The three female soldiers are the only women to pass Ranger School among 19 who attempted the course beginning in April after the Army opened it to women for the first time. It did so as part of the military’s ongoing research into how it will integrate women into new combat roles in the future. The move followed a landmark January 2013 decision by then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who opened all jobs to women, but gave the services until this fall to research how to integrate and make recommendations about each position that was closed.