Kristen Marie Griest | |
---|---|
Born | October 2, 1989 |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army Infantry |
Years of service | 2011–present |
Rank | Major |
Commands held | Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment |
Awards | Ranger |
Kristen Marie Griest (born October 2, 1989) is one of the two first women, along with Shaye Lynne Haver, to graduate from the United States Army Ranger School, which occurred on 21 August 2015. [1] [2] [3] Griest and Haver were ranked 34th on Fortune magazine's 2016 list of the World's Greatest Leaders. [4] In April 2016, Griest became the first female infantry officer in the US Army when the Army approved her request to transfer there from a military police unit. [5]
Griest attended Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, Connecticut, where she ran cross country and track. [6] She graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2011 with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Relations. In 2022, she earned a Master's degree in Socio-Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.
Griest graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2011 and commissioned into the Military Police branch of the U.S. Army. [7] [6] She served as a Platoon Leader in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (AASLT) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, from 2011 to 2014, including a deployment to Afghanistan [6] in 2013. [8]
Griest began Ranger training in the spring of 2015 as part of a one-time pilot program to see how women would do in Ranger School. She started the course with 380 men and 19 other women, marking the first time women have ever been allowed to participate through the course. 99 men and 2 women graduated from this starting pool. The third woman repeated the mountain phase. The three of them began training with Ranger Class 08–15. Haver and Griest failed the first phase of the course twice, though their performance impressed Ranger leaders enough to be offered a chance to start over from day one, commonly referred to as a "Day 01" recycle. They admitted to press that it was hard to start over, but said they weren't going to quit. "We decided right then and there that if that was what it was going to take to get our Tab, that's what it was going to take," Haver said. [9] School officials report that in addition to Haver and Griest, five male candidates were also offered to start over the course from day one; one in four candidates completed Ranger school without a recycle. [9]
Upon graduating Ranger School, Haver remarked, "It's pretty cool that they have accepted (Griest and Haver). We ourselves came to Ranger School skeptical, with our guards up, just in case there were haters and naysayers. But we didn't come with a chip on our shoulder like we had anything to prove. Becoming one of the teammates—that we could be trusted just like everyone else—whether it was on patrol or to carry something heavy or whatever—it was that every single time we accomplished something it gave us an extra foothold in being part of a team. I can say that without a doubt that the team that I am graduating with tomorrow accept me completely as a Ranger, and I couldn't be more proud and humbled by the experience." Griest made a statement agreeing with this sentiment, saying, "My main concern in coming to Ranger School was I might not be able to carry as much weight or not be able to meet up to the same standard," she said. "I tried to do as much as I could, and I saw everybody else helping each other out and you just try to be the best teammate that you can." [9]
At that time, women were not allowed to serve in Ranger/Infantry roles due to the Pentagon's exclusion policies on women in combat. That policy changed on 3 December 2015 when Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced the United States military would open combat positions to women with no exception. [10]
Upon graduating from the Maneuver Captains Career Course (MCCC), she took command of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment on April 7, 2017. [5] She deployed to Afghanistan in 2019. [11] As of April 2022, Griest was a student at Columbia University, where she was pursuing a master’s degree in Socio-Organizational Psychology, with plans for a follow-on assignment as a West Point Tactical Officer. [11] [12] She was promoted to major in May 2022. [13]
In 2018, CPT Griest was inducted into the United States Army Women's Foundation Hall of Fame. [14]
Griest's name has been used fraudulently on phishing email messages unconnected with her, both dating scams and financial scams about billions of United States dollars missing in Iraq. [15] [16]
The United States Army Rangers are elite U.S. Army personnel who have served in any unit which has held the official designation of "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the Ranger School, even if they have never served in a "Ranger" unit; the vast majority of Ranger school graduates never serve in Ranger units and are considered "Ranger qualified".
