海角大神

When Maj. Lisa Jaster takes her seat in the presidential box Tuesday night for the State of the Union address, she will be representing a historic group of women who passed the Army鈥檚 grueling Ranger School last year.

It is a nod to the Obama administration鈥檚 three-year-long effort to lift the ban on women in combat. In January 2013, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the Pentagon would open all frontline jobs to women unless the services could come up with a compelling reason 鈥� backed by scientific data 鈥� why they shouldn鈥檛.

And so last year, the Army opened Ranger School to women, as an experiment. Major Jaster was one of three females to pass the course and earn her Ranger tab in Fort Benning, Ga., the heart of Army infantry country.

In September, the Army opened Ranger School permanently to all soldiers, regardless of gender.

Jaster鈥檚 journey was, in many ways, the toughest of the three women鈥檚. But the gantlet she faced 鈥� the perseverance she showed, the accomplishments she notched 鈥� underline the path ahead as women reach for military positions they were previously denied.

All the services have now recommended that women be allowed to take part in battle 鈥� except the Marine Corps, an objection that Defense Secretary Ashton Carter overrode. This month, those jobs will officially open to women, after a notification period to Congress is complete.

The other two women to earn Ranger tabs 鈥� Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver 鈥� completed the course several weeks ahead of Jaster. While those two are in their mid-20s, Jaster was 37 at the time 鈥� with two young children, ages 3 and 6.

Two months becomes 6-1/2

A West Point graduate in 2000, Jaster is an Army Corps of Engineers reservist, with a day job as an engineer at Shell Oil in Houston. She thought Ranger School would be a two-month endeavor.聽

Instead, it took 6-1/2 months to make it through a grueling course divided into three phases in the forests and mountains of northern Georgia, with final tests in the steamy and reptile-infested Florida swamps.

During that time, her resolve was tested repeatedly. After she failed the first phase, she had to persuade Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, to give her another chance.

鈥淟isa was going to be dropped 鈥� she was completely convinced that she was going to get dropped,鈥� says her husband, Allan Jaster, an officer in the Marine Corps Reserves.

鈥淐olonel Fivecoat asks, 鈥榃hy should I keep you?鈥� 鈥� he recalls. Her answer: 鈥淏ecause I can do this.鈥�

She pointed to her positive peer reviews, noting that when her squad mates wanted to pass a patrol, they would ask her to be the land navigator, an area in which she particularly excelled.聽

鈥淪ee what my squad mates are saying about my tactics,鈥� she told Fivecoat, who responded that if she could drop to the ground and give him 49 鈥渞egulation form鈥� push-ups, she could repeat the course 鈥� known as a 鈥淒ay One Recycle.鈥� She successfully did the push-ups.

Some men were offered a Day One Recycle as well. Many choose not to take it, however, since it requires repeating the grueling gantlet of physical tests that make up the first few days of Ranger School 鈥� and that force the greatest number of aspiring Rangers to drop the course.

Captain Griest and 1st Lieutenant Haver also accepted Day One Recycles, and together the three women repeated, then passed, the first phase of the school. Then it was on to the mountains. Griest and Haver passed the first time through, but Jaster did not.聽

What鈥檚 more, commanders made it clear that though they would offer some soldiers a chance to repeat the mountain phase once, they would not offer a second shot, since doing so could, they said, break a soldier鈥檚 body for life.聽

鈥淲hen Kris and Shaye moved on and I didn鈥檛, that was by far one of the hardest days of Ranger School for me,鈥� Jaster recalled at a press conference in October on the eve of her graduation from Ranger School.

鈥淚 remember Kris coming over happy, expecting me to say I was also moving on. She gave me the biggest hug and I looked at her literally with tears in my eyes saying, 鈥業鈥檓 done. I can鈥檛 do this.鈥� 鈥�

'I need to be their hero'

It was a photo of her kids, both her redheaded doppelg盲ngers, that kept her going. 鈥淚 keep a picture in my pocket where my daughter and son are both wearing superhero T-shirts,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have written across the front of the picture, 鈥業 need to be their hero.鈥� All I had to do was look at that picture and remember I didn鈥檛 come to Ranger School just because I wanted to get a piece of cloth on my shoulder,鈥� she said, referring to her Ranger tab.

Instead, she was there for a grand Army experiment, and she wanted to give it her best shot 鈥� for herself, for the women who come after her, and for the military she loves.

And so, 鈥淭here is no quitting,鈥� the CrossFit enthusiast decided. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 have quit in me.鈥�

Jaster鈥檚 Marine husband, whom she met while working out at the gym at 5 in the morning when they were both attending a career course for captains, has been her most vocal and devoted supporter.

鈥淚 know my wife 鈥� she鈥檚 probably the most physically and mentally capable person I鈥檝e ever met,鈥� he says. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 not just saying that because I love her.鈥