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Lightning strikes in front of the tower and a taxing C-130 at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on May 16, 2015. Army Ranger School students and instructors hospitalized after lightning strikes during a training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., have been released, the Army said Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015.

Lightning strikes in front of the tower and a taxing C-130 at Balad Air Base, Iraq, on May 16, 2015. Army Ranger School students and instructors hospitalized after lightning strikes during a training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., have been released, the Army said Thursday, Aug. 13, 2015. (James Croxon/U.S. Air Force )

WASHINGTON — Army Ranger School students and instructors hospitalized after lightning strikes during a training exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., have been released, the Army said Thursday.

Rangers and students were evacuated from Camp Rudder after lightning strikes just before 5 p.m. Wednesday, Fort Benning spokesman Christopher Warner said. Many were treated and released at a local hospital, but nine Ranger students and two trainers stayed overnight for observation.

All have returned to duty to finish the 10-day cycle to earn their Ranger tab.

“The Ranger students and instructors reacted and got everyone proper medical care quickly,” Col. David Fivecoat, commander of the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, said in a statement. “Ranger students and instructors are tough.”

The current class includes women for the first time. The two female soldiers were not involved in the incident, the Army said.

dickstein.corey@stripes.com Twitter: @CDicksteinDC

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Corey Dickstein covers the military in the U.S. southeast. He joined the Stars and Stripes staff in 2015 and covered the Pentagon for more than five years. He previously covered the military for the Savannah Morning News in Georgia. Dickstein holds a journalism degree from Georgia College & State University and has been recognized with several national and regional awards for his reporting and photography. He is based in Atlanta.

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