On Friday, the Army announced that these women, along with 125 men, successfully passed the second phase of Ranger school – the mountain phase – in the north Georgia mountains. For the rest of the students, their next stop, starting Sunday, will be Camp Rudder at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where they will begin jungle training, the final step in their efforts to earn a Ranger tab. One of these women and 60 men will now be offered the opportunity to recycle, or repeat, the mountain phase of the training. All three women began the Mountain Phase on July 11 alongside 156 male students who also were attempting it for the first time, and 42 men who already were training in the mountains, but failed to pass there the first time. [Earlier coverage: Ranger School’s assessment of women has moved to the mountains, but scrutiny remains] 
 
 “The Ranger students, both male and female, are two-thirds of the way done with Ranger School,” Col. David Fivecoat, the commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, said of the those who passed. “I was very impressed with the students’ toughness at leading platoon-sized patrols in the North Georgia Mountains during this extremely hot summer,” he said in a statement issued by the Ranger School. The coastal swamps of Florida will continue to test the students — only the best will be successful and earn the Ranger Tab.” 
 
 The women are attending for the first time as part of an ongoing assessment by the military about how it should better integrate women into combat roles in the military. Coming into the mountain phase, three of the 19 women who originally began Ranger School back in April were still at Ranger School. If they pass, the women would not serve as Rangers, but would instead earn the tab, which could offer them additional credibility with fellow soldiers. ​ 
 
 It will include 17 days of “extended platoon level operations” in the “costal swamp environment” near Valparaiso, Fla. During this time, there will be two jumps for those soldiers who are airborne-qualified. It includes two airborne jumps from aircraft, four days of waterborne operations, a 10-day field training exercise with students leading patrols and two administrative days in which students are counseled on their performance. In February 1995, four soldiers died during swamp training, due to “severely lowered body temperatures” after conducting military exercises, including building rope bridges, in chest-deep water for an extended period of time. All of these students have demonstrated “grit, refusal to quit, tactical competence, and perhaps most importantly, teamwork while under extreme individual conditions,” said Maj. Gen. Scott Miller, commander of the Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Ga.
– Two women tomorrow will begin a grueling 17-day stretch in the swamps of Florida, and if they make it out OK, they'll become the first females to earn an Army Ranger title. The pair have advanced to the final stage of the Ranger school, having gotten through the arduous second phase in the mountains of Georgia, reports the Christian Science Monitor. They'll be vying for the honor along with 125 men. A third woman will get a second chance to take the mountain course over again, as will 60 men who also failed on the first try. "The coastal swamps of Florida will continue to test the students," says Col. David Fivecoat. "Only the best will be successful and earn the Ranger Tab.” One caveat: If the women earn the tab, they won't actually get to serve as Rangers and go on special ops missions. But the Washington Post notes that many male soldiers also earn the tab and go on to serve in roles outside the Rangers.