For the first time, women will graduate from the U.S. Armys prestigious Ranger School, officials announced on Monday.

Two female officers have completed training in what is considered one of the most difficult military programs, and will graduate on Friday, alongside their male classmates, the Army said. Their names weren't released. According to NPR , both are lieutenants who attended West Point.

The two-month Army Ranger School program, founded in 1950, is a physically intensive training that aims to mold participants into elite military fighters. It takes place in the hills of Fort Benning, Georgia, and in the swamps of Florida, where trainees hone combat and leadership skills while learning how to survive with little sleep and food.

According to Army statistics, about 40 percent of male soldiers who enter the program graduate. Only in January did Army officials permit women to participate on an experimental basis.

While the two female graduates will be allowed to wear the Ranger tab on their uniforms, which signifies completion of the program, they remain barred from other military opportunities open to men. Army officials said women cannot try out for the Armys Ranger Regiment or serve in infantry or front-line combat positions, which are usual career paths for graduates of the Ranger program.