CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Editor's Note: At the time of this story's initial publication, it was believed Gomez was the first Latina to have finished Ranger School. It was later learned she was the second.
A woman from Beeville, Texas, has made history by becoming just the second Latina to ever finish Ranger School in the U.S. Army.
After graduating from college and becoming an officer in the U.S. Army, Beeville-native Jalen Gomez said she wanted to test her limits. What better way, she thought, than Ranger School?
Ranger School is a 62-day leadership course that puts soldiers through missions in wild terrain, depriving them of sleep and food to test their skills in high-stress situations.
“I haven't been physically pushed to where I'm like, 'I've got to quit. I can't do this,' and I kind of wanted to see if I would reach those points, and how far I could take it,” Gomez said.
While the tasks at hand weren't impossible, Gomez said at times they felt like they were. In the end she pushed through, making her only the second Latina to ever make it through the course.
“For our race of people here, and for where we are at as a country, it's a lot of pride,” her father Jose Gomez said.
Jose was in the Marine Corps for 21 years. He said he was guilty of thinking that women could not bare the same harsh conditions as men, but he has since changed his mind.
“To hear the stories of them just walking alongside her and her having to do and carry the same weight, if not more, as a father it was an honor to hear all those things,” Jose said.
Gomez plans to be stationed in New York by the end of the year. She also said she plans on staying in the military for at least 20 years, like her father before her.
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