Specialist Tinita Taylor is the U.S. Army’s first female to complete the Jungle OPS school. Is this the right direction for females?

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 12:55:45 -0400

Specialist Tinita Taylor is the U.S. Army’s first female to complete the Jungle Operations Training Course as an infantryman — and now she has her sights set on Ranger School.
“I wanted to prove to the men that I can do what they can do,” said the soldier from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, the U.S. Army reported June 6. She completed the course June 2.
The soldier told Army reporters that the hardest part about completing the course was staying mentally focused at all times.
“I had to keep reminding myself ‘mind over matter’; my head and body had to work together to finish this,” she said. “By completing this course, I feel I am halfway to being that warrior princess I want to be,” she added.
The soldier, who has only been enlisted for three years, now has her sights set on Air Assault School and Ranger School, the Army reported.
“My goal is to be the first female soldier to complete Ranger School,” said Spc. Taylor.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/10/first-female-completes-armys-jungle-training-infan/#ixzz34j9MWEGa

First female completes Army’s jungle training as infantryman; ‘warrior princess’ eyes Ranger...

Specialist Tinita Taylor is the U.S. Army’s first female to complete the Jungle Operations Training Course as an infantryman — and now she has her sights set on Ranger School.

Response by SSG Ed Mikus made Jun 15 at 2014 1:01 PM

SSG Ed Mikus — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:01:14 -0400

Right direction yes! Are we going about it the right way, maybe not. I think we need to look back into our history books and review past integration the military has made, what did we do right and wrong when we brought females into the service in the first place? What about when we put blacks in the regular units? I'm sure there are lessons to be learned there but we want to forget that and move on like this is a new beginning when it is just another step in a staircase our fore fathers built.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 15 at 2014 1:18 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:18:37 -0400

Way to go SPC Taylor! Clearly, the Army is moving in the direction by ending gender discrimination. Train as you fight, and women have been fighting in battles alongside men (even more so in the past decade+ of war).

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 15 at 2014 1:34 PM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 13:34:45 -0400

Equal opportunity she wants, equal opportunity she gets. Just as long as the mission is unwavering due to her performance. So would hate to see this turn into another democratic dogma that would, once again, get in the way of mission. Like it did in GI Jane

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2014 5:13 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 05:13:43 -0400

Good for her, my only concern is that the system wont change fast enough for her to be able to.
Hope she gets it

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2014 10:24 AM

PO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:24:33 -0400

I have a great respect and admiration for this accomplishment. I'll raise her up and what she stood for any day over someone who's 'openly gay' and also supposedly trying to 'move up' among the ranks

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2014 1:15 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:15:38 -0400

More power to her. If they've already incorporated females into Sapper School, then its just a matter of time before other school follow the suit. Hope she kills it at Ranger School

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2014 1:55 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:55:53 -0400

I think its great! She went out there and did work! Its an achievement! I believe that if she keeps the same grit and determination, she'll achieve her goals!

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Jun 16 at 2014 4:08 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 16:08:37 -0400

I think it's great that she graduated the course, but I'm not sure why they focused on her gender. It almost seems condescending to me. Because she's female, it's more of an accomplishment? Why? Does the author think that women are less capable than men? If yes, than shame on them. If not, then what makes it any different from the tons of other graduates?

Stuff like this is why sexism perpetuates. She is recieving special attention because of her plumbing, which is contrary to every value we hold dear regarding equal and fair treatment for all. Things like gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation should never be even mentioned, much less treated as an accomplishment or hindrance.

We might as well run an article on the first left handed asian with a size 12 foot and a high and tight to pass the course.. We are all Soldiers. Nothing more.

Response by WO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 16 at 2014 5:29 PM

WO1 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 17:29:53 -0400

First and foremost, congratulations on completing the JOTC. This is definitely an accomplishment every soldier who meets/exceeds the standards should be proud of. This shows, as stated, that women are just as capable as males. That being said, should the standards not reflect this? Should the Army discriminate against females by not holding them to the same criterion set for males? As we integrate women throughout our ranks, we must ensure that they are given equal opportunity to compete at the same level as men.

Response by SSG Mike Angelo made Jul 5 at 2014 7:41 PM

SSG Mike Angelo — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 19:41:27 -0400

Congratulations!!

