As the Army continues to integrate women into combat arms jobs, the 75th Ranger Regiment has seen its first female soldier attempt to join its ranks.
The staff sergeant attended the 75th Ranger Regiment's Ranger Assessment and Selection Program 2 in June, officials said.
RASP 2 is designed for soldiers in the rank of staff sergeant and above and all officers volunteering for assignment to the elite regiment.
"The female soldier did not meet performance objectives required for assignment to the 75th Ranger Regiment," said Lt. Col. Robert Bockholt, a spokesman for U.S. Army Special Operations Command. "The female soldier has been afforded the opportunity to reapply for RASP 2 beginning December 2016."
Bockholt, who declined to provide the soldier's name or military occupational specialty, said the NCO attended the RASP 2 course that began June 16. She has not attended or attempted the Army's Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia, Bockholt said.
To date, she is the only woman to attend either RASP 1, designed for junior soldiers wishing to join the 75th Ranger Regiment, or RASP 2, Bockholt said.
RASP 2 is a 21-day course for officers and soldiers in the rank of staff sergeant and above who want to serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment. The course, which is offered about nine times a year, assesses the suitability of mid- and senior-grade leaders for assignment to the regiment and teaches them the operational techniques and standards of the regiment, Bockholt said in a statement to Army Times. The course also provides training in special tactics, equipment and missions unique to the regiment. It is required for assignment to the regiment.
The Army is integrating women into its combat arms specialties, such as infantry, armor and special operations, after Defense Secretary Ash Carter lifted all gender-based restrictions on military service.
Carter announced his decision on Dec. 3, paving the way for women to serve in these previously all-male specialties.
Before this decision, the Army in the past three years has opened about 95,200 positions and nine occupations to women. This includes the combat engineer (12B) and cannon crewmember (13B) military occupational specialties.
The Army also conducted a gender-integrated assessment of and later opened its storied Ranger School. Three women have graduated from the course so far, earning the coveted Ranger tab.
Since the beginning of this year, about 200 women have either enlisted, commissioned or transferred into previously closed occupations, according to information from the Army. Among those are about 140 new recruits who are slated to begin training early next year.
This summer, the Army also approved applications from two female officers to attend Special Forces Assessment and Selection, an early step toward becoming a Green Beret.
In all, 340 of 460 applications to SFAS were accepted. Of those, nine applicants were women, officials said.
The women who were accepted – one went to officer candidate school and the other attended a four-year ROTC program – could attend SFAS as soon as this fall.
Michelle Tan is the editor of Army Times and Air Force Times. She has covered the military for Military Times since 2005, and has embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Haiti, Gabon and the Horn of Africa.
