Woman Reservist Now |an Elite Army Ranger

(CN) - The third female in history to graduate from the elite U.S. Army Ranger School and the first female from the Army Reserve, graduated at Ft. Stewart, Ga.

U.S. Army Maj. Lisa Jaster was the last standing female in the original, unprecedented group of nineteen women who began Army Ranger School in April.

Jaster graduated alongside 87 men last Friday. She joins Capt. Kristen Griest, 26, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, 25, who earned the Ranger tab on Aug. 21, as the first generation of women to wear the Ranger tab.

It has still not yet been determined by the Department of Defense whether or not females will be able to serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment, a Special Operations strike force, which is currently closed to women.

Ranger School, run by the U.S. Army, is the Army's premier small unit tactics and leadership school, which pushes students to their mental and physical limits with the grueling 62-day course. On little sleep and nourishment, students learn how to operate in three different environments, including woodlands in Ft. Benning, mountainous terrain in Dahlonega, Georgia, and coastal swamp in Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Jaster, a West Point graduate, currently is an engineer for Shell Oil Co. and a 37 year-old mother of two. According to Army officials, the average age of a Ranger School student is 23 years old.

"The Army Reserve couldn't be more proud of this outstanding Soldier, and I know Shell Corporation, her civilian employer we share her with, is equally proud to have her in their organization," Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, said in a statement.

Jaster has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and earned the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge. In addition to Ranger School, she is a graduate of the Army's Airborne and Air Assault schools.

Jaster's manager at Shell Oil, Hans Hofland, said in a statement, "We are very proud of Lisa and her ability to achieve such an extremely demanding goal."

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