Army responds to criticism of female rangers on Facebook

The Army’s social media managers rebutted any notion that the ranger candidates were receiving preferential treatment.

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The U.S. Army this week graduates its first two female rangers. The training for this honor requires all candidates to complete a grueling course at Fort Benning that lasts more than two months.

The women who completed the course, Capt. Kristen Griest and Lt. Shay Haver, successfully ran “at least five miles several times a week, swimming for miles in a combat uniform, finishing a 15-mile march carrying a 65-pound pack, and doing an astonishing number of push-ups in two minutes,” according to Mother Jones. “Women had been historically excluded from Ranger school because it was thought they lacked the strength and stamina to complete the program.” [Sign up to get notified of upcoming conferences, workshops and webinars.]

But the historic significance didn’t stop some internet trolls from taking to the US Army Fort Benning Facebook page to voice their unfounded skepticism. Social media managers jumped on the chance to shoot down any notion of preferential treatment:

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