30-year-old American Captain Shaina Coss is the first woman to lead US elite Army Rangers on a mission of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Afghanistan in 2019. 

Shaina Coss graduated from the Military Academy at West Point and then completed Army Ranger School, one of the most difficult, demanding schools of the US Army. Subsequently, she continued her duties in the 82nd Airborne Division where she led an infantry rifle platoon. She applied to be part of the selected 75th Ranger Regiment and successfully completed the demanding Rangers Assessment and Selection Program (RASP).   

During a mission in Afghanistan, under the command of the 75th Ranger Regiment, Shaina Coss became the first woman to lead an elite team in combat. Regarding the debate over whether women should be pushed to the same limits as men or whether there should be separate limits so that more women join special units, Shaina Coss argued that women and men should be treated equally, no matter how difficult it may be.

The issue of the two sexes’ limits is a major topic of discussion in the US military. In a recent paper at West Point, Infantry Captain Kristen Griest argued that the implementation of lower limits for women would adversely affect both the effectiveness of the units and the women in the military themselves. 

With information from: US Army, Military.com

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