Texas woman’s family proud of Ranger grad
Lieutenant from Copperas Cove follows dad’s steps as chopper pilot
SAVANNAH, Ga. — An Apache helicopter pilot from Texas and a military police officer from Connecticut are the first women to complete the Army’s grueling Ranger School, families of the soldiers confirmed Wednesday.
Capt. Kristen Griest of Orange, Conn., and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver of Copperas Cove were scheduled to graduate Friday alongside 94 male soldiers at Fort Benning, Ga.
In a joint statement Wednesday, the families of 26-year-old Griest and 25-year-old Haver said the women were “just like all the soldiers” in their graduating class: “happy, relieved, and ready for some good food and sleep.”
The two-month Ranger course tests soldiers’ ability to overcome fatigue, hunger and stress during combat operations. The Army opened Ranger School to female soldiers for the first time this year as part of the military’s push to open more combat jobs to women.
“It’s just completely amazing,” Chris Haver, Haver’s father, told The Associated Press. “I’m super proud. I know a lot of guys that have been through it and tell me how hard the course is. They tell me it’s the toughest, most mentally demanding course they’ve been to.”
The Army has not released the names of the two women.
Chris Haver confirmed to The AP that his daughter was one of the Ranger School graduates. Griest’s parents did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment. But a defense official confirmed that Griest, a military police officer who has served in Afghanistan, was the second woman to finish the course. The official was not authorized to disclose the name publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Both women are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Haver followed in her
father’s footsteps when she became a pilot of attack helicopters. He said he also served as a career Army aviator who flew Apaches.
Haver’s father said she’s always been mentally tough and incredibly physically fit. He said she has run marathons and was a member of the triathlon team at West Point.
“She’s kind of built for this thing,” Chris Haver said.
While the graduating female soldiers have earned the coveted black-and-gold Ranger tab to wear on their uniforms, for now they’re still unable to join the elite 75th Ranger Regiment based at Fort Benning.
The Copperas Herald, Haver’s hometown newspaper, reported that while a student at Cove High, Haver played soccer, earning a spot on the women’s varsity team as a freshman, and ran cross-country track.
She was also a leader in the school’s JROTC program, where the paper reported the instructor, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Enrique Herrera, said he still remembers the day Haver walked into his office as a freshman.
“I knew at that moment that three years down the road she was going to become my battalion commander, and of course, she became my battalion commander. I have got nothing but praise for that young lady,” Herrera said.