The Army announced Jan. 15 that female Soldiers will be allowed, for the first time, to attend the Army’s Ranger Course and possibly earn the coveted Ranger tab.

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Sept. 17, 2014) — In addition to senior leaders from across the Army who visited Fort Benning Sept. 8-12 for the Maneuver Warfighter Conference, attendees at the conference also had an opportunity to hear from Fort Benning’s own.

Infantry School Commandant Brig. Gen. James Rainey provided an update on the Infantry Sept. 10, while Armor School Commandant Brig. Gen. Scott McKean spoke Sept. 11.

MONTEREY, Calif., – Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Jessica L. Garfola Wright, says that the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center is the premier language provider to the Department of Defense, not only for resident instruction but also online foreign language training materials.

“When I first came here I thought, ‘well they teach just a little bit of language.’ I have had only a few hours here and I am thoroughly impressed with the in-depth quality and professionalism of what they do here,” said Wright in an interview Oct. 22.

The first pilot took place Aug. 25 to Sept. 22, Guden said. Thirty-two students started the class; 29 graduated.

Recommendations and feedback from the course will be used to refine the course curriculum, he said.

“We’ll listen to what the students have to say, we’ll listen to what the field has to say,” Guden said. “We’ll do our best to incorporate that to make the course the best possible course we can.”

Fort Benning officials cleared a hurdle last week with the selection of 31 female soldiers to serve as observers and advisers for a possible one-time Ranger School Assessment that would include female Ranger candidates training alongside male soldiers.

A decision on whether to move forward with the integrated assessment is expected in January.