The eight women who remained in the first gender-integrated class of Army Ranger training will not move onto the next round of training, Fort Benning announced on Friday.
That means all 19 women who began the training in April have washed out in the first phase.
The eight women, together with 101 men who washed out of the Darby phase, will retry the first part of the Army’s most elite training course beginning May 14, the release said.
“I had the opportunity to visit the Ranger students yesterday and was impressed that whether going forward to the mountains or recycling the Darby phase they were motivated to continue training and focused on successfully completing the Ranger Course,” said Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence. “They’re a strong group of soldiers, who are working their way through the U.S. Army’s most physically and mentally demanding course.”
Thirty-five male soldiers failed to meet the standards of Ranger school and will not attempt the course again, the release said.
About 15 percent of soldiers repeat the first phase, called Darby phase, however, about 75 percent of those who make it through the first week of the program will eventually pass the Darby phase and move onto the mountains, according to the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade’s website.
About 37 percent of all students recycle at least one phase of Ranger training, the site said.
Only 115 soldiers of the 400 who attempted the training will be moving onto the mountain phase of the training beginning on Saturday.
Nineteen women and 381 men began the first integrated Ranger Course in April. Three women and 78 men washed out after the first day’s physical assessment consisting of 49 pushups, 59 situps, a 5-mile run in under 40 minutes and 6 chin-ups.
Following that, soldiers must complete a land navigation test, a swim test and a 12-mile foot march with a 35-pound rucksack in under three hours. Eight women and a 119 men failed to complete this portion of the course.
• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.
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