BILL ANALYSIS Ó
HR 30
Page 1
Date of Hearing: September 1, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES
Richard Gordon, Chair
HR 30
(Atkins) - As Introduced August 27, 2015
SUBJECT: First female graduates of the United States Army
Ranger School.
SUMMARY: Recognizes and honors the patriotism, dedication, and
perseverance of Captain Griest and First Lieutenant Haver and
the historic importance of their achievement to the advancement
of women in the Armed Forces. Specifically, this resolution
makes the following legislative findings:
1)Women have proudly served in the Armed Forces of the United
States throughout our nation's history and over the past
century, women have been gradually authorized to serve in more
advanced roles in the Armed Forces. With each milestone, from
the 1901 inception of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, to the
passage of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act of 1948,
making women a permanent part of the military, and the
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and
1993, repealing laws preventing women from flying combat
aircrafts, female soldiers have demonstrated their bravery,
their dedication, and their patriotism.
2)Despite women's advancement in the military, women have been
banned from front-line combat positions, yet in the past
HR 30
Page 2
decade of conflict, the distinction between noncombat and
combat roles have been blurred, as over 300,000 women have
been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, where 152
women have been killed, including 84 who were in hostile
action, and approximately 1,000 have been wounded.
3)In recognition of the changing reality of the modern battle
field as well as the exemplary performance of female soldiers,
in 2013, the Pentagon lifted the ban on women in combat and
gave military leaders until the end of 2015 to recommend which
jobs should remain male only.
4)This resulted in the Army opening up its elite Ranger School,
the Army's premier combat leadership course, to female
soldiers for the first time this year as a pilot program.
5)On August 21, 2015, Captain Griest and First Lieutenant Haver
became the first two female soldiers to graduate from the
Ranger School paving the way for future generations of Army
Rangers, and our nations' other elite combat forces, to
finally be selected from the ranks of all top soldiers,
regardless of gender.
6)Despite this barrier-breaking accomplishment of Captain Griest
and First Lieutenant Haver, these trailblazers, because they
are female, are not yet permitted to join Army Ranger
battalions, or to serve in the infantry or any other special
operations post, yet both have expressed their desire that the
Army end this policy.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
COMMENTS: This resolution recognizes and honors the first
HR 30
Page 3
female Soldiers to attend and graduate from the elite Army
Ranger School. Women have served in the United States' military
in some capacity since the Revolutionary War, some even going to
the extreme of disguising themselves as men so that they could
serve. The role of women in the military has also greatly
evolved in the direction of female service members serving in
more and more of the same jobs as males. This resolution honors
these Soldiers for their personal accomplishment and for their
trailblazing as the first female Soldiers to graduate from the
school. To a degree the resolution also recognizes that the
Army continues to examine whether or not it makes sense to
retain different roles, treatment, and opportunities for female
and male Soldiers. Finally, the resolution urges the Army and
the entire Department of Defense to continue to evaluate whether
the traditional roles of male and female service members should
be retained.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
HR 30
Page 4
Analysis Prepared by:Nicole Willis / RLS. / (916) 319-2800