First female Army Reserve officer graduates from Ranger School

Maj. Lisa Jaster recently made history when she became one of only three women -- and the only female Army Reserve officer -- to earn the distinctive black-and-gold shoulder tab signifying she had completed the grueling Army Ranger combat leadership course.

“Maj. Jaster represents the best of today’s Operational Army Reserve – trained, battle-tested and ready to serve whenever and wherever needed,” Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley, chief of Army Reserve and commanding general, U.S. Army Reserve Command, said. “The Army Reserve couldn’t be more proud of this outstanding Soldier, and I know Shell Corporation, her civilian employer we share her with, is equally proud to have her in their organization.”

Faster, 37, an engineer and mother of two young children, is the third female to graduate from the combat leadership course, joining the ranks of fellow West Point graduates and active duty officers Capt. Kristen Griest, 26, and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver, 25.

Jaster said she decided to join the Army Reserve because she missed the camaraderie she found in West Point and the Active Army.

“As a civilian, as a mother with a full-time job, work/life balance is very challenging,” Jaster said. “Then you add a second job that is much more than a part-time job; it’s a career, it’s a calling, it’s something you have to love to do. So it’s not necessarily the time, but it’s balancing your passions of being an individual, being a mother, being a wife, being an Army Reserve Soldier, and of course, doing your full-time job.”