Jaster becomes only the 3rd woman ever to do so.
By Raif Karerat
The U.S. Army has announced that Maj. Lisa Jaster, 37, has become only the third woman to ever complete the Ranger School course, a grueling endeavor that qualifies her as part of one of the military’s most elite sections.
Along with Capt. Kristen Griest, 26, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, 25, Jaster will receive the hard-earned Ranger School decoration along with 87 men during a ceremony at Fort Benning on Friday, reported the Washington Post.
The three female soldiers are the only women to pass Ranger School among 19 who attempted the course beginning in April after the Army opened it to women for the first time.
The 61-day program has been called the “toughest combat course in the world” and “is the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the Army has to offer,” according to Discovery News.
While Griest and Haver are both early in their careers and are relatively young, Jaster is also the mother of two children, an engineer who temporarily left her position with the Shell Oil Company in Houston, and is a higher-ranking officer in the Army Reserve.
At Shell, Jaster has worked on the management of brownfields — sites tainted with pollution — and managed contracts and construction, according to her LinkedIn profile.
“I just think it’s phenomenal for her to do this at that age,†Terron Sims II, a former Army captain who graduated from West Point with Jaster in 2000, told The Post. “Forget gender. Her willingness to sacrifice at that age is just phenomenal and speaks a lot about her.â€
Jaster’s family dynamics seems to compliment her physically demanding lifestyle as well.
“My husband goes on weight vest runs with me,†she remarked in an interview posted to Facebook. “My kids are actively involved in my training either as added weight for rucks or chin-ups or bike rides. Everyone in my family competes in something from Races to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and more. We are a family that ‘plays together.’â€