{{Short description|United States Army Reserve lieutenant colonel}} {{Infobox person | name = Lisa Jaster | image = Jaster-Lisa.jpg | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1978}}<ref>{{Cite web |editor-last=Fuller, Bonnie |title=Lisa Jaster |url=http://hollywoodlife.com/celeb/lisa-jaster/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021221201/https://hollywoodlife.com/celeb/lisa-jaster/ |archive-date=21 October 2020 |website=Hollywood Life |date=12 January 2016 |accessdate=21 June 2016}}</ref> | death_date = <!-- {{Death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} death date first, then birth date --> | birth_place = | death_place = | spouse = Allan Jaster | children = Zachary and Victoria | alma_mater = US Military Academy <small>(B.S.)</small><br />U. of Missouri-Rolla <small>(M.S.)</small> | module = {{Infobox military person | embed = yes | allegiance = {{flagu|United States of America}} | branch = {{army|USA}}<br>23px Engineer | service_years = 2000 to present | rank = 24px Lieutenant Colonel | unit = | commands = | battles = Iraq War<br />War in Afghanistan | battles_label = | awards = 24px Ranger Tab<br>24px Bronze Star Medal<br>24px Meritorious Svc Med | spouse = <!-- Add spouse if reliably sourced --> | relations = | other_work = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | memorials = }} }}
'''Lisa Jaster''' is a United States Army Reserve lieutenant colonel and engineer officer who was the first female reserve soldier to graduate from the Army's Ranger School.<ref name="Army-Ranger School Grad">{{Cite web |last=Cobiskey |first=Olivia |date=16 October 2015 |title=Maj. Lisa Jaster, 37, first female Army Reserve Soldier graduates Army Ranger School |url=https://www.army.mil/article/157260/Maj__Lisa_Jaster__37__first_female_Army_Reserve_Soldier_graduates_Army_Ranger_School/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506101553/https://www.army.mil/article/157260/Maj__Lisa_Jaster__37__first_female_Army_Reserve_Soldier_graduates_Army_Ranger_School/ |archive-date=6 May 2021 |website=Army.mil |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref> She completed the training, which as many as 60 percent<ref name="Fail rate">{{Cite web |last=Ronin |first=Donovan |date=11 June 2020 |title="How Hard Is Ranger School, Really?" |url=https://havokjournal.com/culture/how-hard-is-ranger-school-really/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224165110/https://havokjournal.com/culture/how-hard-is-ranger-school-really/ |archive-date=24 February 2021 |access-date=30 January 2020 |website=The Havok Journal}}</ref> of students fail within the first four days, after "recycling" through, or retrying, several phases of the multi-locational course. Due to being recycled, she was at the school for six months; the school takes a minimum of 61 days<ref name="ranger school facts">{{Cite web |title=United States Army Rangers |url=https://www.army.mil/ranger/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603180607/https://www.army.mil/ranger/ |archive-date=3 June 2022 |website=Army.mil |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref> and includes up to 20 hours of training per day alongside a strict diet.<ref name="WP-Ranger School Grad">{{Cite news |last=Lamothe |first=Dan |date=12 October 2015 |title=Army Ranger School has a groundbreaking new graduate: Lisa Jaster, 37, engineer and mother |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/10/12/army-ranger-school-has-a-groundbreaking-new-graduate-lisa-jaster-37-engineer-and-mother/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205131249/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/10/12/army-ranger-school-has-a-groundbreaking-new-graduate-lisa-jaster-37-engineer-and-mother/ |archive-date=5 February 2016 |newspaper=The Washington Post |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref> She graduated at age 37, while the average trainee age is 23.<ref name="Military-Latest Female to Grad">{{Cite web |last=Cox |first=Matthew |date=12 October 2015 |title=Latest Female to Graduate Ranger School Is 37-Year-Old Mother of Two |url=http://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/10/12/a-third-female-soldier-has-earned-her-ranger-tab.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518064340/https://www.military.com/daily-news/2015/10/12/a-third-female-soldier-has-earned-her-ranger-tab.html |archive-date=18 May 2021 |website=Military.com |language=en |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref>
