participate in advance training. In many cases the political pressure to allow them to pass supersedes the standards which are put out, or the standards are rewritten or overlooked to allow these soldiers to pass, otherwise it would look bad if they didn't; I foresee this happening with the first classes that allow women into Ranger School. We as an Army cannot allow standards to be changed or influenced to force change. This does a disservice to the Army and to the women who are attempting to receive their tab. We cannot cheat these soldiers merely because a civilian society wants change.
I am not saying don't allow women into Ranger School, quite the opposite, however, if standards are lessened, overlooked, or pressured, then the idea of change has failed, and we as an Army have failed ourselves and the soldiers we are trying to protect and help.
Matt,
ReplyDeleteYou make some great points and I agree with you on a lot of them. I follow the logic behind the Physical standards currently in the Army, and I think in time it will be looked at. My hope is that Ranger School does not change their PT test at all no matter the gender. I had considered the argument about foreign officers before I wrote this. I definitely watched bad foreign officers who couldn't even lead themselves to the bathroom, pass straight through Ranger School.
I think you and I are on the same page with this. Women should definitely be allowed to do this. If standards change than we need to hold those who change the standards accountable. But, in my opinion that is no reason to not allow women to do this. So, I really appreciate your comments, and I think you are spot on. Lets keep an eye on the politicians and not allow them to sway women towards or away from accomplishing this.