National

Turning point: How 3 women changed Ranger School forever

Maj. Lisa Jaster, center, reunites with Capt. Kristen Griest, left, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver after Ranger School graduation ceremonies in October at Victory Pond on Fort Benning. Jaster entered Ranger training 180 days ago with Griest and Haver, who were the first two women to graduate from Ranger School during ceremonies on Aug. 21, 2015.
Maj. Lisa Jaster, center, reunites with Capt. Kristen Griest, left, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver after Ranger School graduation ceremonies in October at Victory Pond on Fort Benning. Jaster entered Ranger training 180 days ago with Griest and Haver, who were the first two women to graduate from Ranger School during ceremonies on Aug. 21, 2015.

The world now knows that Capt. Kristen Griest, 26, 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, 25, and Maj. Lisa Jaster, 37 at the time, were given another chance, and that all three would eventually receive Ranger tabs. Two male soldiers were also granted a Day 1 recycle but declined the invitation. Many more men would later return to the course after months of recovery and preparation.

Despite plenty of media attention, the public still knows little about why the women attended Ranger School in the first place, or how they made it through.

Though they’ve stayed out of the spotlight since achieving their historic feat, each woman recently conducted an exclusive interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, sharing her motivation, struggles and perspective from the journey.

This is their story.

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Turning point: How 3 women changed Ranger School forever."

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