S 14 PHOTO BY STAFF SGT. HAILEY HAUX/AIR FORCE taff Sgt. Jessica Smiley joined the Army at a time when women were barred from holding combat jobs and participating in elite training, like Ranger School. But a lot has changed in the 13 years since she first enlisted, and this past December, Smiley became one of the first enlisted female National Guard soldiers to earn the coveted Ranger tab. Smiley and fellow soldier Sgt. Danielle Farber join the ranks of dozens of women who now wear the signature black-and-gold Ranger tab after completing the grueling course designed to develop combat leaders and prepare them for special missions. “I’ve always tried to push myself to not only meet the standard but to exceed it,” said Smiley, a military police officer in the South Carolina National Guard, “not just for myself, but to the benefit of the soldiers beneath and beside me.” The path for the enlisted Guard duo was paved in 2015 by Army 1st Lt. Shaye Haver and Capt. Kristen Griest—the first of their gender to graduate the formidable 61-day course. The first female Army officer reported to the 75th Ranger Regiment two years later. Then, in 2018, the first enlisted female soldier, Staff Sgt. Amanda Kelley, received her tab. To prepare for Ranger School, Smiley underwent an intense 18-month physical fitness regimen, incorporating ruck marches, running and weightlifting into her routine. And laying the groundwork paid off, as Smiley found herself shoulder to shoulder with the other graduating Rangers at a life-changing ceremony near Victory Pond at Fort Benning, Ga. Army Sgt. Danielle Farber (left), Pennsylvania National Guard 166th Regional Training Institute Medical Battalion Training Site instructor, and Army Staff Sgt. Jessica Smiley, South Carolina National Guard military police noncommissioned officer currently serving with the Army Training and Doctrine Command, graduated Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Ga., Dec. 13, 2019, as the first National Guard enlisted women to complete the leadership school. Smiley and Farber completed the mentally and physically challenging course, which focused on squad and platoon operations designed to prepare soldiers to be better trained, more capable and more resilient leaders. (Photo by Sgt. Brian Calhoun/Army National Guard) The monthslong course, however, took a toll. The allure of a good night’s sleep and hot meal was tempting, particularly so when scaling the arduous and unforgiving north Georgia mountains carrying a pack weighing anywhere from 65 to 90 pounds. “There were several times I thought about quitting, but then I told myself I’d quit the next morning,” Smiley said. “It was a time where I could just quit, and I’d receive no repercussions, because I didn’t ‘need’ the school.” But each time, when morning’s first light came, she returned to the task at hand, and the thought of quitting withered away. DAV MAGAZINE | MARCH/APRIL 2020 | DAV.ORG