They each recycled twice. Is that something that happens fairly frequently with male students? I read where ~ 1/3 recycle at some point but how about twice? I always thought that in such HSLD courses if you recycled (usually only allowed in cases of injury) you went back to Day 1. Apparently Ranger School recycles by phases.
I believe the recycle issue is a red-herring. At least one of the three was a medical recycle.
However, from Mike Pannone’s FB post, it also sounds like a General was brought in to “score” this class.
Was wondering if there was any behind-the-scenes shenanigans going on.
FYI - Zero females have graduated from USMC Infantry Officer School.
I’ve heard from several sources the Ranger Instructors had to sign NDAs regarding this class.
I never went to Ranger School but have a good amount of friends that did. From what I remember you can only recycle each phase once. They all failed Darby Phase the first week (might have been the first day) twice. I was also told they were not allowed to be peered out. It’s also strange that two people that failed the very first part of Ranger School twice, then complete the entire course, especially Mountain Phase which I’ve been told is the hardest.
Then again the owner of Ranger Up, Nick Palmaciano (I butchered that name), is a former Ranger Instructor and said he was told by his buddies there that they passed legit. So who the **** knows what’s going on.
If it was going to happen It was going to happen in ranger school… kidding aside.
Just wait 4-5 years, the books will be flowing about the details.
http://rhinoden.rangerup.com/time-to-welcome-a-new-era-of-rangers-army/
Not a Ranger and my time affiliated with the Army is minimal (Navy/MC), so I don’t have skin the game, but I find his comments interesting.
FYI, coming to a service near you and that includes the jarheads too! Do they recycle? If not you may have your reason why.
Of the first group of 10 to volunteer for the course, nine failed to make it through the first day.
Recycle them from the first day?? You’d have to wait until another class began which may not have been for several weeks.
No, do they recycle at all? Big difference if they don’t. Edit: Did a little Googling and it appears that in the case of the women IOC candidates no, they were not allowed to recycle. Didn’t see if men were allowed to return to a subsequent class but since the women were kind of on an “experimental” basis a completely new batch starts each IOC course. If the Ranger School did the same thing there would not be two women graduating, as they would not have been allowed to recycle.
FWIW there have been a few women graduate from the enlisted Marine SOI on an experimental basis. It’s only a matter of time before one or more graduates from the officer version. Same with the Army. Yep, there are gonna be some pink saddles on the Marine white chargers saving the day. :laugh:
To wit:
My cousin got his Ranger tab in his early 30’s.
He said it was really, really hard. He had to recycle one of the steps. IIRC it was something related to rappelling so it was probably in the mountain course.
He said if he had been 10 years younger it would have been a lot easier.
He also said the worst part of it was not being able to shower for such a long time. He has always been a little preppy though. 
If I am a male Ranger, at 175lbs + 85-120lb pack on, can either of the two who passed drag me across an opening to safety if I am hit?
FWIW, even in LAV’s old Fallujah drill, some people couldn’t drag some of the “casualties” and those were grown ass men, dragging grown ass men who had minimal kit on.
A point to ponder…
“He also said the worst part of it was not being able to shower for such a long time.”
Yeah, there’s nothing filthier than a soldier, if he’s in the field for awhile.
Out in the field during basic and AIT, I hated my own smell, we all stunk to high heaven.
Then on long field deployments, ye gads we were filthy and I didn’t know one soldier who wasn’t disgusted by his lack of hygiene.
Off track: coming back home after some time in the field my wife made strip to my skivvies, on my porch, before I could go into the house, much to the horror and amusement of my neighbors. I think I was growing mold. On track.
I did Air Assault School at Campbell in July 1983 and there was one female “black shirt” instructor. If she had the opportunity for Ranger back in those days, I bet she would have done pretty good. She was a tough little bitch.
Understand his bias:
Obviously he’s going to support the integrity of the institution where he taught- “Uphold THE Ranger Standard…”
Obviously he’s going to support his fellow academy grads- “the Long Gray Line…”
The truth is the Standard is always applied differently to different students- even though there are evaluation criteria to keep it somewhat fair.
The truth is the Standard is always changing- every time they update the course it gets easier and everyone in the room nods their head and says, “Not easier, only different.”
Case in point- my friend went to Ranger School 3x in his career, finally graduating as a Major. He just took an early retirement at 15 and when calculated, he will have spend a decent percentage of his time in School. He admits that the post-2006 changes made it substantially easier. Land Nav on patrols (after the test) is via GPS now, while you sip off your Camelbak, and wear Belleville 390 boots… no longer does the student have to cope with pine-needle-pointing his location under extreme mental and physical fatigue… he can just read a 10 digit grid off a LCD screen.
I wouldn’t get hung up on the Recycle aspect either- one of the guys who graduated with me was tough as nails, and skilled, but somehow managed to get hurt or **** something up once per phase before he made it out.
People searching for outrage are simply late to the game. You’re mad that they scoured the whole United States Army and found not one, but two females who could pass Ranger School???
Where was your anger when they switched to comfy socks, or started letting pogues in?
In 20 years it will be the feel-good-tab-of-the-year… just like what happened to Airborne School.
It’s all interesting and exciting until people who may not be qualified actually deploy.
Then the novelty wears off and you realize you are a danger to yourself and others.
There is a reason I don’t build skyscrapers, it isn’t because the work is beyond my ability, it is because I have no business being up there. I understand that.
What MOS are these chicks?
Deployment is the natural counterweight to Ranger School.
Part of what the Tab does is provide field cred to those who have not deployed and led patrols/ raids/ OPs/ other real world operations. You get to stand in front of the group and open your mouth and not be immediately told to STFU.
Awards and badges don’t mean anything in theater, and you will quickly find out who a real ninja and who 'aint one… regardless of what their uniform looks like.
Circa 2005, try convincing one of your shit hot team leaders that he needs to find time for 61 days of pure suck during his 12 month dwell time… but not too close to JRTC/NTC/MRX… because it will be good for his career and he’ll be a better leader.
He’s got his cred, and he knows his people (perhaps better than you do), and he just wants some time to drink a beer for a bit and then get back into working with his guys so they’re all ready for the next deployment.
Now that we are transitioning back to the peace-time Army, all this stuff is going to get really important again. Getting school slots and sewing on all your badges- Ranger/ ABN/ AASLT/ Patchfinder.
My solution years-ago was to create a whole-new-tab devoted to convoy ops, guard tower, gate guard, TCPs, etc and make it open to all MOS’s. Make it GWOT specific and then shut it down after it loses it’s relevance… everyone who went can feel OG like some “Jungle Expert.” Call it a “Warrior Leader’s Course on Steroids” and simply keep the same standards, change the conditions to suck, and have a real attrition rate.
The cost to the Army would have been minimal and we would have had better junior NCOs and pogue officers.
But then again, if it was within my power to do that I can already hear people complaining- “Ohhh General KalashniKEV wants to make his own special tab!”
I guess now the Ranger Tab will become that.