Jaster, a marathoner and CrossFit fanatic,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Athlete: Lisa Jaster |url=http://games.crossfit.com/athlete/89848 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416162958/https://games.crossfit.com/athlete/89848 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |website=CrossFit Games |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref> served seven years on active duty (including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan).<ref name="hngn.com">{{Cite web |date=14 October 2015 |title=Maj. Lisa Jaster Will Be Third Woman To Graduate From Army Ranger School |url=http://www.hngn.com/articles/140294/20151014/maj-lisa-jaster-will-third-woman-graduate-army-ranger-school.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218021304/http://www.hngn.com/articles/140294/20151014/maj-lisa-jaster-will-third-woman-graduate-army-ranger-school.htm |archive-date=18 February 2019 |website=Headlines & Global News |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref> She faced difficult moments throughout her Ranger training, and cites the day two other women in the program advanced ahead of her to become the first and second female Rangers as especially trying. Throughout her training, she says she drew strength from her family, keeping pictures of her two young children with husband U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Allan Jaster in her pocket<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pelley |first=Scott |author-link=Scott Pelley |date=16 October 2015 |title=Third female Army Ranger on graduating: "There's no quitting" |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/third-female-army-ranger-on-graduating-theres-no-quitting/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320031457/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/third-female-army-ranger-on-graduating-theres-no-quitting/ |archive-date=20 March 2021 |website=CBS News |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref> and stealing glances between training assignments.
Prior to receiving her Ranger tab, Jaster worked as an engineer with Shell Oil in Houston<ref name="hngn.com" /> and an Army Reserve individual mobilization augmentee with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She initially was commissioned in the Army in 2000 after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point,<ref name="WP-Ranger School Grad" /> and returned to the reserves in 2012 after a 5-year hiatus from serving. She volunteered for combat training when she discovered the Army Ranger course was being opened to women for the first time in 60 years as a U.S. government experiment to gauge how women would fare in the course<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calamur |first=Krishnadev |date=15 January 2015 |title=Army OKs Female Soldiers For Ranger Training Program |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/17/432651026/npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/01/15/377461741/army-oks-female-soldiers-for-ranger-training-program?live=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510120415/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/17/432651026/npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/01/15/377461741/army-oks-female-soldiers-for-ranger-training-program?live=1 |archive-date=10 May 2017 |website=NPR |accessdate=15 June 2016}}</ref>
Jaster's military awards include the Bronze Star Medal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Connor |first=Eric |date=14 October 2015 |title=Media advisory: Historic graduation for 1st female Army Reserve Ranger |url=https://www.usar.army.mil/Featured/Ambassador-Program/Find-an-Ambassador/Article-View/Article/623147/media-advisory-historic-graduation-for-1st-female-army-reserve-ranger/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511145325/https://www.usar.army.mil/Featured/Ambassador-Program/Find-an-Ambassador/Article-View/Article/623147/media-advisory-historic-graduation-for-1st-female-army-reserve-ranger/ |archive-date=11 May 2017 |website=US Army Reserve |url-status=live |access-date=15 June 2016}}</ref> and the Meritorious Service Medal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016 |title=Lisa Jaster Bio |url=https://www.cagc.org/cagcdocs/events/LisaJasterBio_2016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220721013639/https://www.cagc.org/cagcdocs/events/LisaJasterBio_2016.pdf |archive-date=2022-07-21 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Carolinas AGC}}</ref>
== Early career == Jaster was commissioned as a U.S. Army Engineer Officer in 2000 upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.<ref name="WP-Ranger School Grad"/> She was initially assigned to Fort Stewart in eastern Georgia with the 92nd Engineer Battalion, and deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in her first four years (Operation Enduring Freedom I and Operation Iraqi Freedom I).<ref name="Army-Ranger School Grad"/> Jaster was then reassigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, for school, where she met her husband, Marine Lt. Col. Allan Jaster. She left active-duty in 2007 and started a family and civilian career with Shell, but returned to the Army as a reservist in 2014. Jaster holds a BS and MS in Civil Engineering.