Response by CMDCM Gene Treants made Jul 5 at 2014 11:40 PM

CMDCM Gene Treants — Sat, 05 Jul 2014 23:40:45 -0400

Well done. Now the race is on to see if the Army gets its first female Ranger before the Navy trains its first Navy SEAL. Best of luck in achieving your goals, all of them!

Response by COL Roxanne Arndt made Jul 6 at 2014 12:49 PM

COL Roxanne Arndt — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 12:49:22 -0400

Good for her!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 11 at 2014 10:39 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 11 Oct 2014 22:39:45 -0400

I mean the following with all respect. I'm sure many of you have the Panama Jungle School in mind but it's not quite the same these days. I went through JOTC as part of the most recent class (we started 15SEP and finished early OCT). I have some perspective on "suck schools" as I graduated Ranger School as part of class 1-14.

First point- JOTC is not a suck school. It is not difficult physically or mentally. Phase I is 10 days of instruction which ends at 1700, and then it's up to your unit to feed you and put you down for the evening in a patrol base which does not get probed by OPFOR and generally just turns into a gypsy camp. After the 10 days you have one and a half days of actual missions, which consist of a long movement with the occasional contact from OPFOR culminating in one raid on the 12th day. You then get the weekend off and return for Phase II, which is 100% unit planned and ran and it can get pretty tough- if rucking 5-6 km around East Range with a ruck that's as heavy or light as you want it to be (unit dependent- if they give you a crazy packing list, it'll be heavy, but we're smart scouts and know that 5 days doesn't justify a heavy ruck) is considered tough.

Second point- graduation standards. For 3rd BDE, when they went through, there were no standards. As long as you didn't quit, you graduated. When we went through they implemented a day of testing on day 6, which tested us on one rope bridge, Z-pulley, knots, 292 antenna, poncho and ruck raft, and a written test. There were re-tests the next day for anyone who failed on day 1. No one failed the re-tests. So again, essentially no attrition (except the injured). The only people who get "tested" on leadership are the people who are already leaders (PL's, team leaders, PSGs, etc.).

Third point- the idea that this young SPC could make it through Ranger School is laughable at best, sadly delusional at worst. Nothing at JOTC prepares you for Hawaii's PRP, much less Ranger School itself (Hawaii's PRP is considered one of the toughest in the Army. Well-seasoned ruckers often fail the 12 mile there; it's common for only a handful out of 20-30 to pass it).

Having said all that, there's no doubt that JOTC offers excellent training. I know I and my guys learned a lot of great stuff going through it. But that's all it is- a teaching environment where your dorm room at night happens to be the always-wet East Range. Getting rained on for < 3 weeks does not a Ranger or Jungle Expert make. Graduating from the course (in its present form, before TRADOC takes it over and makes it another Ranger-wannabe course) is not a particularly laudable accomplishment, it's just another field problem with a focus on Jungle tactics. It's great that she didn't quit, but how that warrants articles, praise and an interview baffles me.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 4 at 2015 7:24 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 19:24:17 -0400

I do not think that combat is the right direction for females. Ok, call me names, whatever you like, I'm used to it. It's the Army. I didn't say I'm not brave though. Brave enough to answer this question with candor, not political correctness. Females are different than males physically. We want to WIN wars and keep our country safe. We need to do what is right and reserve the combat roles for men only.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 4 at 2015 9:56 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 04 Oct 2015 21:56:54 -0400

We need to be smart about this. Not every woman can do what men do on a regular basis.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 5 at 2015 1:08 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 13:08:42 -0400

Let them pursue their dreams, but don't give out free passes for combat slots.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Nov 17 at 2015 4:25 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 16:25:41 -0500

Yes as long as standards are met. Let them reach for the stars.

Response by MAJ Alvin B. made Nov 17 at 2015 8:11 PM

MAJ Alvin B. — Tue, 17 Nov 2015 20:11:56 -0500

Absolutely. Set the standard, accept all comers, award success. Gender should not be an issue. Airborne school, Apache pilot, Air Assult, thee stars, four stars, service secretary, when are we going to stop asking if it is appropriate for a women?!
I look forward to the day when we finally "get it," and the headline finally reads X Soldiers graduate and gender is not the topic.