The 75th Ranger Regiment, also known as the Army Rangers, is the premier light infantry and direct-action raid force of the United States Army Special Operations Command. The 75th Ranger Regiment is also part of Joint Special Operations Command via the Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC). The regiment is headquartered at Fort Moore, Georgia and is composed of a regimental headquarters company, a military intelligence battalion, a special troops battalion, and three Ranger battalions.
The Ranger School is a 62-day United States Army small unit tactics and leadership course that develops functional skills directly related to units whose mission is to engage the enemy in close combat and direct fire battles. Ranger training was established in September 1950 at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Ranger course has changed little since its inception. Until recently, it was an eight-week course divided into three phases. The course is now 61 days in duration and divided into three phases as follows: Benning Phase, Mountain Phase, and Swamp Phase.
The United States Army's Officer Candidate School (OCS) is an officer candidate school located at Fort Moore, Georgia, that trains, assesses, and evaluates potential commissioned officers of the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. Officer candidates are former enlisted members, warrant officers, inter-service transfers, or civilian college graduates who enlist for the "OCS Option" after they complete Basic Combat Training (BCT). The latter are often referred to as college ops.
Women have been serving in the military since the inception of organized warfare, in both combat and non-combat roles. Their inclusion in combat missions has increased in recent decades, often serving as pilots, mechanics, and infantry officers.
Women in combat refers to female military personnel assigned to combat positions. The role of women in the military has varied across the world’s major countries throughout history with several views for and against women in combat. Over time countries have generally become more accepting of women fulfilling combat roles.
This list is about women in warfare and the military from 1945 to 1999, worldwide.
This article is about women in warfare and the military (2000–present) throughout the world outside the United States. For women in warfare and the military in the United States since 2000, please see: Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2000–2010 and Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2011–present.
In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms, displaying a word or words signifying a special skill. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's shoulder sleeve insignia (SSI) and are used to identify a unit's or a soldier's special skill(s) or are worn as part of a unit's SSI as part of its unique heritage. Individual tabs are also worn as small metal arches above or below medals or ribbons on dress uniforms.
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Ground Intelligence Officer is a primary military occupation code of a U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer. Ground intelligence officers serve as staff officers and commanders in the operating forces and are responsible for analyzing intelligence and planning, deployment and tactical employment of ground surveillance and reconnaissance units. The Ground Intelligence Officer can be a Recon Marine after their training is done.
Griest is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Women in the Pakistan Armed Forces are the female officers who serve in the Pakistan Armed Forces. Women have been taking part in Pakistani military since 1947, after the establishment of Pakistan. In 2006, the first women fighter pilot batch joined the combat aerial mission command of PAF. The Pakistan Navy prohibits women from serving in the combat branch. Rather, they are appointed and serve in operations involving military logistics, staff and senior administrative offices, particularly in the regional and central headquarters. There was a rise in the number of women applying for the combat branch of PAF in 2013.
There have been women in the United States Army since the Revolutionary War, and women continue to serve in it today. As of 2020, there were 74,592 total women on active duty in the US Army, with 16,987 serving as officers and 57,605 enlisted. While the Army has the highest number of total active duty members, the ratio of women-men is lower than the US Air Force and the US Navy, with women making up 15.5% of total active duty Army in 2020.
There have been women in the United States Marine Corps since 1918, and women continue to serve in the Corps today.
Shaye Lynne Haver is one of the two first women, along with CPT Kristen Griest, to ever graduate from the US Army Ranger School, which took place on 21 August 2015. Haver and Griest were ranked 34th on Fortune magazine's 2016 list of the World's Greatest Leaders.
This article lists events involving Women in warfare and the military in the United States since 2011. For the previous decade, see Timeline of women in warfare and the military in the United States, 2000–2010.
Lisa Jaster is a United States Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and engineer officer who was the first female reserve soldier to graduate from the Army's Ranger School. She completed the training, which as many as 60 percent of students fail within the first four days, after "recycling" through, or retrying, several phases of the multi-locational course. Due to being recycled, she was at the school for six months; the school takes a minimum of 61 days and includes up to 20 hours of training per day alongside a strict diet. She graduated at age 37, while the average trainee age is 23.
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