That's the crux of it right there. For decades, Ranger School has been a ticket-punch-bragging-rights achievement almost exclusively for officers. In all my years in the Army, I've seen maybe a handful of enlisted guys with Ranger tabs.
At first, I was pissed that the Army was allowing females to go through the school. But the more I thought about it, I really don't care anymore.
Ranger school is squad and platoon level light infantry patrolling. That's it. All this crap about "LEADERSHIP" is just that: crap. The Army says "LEADERSHIP" about f*cking everything.
Ranger School should be for enlisted soldiers with the 11 series MOS, Cav Scouts, Forward Observers, and other enlisted guys that perform a light infantry kind of job. Why? Because it's SQUAD AND PLATOON LEVEL LIGHT INFANTRY TACTICS that are taught at Ranger School. A lot of enlisted guys can spend their entire careers at the platoon or company level.
But no..... It's been a school almost exclusively for OFFICERS for decades. Officers are well past operating at platoon level at about year 3 in the Army.
Just look at the two female graduates: one is a helicopter pilot, the other is a military cop. Why the hell does a freaking helicopter pilot need to know light infantry squad tactics?
The Army has been sending the WRONG people for the WRONG reasons to Ranger School for decades.
Follow the money.
You’re right about the “ticket-punching” but there are plenty of enlisted men that wear the tab as well, especially in the ranger regiments.