== Ranger school == [[File:Lisa Jaster at Ranger School.jpg|thumb|Maj. Lisa Jaster, an Army Reserve soldier, performs a fireman's carry on a simulated casualty during the Ranger Course at Ft. Benning, GA. The 37-year-old engineer and mother of two children, aged 7 and 3, is the first female Army Reserve officer to graduate Ranger School.]] One of the first three women to graduate the United States Army Ranger School,<ref name="Army-Ranger School Grad" /> Jaster was the first female United States Army Reserve officer to earn the Ranger Tab.<ref name="Army-Ranger School Grad" /> She completed the training, which as many as 60 percent<ref name="Fail rate" /> of students fail within the first four days, after repeatedly "recycling" through, or retrying, several phases of the multi-locational course. There were 400 participants, 19 of whom were women, who initially began the training. Jaster endured the training, which takes a minimum of 61 days<ref name="ranger school facts"/> and includes up to 20 hours of training per day alongside a strict diet, for a grueling six months.<ref name="WP-Ranger School Grad" /> She graduated at age 37, while the average trainee age is 23.<ref name="Military-Latest Female to Grad" /> Major Kristen Griest and Major Shaye Lynne Haver are the two other women aside from Jaster who have earned the Ranger tab. They recycled together for the first round, but went on while she had to recycle for the second round. Jaster joined 87 other students in receiving the tab in a ceremony at Fort Benning.
== Honors ==
In 2018, Jaster, along with Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver were inducted into the US Army Women's Foundation Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The First Army Female Rangers |url=https://www.awfdn.org/hall-of-fame-and-special-recognition-awards/us-army-womens-hall-of-fame-inductees/2018-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120014556/https://www.awfdn.org/hall-of-fame-and-special-recognition-awards/us-army-womens-hall-of-fame-inductees/2018-hall-of-fame-inductees/ |archive-date=20 November 2021 |access-date=September 27, 2020 |website=Army Women's Foundation}}</ref>
== Awards and decorations == {| style="width=100%;" |- |valign="top" | {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;" | colspan=2 |'''Personal decorations''' |- |80px|border |Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster |- |80px |Meritorious Service Medal |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|name=Army Commendation Medal ribbon|width=80}} |Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters |- |80px|border |Army Achievement Medal |- |80px|border |Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal |- |border|80px |National Defense Service Medal |- |border|80px |Afghanistan Campaign Medal |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Iraq Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}} |Iraq Campaign Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}} |Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal |- |border|80px |Korea Defense Service Medal |- |80px |Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army Service Ribbon.svg|width=80}} |Army Service Ribbon |- |} |valign="top" | {| class="wikitable" |- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;" | colspan=2 |'''Other accoutrements''' |- |80px|alt= |Combat Action Badge |- |80px |Parachutist Badge |- |80px |Air Assault Badge |- |- |80px |Ranger Tab |- |75px |101st Airborne Division Combat Service Identification Badge |- |70px |92nd Engineer Battalion Distinctive unit insignia |- |70px |2 Overseas Service Bars |- | |Steel De Fleury Medal |} |}
== Personal life == After moving from Fort Stewart to Fort Leonard Wood, Jaster met her husband, Marine Lt. Col. Allan Jaster, veteran of both Iraq and Afghanistan, and officer in the Marine Corps Reserve. They have two children together, Zachary and Victoria, and live in Texas. Jaster credits the support of her family as being the reason why she was able to complete her training at Ranger School.<ref name="LEdger-Family">{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Chuck |date=17 October 2015 |title=TEAM JASTER: Meet the family that sent wife and mother Lisa Jaster to six months of Ranger School |url=http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/military/article39617604.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218083246/http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/military/article39617604.html |archive-date=18 February 2019 |website=Ledger-Enquirer}}</ref>
In her spare time, Jaster primarily reads, works out, spends time with the family, and trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.<ref name="WP-Ranger School Grad" />
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaster, Lisa}} Category:Living people Category:United States Army officers Category:United States Military Academy alumni Category:United States Army Rangers Category:United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel Category:American civil engineers Category:1978 births Category:Missouri University of Science and Technology alumni