Bill Text: CA AR30 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Relative to the first female graduates of the United States Army Ranger School.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 46-23-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-09-02 - Read. Amended. Adopted. (Page 2778.). [AR30 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AR30-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: HR 30	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 2, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Atkins
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Eggman, Cristina Garcia,  and
Irwin   Irwin,   Achadjian,   Alejo,
  Travis Allen,   Baker,   Bigelow, 
 Bloom,   Brough,   Brown,   Burke,
  Calderon,   Campos,   Chang,  
Chau,   Chávez,   Chiu,   Chu,  
Cooper,   Dababneh,   Dahle,   Daly, 
 Dodd,   Frazier,   Beth Gaines,  
Gallagher,   Eduardo Garcia,   Gatto,  
Gipson,   Gordon,   Grove,   Hadley, 
 Roger Hernández,   Holden,   Jones, 
 Jones-Sawyer,   Kim,  Lackey,  
Levine,   Linder,   Lopez,   Low, 
 Maienschein,   Mathis,   Mayes,  
McCarty,   Medina,   Melendez,   Mullin,
  Nazarian,   Obernolte,   O'Donnell,
  Olsen,   Patterson,   Perea,  
Quirk,   Rendon,   Rodriguez,   Salas,
  Santiago,   Mark Stone,   Thurmond,
  Ting,   Wagner,   Weber,  
Wilk,   Williams,   and Wood  )

                        AUGUST 27, 2015

   Relative to the first female graduates of the United States Army
Ranger School.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
             HOUSE OR SENATE RESOLUTIONS DO NOT CONTAIN A DIGEST



   WHEREAS, Women have proudly served in the Armed Forces of the
United States (Armed Forces) throughout our nation's history; and
   WHEREAS, Over the past century, women have been gradually
authorized to serve in more advanced roles in the Armed Forces, and,
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; and
   WHEREAS, Despite women's advancement in the military, women have
been banned from front-line combat positions, and yet, in the past
decade of conflict, the distinction between noncombat and combat
roles has blurred, as over 300,000 women have been deployed to Iraq
and Afghanistan since 2001, where 152 women in uniform have been
killed, including 84 who were in hostile action, and approximately
1,000 have been wounded; and
   WHEREAS, 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; and
   WHEREAS, As a result, the Army opened 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; and
   WHEREAS, 19 female and 380 male soldiers began the course, and
included within this group were Captain Kristen Griest, a military
police platoon leader who has served one tour of duty in Afghanistan,
and First Lieutenant Shaye Haver, an Apache helicopter pilot, both
graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point; and
   WHEREAS, The grueling Ranger School identifies and trains one of
our nation's elite combat forces, focusing on military skills,
endurance, and survival techniques, and exposing candidates to
extreme mental and physical stress; and
   WHEREAS, Although, for the first time, both male and female
soldiers were part of the Ranger School class, the same standards for
successful completion of the Ranger School were required of all
soldiers, regardless of gender; and
   WHEREAS, Captain Griest and First Lieutenant Haver successfully
completed the Ranger course with 94 other Ranger candidates; and
   WHEREAS, 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 nation's other elite combat forces, to finally be selected
from the ranks of all top soldiers, regardless of gender; and
   WHEREAS, 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; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the
Assembly urges the Pentagon to allow Captain Griest, First Lieutenant
Haver, and any other qualified female soldier to serve in the Army
Rangers and other combat units of the armed services; and be it
further
   Resolved, That the Assembly 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;
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.