Watching the Army Ranger instructors handle snakes and alligators — just inches away from tour group members sitting in the front row of the auditorium — made some shiver, while others reached out to touch the scaly creatures.

Later, while approaching Ranger students in live training exercises wading through the lake on a thin rope, fully dressed in uniform and carrying full backpacks, some with additional weapons gear, widened the eyes of everyone in the tour group.

"They train them here, they go and take the combat to the bad guys, and they're here to protect you."

After introductions, a safety briefing, and a demonstration that included various venomous and nonvenomous snakes and alligators, the tour group was taken to two main camp areas to observe a live class of Army Ranger students. Those areas included Pine Bluff Lake, where waterborne exercises take place, and the gun range.

During the briefing, the group learned that all three phases consist of exercises the students have to execute on zero to four hours of sleep, resulting in sleep deprivation, and they burn nearly 2,000 calories a day.

All this while carrying a 65- to 90-pound rucksack, a backpack in its simplest form, full of essentials.

"I came to Ranger School weighing 183 back in 1996. I came back weighing 156," said Lt. Col. Marcus Wildy, one of the tour facilitators. "That's just how much we burn calories here in Ranger School."

It was easy to see the guys were tired, but the group of about 20 students waded back and forth in the cold swamp water, assisting each other to the shore.

In February 1995, four students died during exercises in the swamps due to hypothermia. To date, more than 20 students have died during the Eglin reservation training.

Today, before students get in the water, Ranger School-certified combat divers enter the water to make sure there's no underwater obstacles that can hurt students, taking into consideration the temperature of the water.

"Since that incident, we've improved our safety net to ensure that we have a quicker reaction time to avoid such losses as we had in 1995," Wildy said.

With conditions being extremely strenuous and sometimes dangerous for Army Ranger students, one subject that's been a hot topic since the 1994 Direct Combat Exclusion Rule is the inclusion of women as Army Rangers.

Since 2012, when the rule was repealed, plans have been in the works to allow women the opportunity to become Rangers as well as work in job fields they traditionally didn't work in during past years.

"We're right now in the recruitment phase where we're out looking for women who are interested to come here to Ranger School in the Spring," said Col. David Fivecoat.

"The standards are going to remain the same for both male and female students, and we'll run a class that has both male and female students in it."

Fivecoat said that the Army is looking for high quality women who want to take advantage of the opportunity to become Rangers. The Army is also looking for female volunteers to be observers and advisers who will work alongside the male Ranger instructors to make the transition easier.

One thing the tour group agreed on was that the hard work and dedication these soldiers — male and female — display in serving their country by being Army Rangers is incredible.

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