Colorado woman makes history through U.S. Army Ranger School graduation

LONE TREE, Colo. — A Colorado woman made history last month by becoming the first woman to graduate from the U.S. Army Ranger School as an ICU nurse.

Photographs line the front wall inside one Lone Tree home. On display are the milestones, celebrations, and accomplishments of the Murphy family.

These photographs help share the legacy of the Murphys and the inspiration passed on from one generation to the next.

Molly Murphy is a fourth-generation military recruit, currently working at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) nurse. She graduated from the University of Nebraska, describing her time there as amazing.

"I did ROTC along with nursing school, and so that was kind of hard to balance, but I made a lot of good friends there and I still have them," Molly said.

Maggy Wolanske

When Molly first decided to go into the ROTC program, her father, Dan Murphy, thought that it would be too much.

"I was a little worried that it would be too much, but it actually kind of ended up being a benefit. She ended up getting a very regimented schedule, and then that helped her do really well in grades," Dan said.

Following graduation, Molly went on to serve as a nurse in Hawaii, where she spent four years. However, during that time, Molly faced another challenge — the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I was trying to figure out how to live on an island, how to be a nurse. I was a baby nurse and then all of a sudden I was leaving for a COVID mission," Molly said.

Molly's dedication to serving her country and others continued when she enlisted in the U.S. Army. These past several months, she has been at Ranger School , described by the Army as "one of the toughest training courses for which a Soldier can volunteer."

When asked about the hardest challenge over the years, Molly responded, "Definitely Ranger School, whoa, because a lot of those guys don't realize that I am learning their job — an entirely new job. As nurses, sometimes we forget, like Army nurses, we forget that we're soldiers first."

Maggy Wolanske

Molly graduated from Ranger School on July 19, becoming the first woman to graduate from the program as an ICU nurse.

"I am heading on a deployment soon, so I think it will help me there," Molly said. "You never know what you're going to run into. Just as a nurse in general, like working back-to-back 12-hour shifts, people underestimate [it], and Ranger School has helped me learn that no matter how, I can power through 12-hour shifts because I just powered through 24-hour shifts for months."

Maggy Wolanske

There still is room for more photos to fill this wall, but for now, Molly's family has great pride in her and this incredible accomplishment. They're ready to see what she can achieve next.

"She's kind of competed with boys her whole life," Dan said. "She did tackle football when I was totally against it, but she did it anyway. She did rugby, which I was against, but she did it anyway. And so, she's kind of been pushing the limits with boys things for a while."

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