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CONGRESSMAN BISHOP STATEMENT REGARDING ARMY RANGER GRADUATION

August 21, 2015

COLUMBUS, GA – Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) released the following statement congratulating the graduates of the U.S. Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia:

"I would like to extend my sincerest congratulations to all the brave men and women graduating from Ranger School today! This intensely rigorous course is designed to develop a special class of leaders trained to prevail in the most arduous combat conditions. I am proud to say that for the first time in history, two women have taken their place among this extraordinary rank of soldiers.

"The Army imposes the highest of high standards on all Ranger candidates. Captain Kristen Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver met these extreme standards not in spite of their gender, but because of their personal determination and perseverance to achieve their full potential, just like any other Ranger candidate. I am confident that every single one of today's graduates will make significant contributions to helping the United States of America continue to be the most prepared and respected military force in the world."

Today, 96 students graduated from Ranger School, the Army's most rigorous training course. The first gender-integrated course began on April 20, 2015 with 381 men and 19 women. In addition to training in woods, mountains, and swamplands with minimal food and little sleep, students had to undertake an intensive and grueling physical fitness test. Captain Kristen Griest and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver are the first female soldiers to graduate from the school to date.

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