Recently the U.S. Army announced that three female soldiers who qualified for Ranger training failed to complete the course. Apparently they failed a segment of the course, it was not specified as to exactly which part they failed but seems it had something to do with upper body strength. I found the news to be somewhat confusing. Only a few months earlier the U.S. Army had changed its policy of "men only" for the Ranger School. Seven female soldiers had participated in a trial run and succeeded in completing all of the requirements. The three that had just failed the course were among the seven that had "qualified" earlier. So, I am confused. But, the army says they can reapply and try again.
It has always been my pet peeve the way the U.S. Army set the qualification requirements for the various training courses. There are some physical requirements that have nothing to do at all with the ability to perform in the training program. Perhaps the best example of these "requirements" that fail to take into consideration the individual ability is what happened to Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier of World War Two. Audie Murphy tried to enlist with the army paratroops and he was told that he was too short! He next tried the Marine Corps and was told the same story. Apparently the Airborne and the USMC felt that he was too small and would not be able to perform his duties! Murphy was finally able to enlist as just a plain infantry soldier and the rest is history. As an infantryman, he not only became the most decorated soldier of World War Two but was awarded the Medal of Honor as well! The Airborne and the Marines missed out on having a most decorated soldier of the war because of their silly height requirement! The Army Airborne, incidentally, changed its height requirements after that! I believe the Marine Corps did the same thing.
I have no doubt that the three female soldiers that failed to complete the Ranger Training are excellent soldiers, highly motivated. Apparently they failed some component of the training program that required upper body strength, something that women usually lack when compared to men. The trainers should recognize the fact that some feats of strength or agility are not as crucial as they make it out to be. It is unrealistic to expect everyone to be athletically gifted and have the same amount of physical strength. As long as the trainee demonstrates willingness to keep trying, ability to improvise when needed, then that trainee should be allowed to pass the stage. By not passing some of these trainees, the army is losing some very good soldiers who may not want to serve in combat arms after failing to complete Ranger or other advanced training.
While the Army and the Marine Corps stuck to their rigid rules and denied Audie Murphy a chance to become a Paratrooper or a Marine, another organization that existed during that time was much more flexible, and therefore, was able to train and use some highly motivated and talented people. That organization was OSS, the Office of Strategic Services, the granddaddy of today's CIA and the Army Special Forces. The OSS believed that human beings are capable of great things, things that are not necessarily demonstrated in training sessions. They believed that will power and motivation, combined with brains, were the greatest assets, not physical strength. Many of their officers proved that point time in and time again!
Virginia Hall was possibly the most celebrated OSS officer during World War Two. I have written earlier blogs on her, but she is such a special individual that a few blogs will never do justice. She repeatedly infiltrated into occupied France and performed espionage and sabotage work, disguising herself in various ways, including as an old woman. She was so successful that she became the most wanted enemy agent by the Gestapo, who posted wanted posters all over occupied France. Of course they never knew just exactly what she looked like. Each time the Gestapo got close, she would sneak out of France and later return with a different identity and disguised as a different person. She would mainly infiltrate at night by a boat, but she parachuted a few times as well. Now, remember, the army airborne felt that Audie Murphy was too small to be a paratrooper! Virginia Hall had a wooden leg! She had lost her leg in a hunting accident before the war, so she had a wooden leg and walked with a limp! Yet, she was able to undergo parachute training and make several jumps into France!
As a grand finale for her superb work in France, she escaped from the Nazis by crossing the Pyrenees Mountains in freezing snow. Afterwards she said that it was one of the hardest things she ever had to do in her life, crossing those mountains in snow and ice with a wooden leg! For her outstanding and valiant work during the war, Virginia Hall was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the only woman to ever receive our nation's second highest award for heroism! It is highly unlikely that Virginia Hall would have been able to pass Ranger training had she been forced to take it. Nor would she have received parachute training had she been in the U.S. Army.
I don't believe there are many people who are Ranger School graduates that could have crossed those mountains in the freezing snow as she did. She had no special equipment or mountaineering gear, just her normal clothing that she wore in the city! There are many soldiers with parachute wings on their chest that never made night jumps or jumps into hostile territory, Virginia made several! So, it is quite apparent that you don't need to be an Olympic athlete to be a successful parachutist or perform difficult marches or mountain climbing like a Ranger. But, the military, it seems, wants to have an airborne force or Ranger trained soldiers that are like world class athletes. That is one reason why the drop out rate is so high in Ranger School and other elite training programs. A pity, since many of the "drop outs" probably would make superb paratroopers or Rangers! Virginia Hall did it all, with a wooden leg!
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