After completing the notoriously grueling course, Sergeant 1st Class Janina Simmons said "62 days of training and I made it the first time through."
Sergeant 1st Class Janina Simmons has made history by becoming the first African American woman to graduate from the legendary U.S. Army Ranger School! The 29-year-old senior drill sergeant leader, who is based out of Fort Jackson in South Carolina, joins less than a dozen women who have completed the notoriously grueling weeks-long course and earned the right to wear the prestigious black and gold Ranger Tab. Simmons' performance was even more impressive because she completed all three phases without 'recycling' or repeating any parts of the course. "I'm excited. It's surreal," said Simmons about her historic feat. "I'm humbled to be here... 62 days of training and I made it the first time through."
The U.S. Army Ranger School is an intense course with an astonishing list of qualifications for graduation: in addition to the high-level general physical fitness requirement, students must complete "a swim test; a land navigation test; a 12-mile foot march [carrying a full combat load] in three hours; several obstacle courses; four days of military mountaineering; three parachute jumps; four air assaults on helicopters; multiple rubber boat movements; and 27 days of mock combat patrols." The course includes three phases and, as of 2015, approximately 34% of those who enter Ranger school will be "recycled" or repeat at least one phase of the course. Even with 'recycling,' the training is immensely challenging and, as of 2017, the Ranger School graduation rate was only 33.1%.
Women were first permitted into the Ranger School on a trial basis in 2015, after the Pentagon made the decision to open all military jobs to women. When Captain Kristen Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver became the first female graduates in August of that year, critics accused the Ranger School of reducing the requirements or giving female candidates an advantage by allowing them to repeat phases, something that the instructors categorically denied. At their graduation ceremony, Major General Scott Miller, commanding general of the Maneuver Center of Excellence, recalled what the speaker at his own graduation had to say about doubters: "He said, more or less, 'you have people who will question the standards of Ranger School. When they question those standards, what I ask you to do is invite them back to Fort Benning, Georgia, and re-validate their tab.' To date, we've had zero takers."
After Griest and Haver completed the course, the Pentagon decided to open the Ranger School to women on a permanent basis, with Army Secretary John McHugh stating that training opportunities must be open to "all soldiers who are qualified and capable." For Simmons, completing Ranger School had always been a dream, and she was confident she was up to the challenge. She was already in top physical condition: she made history last December when she became the first woman to finish first in the Fort Jackson Bataan Memorial Death March qualifier. The march, which commemorates the captured U.S. military members who endured forced marches to POW camps after the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese military in 1942, is 16 miles long, while carrying a 25.8 pound pack. Simmons completed it in two hours and fifty-two minutes, and was solidly in the lead for the last four hours of the march. She wasn't able to advance to nationals, however, because she was already scheduled to attend the Ranger School.
Now that Simmons has completed "that dream" of earning her Ranger Tab, she says she'll need to "sit down and re-sort her goals." For now, as an openly lesbian soldier, she's thrilled that she can be an example of how diverse people can succeed in the military: "It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, you’re straight, you’re black, you’re white, you’re male, you’re female," she says. "If you can think it, you can do it — you just have to put in the work." She's also hoping that she and Staff Sergeant Amanda Kelly, who became the first female non-commissioned officer (NCO) to graduate from Ranger School last year, will encourage other NCOs to push themselves and try Ranger School. "I need more NCOs to get out there... [so] I have to lead from the front," Simmons says. "It's good to speak from experience. When you have soldiers who say 'I don't know if I can do that,' I can say 'well, I did it and so can you.'" At her recent graduation, Simmons also recognized how the support of someone special helped make her success possible when she proposed to her girlfriend, writing on social media: “She stuck with me and was more than supportive!! I didn’t do that!! WE did that."
Books About Women in the Military
The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans
The Poppy Lady: Moina Belle Michael and Her Tribute to Veterans
Did you know that the symbol we associate with remembering our veterans — the red poppy — was created by a woman? Barbara Elizabeth Walsh tells the story of how Moina Bell Michael was inspired to create the red poppy symbol after watching her students and friends go to war. Through her tireless efforts, the poppy is still used today to represent our remembrance of the veterans of war. A portion of the book’s proceeds are dedicated to Operation Purple, the National Military Family Association’s program to serve military families.
Hero Mom
Hero Mom
The kids in this book declare, “Our moms are superheroes.” Why? Well, because she flies to the rescue in her helicopter, trains a bomb-sniffing dog, or saves lives in the medical complex. Some moms build tall buildings, or get everything exactly where it needs to go. The fun illustrations and simple text make this a fun read to remind children of military moms just how special their job is — or to teach children who aren’t familiar with the military about the many jobs that soldiers do. For a companion to this book featuring military dads, check out Hero Dad.
Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII
Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII
In the midst of World War II, the United States Army found itself in desperate need of personnel — and women, including African American women, stepped up to serve. Black community leaders, including civil rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, saw it as an opportunity to end segregation — but the "separate but equal" policy stood. This book centers on Major Charity Adams and her 6888th Central Postal Battalion, but uses her story as a jumping off point to talk about other women who helped integrate the armed forces. Rich with historical detail, and including an inspiring forward by Maj. Gen. Marcia M. Anderson, Army (Ret.). this book gives these little-known military pioneers a voice.
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II
Double Victory: How African American Women Broke Race and Gender Barriers to Help Win World War II
The need for women’s contributions during World War II also had an impact on racial dynamics in the US, and African American women were a major part of the war effort. This book teaches Mighty Girls about how African American women who stepped forward in many fields — from nursing to factory work to entertainment to the military — as well as the tremendous opposition they faced. Some of their names have been widely celebrated, but more are forgotten, and yet their tireless dedication helped set the groundwork for the civil rights movement to come.
Rites of Passage
Rites of Passage
Sam McKenna is honoring her dead brother by fulfilling the last dare he made her: she's attending the first-ever female class at Denmark Military Academy. As the child of a military family, she knows what to expect from the training: long hard days, brutal physical challenges, and even the discrimination of male peers who don’t think she should be there. What she’s not expecting is to discover that, behind the brutal hazing, there is a decades-old secret society that wants her out of the school — at any cost. Readers will cheer Sam on as she overcomes shocking opposition to find her place at the academy.
Shoot Like A Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and On the Home Front
Shoot Like A Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and On the Home Front
After being selected for pilot training by the Air National Guard, Mary Jennings “MJ” Hegar finished top of her class, served three tours in Afghanistan, and earned a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Flying Cross... but her hardest fight has been on home soil. Hegar was determined to end the US military’s Ground Combat Exclusion Policy, which prevents female armed service members from serving in official combat roles – even though they have done so unofficially for decades. In her book, Hegar takes a thrilling, humorous, and inspiring tour through her own life, showing how the same devotion to service that led her to join the military led her to fight for her fellow women in service. This story is also available in a young reader's edition for ages 13 and up, Fly Like A Girl.
Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women At Home and At War
Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women At Home and At War
Since 2001, America has been at war — and a sizeable percentage of American soldiers overseas have been women. But the life of a woman in the military, particularly on deployment, is not the same experience as that of a man. Outnumbered by the men in their units, they're simultaneously outsiders and also objects of desire; at home, they're faced with questions about why they would leave the safety of their expected roles to be soldiers. Author Helen Thorpe explores the lives of three women over twelve years in this moving examination of what it means to be a soldier girl.
