Captain Kristen Griest, one of the first women to graduate U.S. Army Ranger School, has been assigned to the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, according to Army officials. The Army granted Griest’s request to transfer from the military police to the infantry branch April 25. Griest recently completed the Maneuver Captains Career Course at Benning, a requirement for infantry and armor officers to command front-line fighting companies.
For now, Griest will be assigned to the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade until she gets a permanent assignment to an infantry unit, which will likely come sometime next year when the other female armor and infantry officers get their assignments to combat units, according to Army spokesman Col. Patrick Seiber. "She is in an infantry officer assignment at Fort Benning, awaiting follow-on orders to an infantry unit next year," Seiber said.
The 27-year-old West Point graduate made history in 2015 by becoming one of three women to earn the coveted Ranger Tab after completing the grueling, two-month infantry leadership course. In April 2015, she was among 19 female soldiers approved to attend Ranger School as part of a pilot program to help the Army determine whether it could safely open front-line combat jobs to women. Griest, alongside 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, an Apache pilot and fellow West Point graduate, made history in August when they became the Army's first women to complete Ranger School. Two months later, a third West Point graduate, Maj. Lisa Jaster, also completed the course. Read More