Introduction - Jonathan

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JollyGoodfellow
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Introduction - Jonathan

Post by JollyGoodfellow »

Hello,

My name is Jonathan. I am 28 years old, have a Bachelors in Broadcast Journalism, and for the past 5 years I have worked in Recruitment and Talent Acquisition for large call centers across the US.

I have always known that I would regret not serving in the Military and a few months ago decided that I would give up my career to pursue a route to the 75th Ranger Regiment.

I know that I am neither prepared physically or mentally which is why I hope to ship in fall 2019 and have set myself on an intense Training Pipeline using Mountain Tactical Institute's training plans (which will conclude with their RASP Training Plan as my final plan before OSUT). I will also be delving into as much material and training as possible to prepare myself mentally, such as the reviewing the information on this site, reading US Army Field Manuals, familiarizing myself with weapons training, etc...

I have browsed the posts on this site quite a bit already, but I am excited to now be a member on this site and look forward to learning as much as possible to help me prepare.
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CharlieRanger1FFV
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by CharlieRanger1FFV »

Welcome to the site, Jonathan.


RLTW!!!
Silencium Mortium

B /1/504 82nd Abn 69 - 70
C co (Ranger) 75th (Abn) Inf, II Corps Rangers, 70 - 71 Viet Nam
12th SFG (A) 76 - 78
75th Ranger Regiment Association, Lifetime Member # 2776
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CharlieRanger1FFV
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by CharlieRanger1FFV »

Welcome to the site, Jonathan.


RLTW!!!
Silencium Mortium

B /1/504 82nd Abn 69 - 70
C co (Ranger) 75th (Abn) Inf, II Corps Rangers, 70 - 71 Viet Nam
12th SFG (A) 76 - 78
75th Ranger Regiment Association, Lifetime Member # 2776
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JollyGoodfellow
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by JollyGoodfellow »

Ranger CharlieRanger1FFV,

Thank you for the warm welcome. Looking forward posting and reading a lot more over the next year.
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Disinfertention
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by Disinfertention »

Hey Jonathan, welcome to the site.

I know Ranger Lunch has already asked a few questions but I have follow ups!

Have you spoke to a recruiter yet? Even though you know you want/need time to prepare yourself sometimes people struggle to get OPT40s either for availability or for a list of other reasons. If you haven't yet, I would encourage you to see one.

What MOS do you plan to go after? Ensure you set your goals and stick to them. With a degree already complete career options for you in the military are pretty wide open. OCS and Warrant are great options after serving for a few years enlisted. If you haven't thought about some mid to long term goals in the military that may be a good start pending what you want.
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IntelToad
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by IntelToad »

Welcome here.
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
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JollyGoodfellow
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by JollyGoodfellow »

Hello Ranger Lunch and Ranger Disinfertention,

Here is a bit of my background and my motivation as well as my answers to the questions above.

My family has some military lineage (Grandfather fought in WW2 in the 70th infantry division, uncle fought in Vietnam, Cousin fought in the invasion of Iraq, and my brother served in the Marines with deployments to Afghanistan and Kuwait and is now training to go SF.

As I mentioned in my introduction, I always knew that I would regret not serving. I had been carried away while I was younger, pursuing degrees and promotions etc... I was also severely out of shape. Over the past 4 years I have lost about 75-80 lbs and put a lot of focus on physical fitness. It took me a bit, but I realized that it was not too late to serve. I have a career and make a modest salary, but nothing significant enough to also not be worth giving up to pursue something I feel truly passionate about.

As for why the 75th Ranger Regiment? Well, my grandfather was a infantryman to the core, and for me that has to be it; Navy/Airforce, or just other MOS's are out of the question.

I learned about the Regiment as a possibility from my brother. If I am leaving my whole life behind to pursue this, than I am going to be pursuing it with every ounce and fiber of my being and I could train hard enough to aim for a higher goal than standard infantry. I did consider OCS however I do believe my passion would be more for service in the enlisted ranks. I began researching the Regiment and came away fully impressed. It would be a higher honor than anything I have achieved in my life so far to be a part of an elite war-fighting unit and a community of professionals who take themselves and their job seriously and are constantly striving for perfection. I keep reading that Rangers train just as hard if not hard AFTER RASP, that is the mentality of a professional.

What I feel I bring? Well, for starters there is the passion and desire mentioned above; if I were to make the Regiment, I would honor the Ranger way of always striving to be better. I feel that I would also honor the Rangers and the Ranger Creed. I do believe myself to be of good character. I grew up a devout christian, and while I know longer technically believe in religion, I do believe in a lot of the lessons it taught me on morality. I also believe that at 28 years old I bring a level of maturity that some wouldnt bring fresh out of highschool; I know what I want and why I am doing this, and I know its a sacrifice.


The MOS I would most like to receive is an 11B. I haven't spoken to a Recruiter yet as I had thought it best to wait a bit. I am in the process of refreshing my knowledge for ASVAB testing (its been a while since I completed schooling so lot of my skills are rusty). I had also hoped to increase my fitness enough perform well on the APFT testing so that the Recruiter might be more inclined to grant me an option 40. However if you recommend than I can speak with a Recruiter sooner.

I hope that answers your questions Rangers.

Thanks.
11X Opt 40
Ship Date: 20191230
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JollyGoodfellow
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by JollyGoodfellow »

Thank you Ranger Lunch, I appreciate it.

I'll go over my current plan here and if any of the Rangers on this site have any tips/advice/or suggested changes it will be greatly appreciated. Otherwise I will continue gleaning the articles here.

For physical preparation I have been using Mountain Tactical Institute which has been working well for me as they are high-intensity progressive-scaling plans that focus a lot on tactical and functional strength, chassis integrity, loaded and unloaded running, and so on.

Here is my timeline using their plans:

• Military On-Ramp: 11/26 – 1/20/19 (in progress)

Virtue Series
• