Psychological and Sociological Profile of Women Who Have Completed Elite Military Combat Training

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221076555
• Author: William J. Tharion,Karl E. Friedl,Elizabeth M. Lavoie,Leila A. Walker,Susan M. McGraw,Holly L. McClung
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221076555

Armed Forces & Society

2023, Vol. 49(3) 612 –641

© The Author(s) 2022

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221076555

journals.sagepub.com/home/afs

Article

Psychological and

Sociological Profile of

Women Who Have

Completed Elite Military

Combat Training

William J. Tharion1, Karl E. Friedl1,

Elizabeth M. Lavoie1,*, Leila A. Walker2,**,

Susan M. McGraw2, and Holly L. McClung1

Abstract

More than 75 women have successfully graduated from the U.S. Army Ranger

Course since the integration of women into elite military combat training. This study

sought to identify the psychological characteristics and sociological variables that

contributed to their motivation and success. A guided interview and demographic

and psychological questionnaires were used to assess characteristics of 13 women

who successfully completed elite military combat training. Collectively, these women

were college graduates and had well educated fathers, possessed high levels of grit

and resiliency, and described themselves as self-competitive challenge seekers. These

women all had a strong male influence in their lives. The characteristics of these

pioneer women may be unique from subsequent cohorts as female participation in

elite military combat training becomes the norm and as attitudes and experiences

change for graduates of female combat training over time.

1Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine,

Natick, MA, USA

2Military Nutrition Division, US Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, USA

*This author is now affiliated to Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Oak Ridge,

TN, USA

**This author is now affiliated to Military Performance Division, US Army Research Institute of

Environmental Medicine, Natick, MA, USA

Corresponding Author:

William J. Tharion, Biophysics and Biomedical Modeling Division, U.S. Army Research Institute of

Environmental Medicine, Building 42, 10 General Greene Avenue, Natick, MA 01760, USA.

Email: william.j.tharion.civ@mail.mil

1076555AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X221076555Tharion et al.

research-article2022

Tharion et al. 613

Keywords

women pioneers, grit, male support, gender, military

Understanding the psychosocial characteristics of the first women to successfully

complete physically demanding elite military combat training is important in defin-

ing factors for successful integration of women into combat roles. It can be argued

that these women are pioneers with challenges similar to the first female astronaut

candidates (Ryan et al., 2009), the first graduates of the US Army Military Academy

(West Point) (O’Connor, 2020), and some of the first women in science, technology,

engineering, and math (STEM) (Klinman et al., 2021). Are they exceptional for their

pioneering spirit of rising to the challenge of being the first, or are they exceptional

as an elite group, accomplishing something that other women cannot or will not be

motivated to attempt? We sought to determine what motivated these women to pur-

sue these challenging trainings, and what enabled them to be successful.

Elite military combat training provides opportunities to learn and test an individ-

ual’s physical, cognitive, and psychological capabilities required to meet these

unique challenges of being an elite combat Warfighter. Ranger training and other

elite military combat training teach small unit leadership skills which include self-

awareness under stress. Leadership on the battlefield necessitates proper combat

readiness training such as provided by the elite military combat training schools like

the U.S. Army Ranger School, U.S. Army Special Forces Assessment School (SFAS),

U.S. Marine Infantry Officer Course (IOC), and the U.S. Navy Sea, Air, and Land

(SEAL) training. With the combat exclusionary rule lifted (Tilghman, 2015), women

seeking to lead in combat, need to obtain the skills and credentials these combat

training schools/courses provide. These schools/courses are difficult for both men

and women alike. Prior studies have examined the psychological attributes success-

ful male graduates in elite combat training possess (Everly et al., 2012). However,

because this training was not open to women, this research could not be done.

Within the last 5 years, more than 75 women have successfully completed these

schools/courses (Swick & Moore, 2018). Studying the attributes these first few grad-

uates possess enables a glimpse into better understanding the psychological charac-

teristics and sociological dynamics important to becoming an elite female combat

Warfighter. A review of key components of ground-breaking women from other

fields (e.g., medicine, politics, entertainment, science, space exploration, etc.)

enables some insights into understanding these elite female Warfighters.

The impact of the feminist movement has been examined in detail from defining

the term, originating in France in the late 1800s, to what components comprise femi-

nism (Freedman, 2002). Freedman (2002) stated there are four components: equal

worth, male privilege, social movements, and intersecting hierarchies. It can be

argued, that the quest for rights by the common people during the American and

French Revolutions illustrated that if people were to be free from status imposed by

aristocrat rule, then that should include women as well as men (Freedman, 2002). In

1837, the first women were admitted to colleges or universities in the United States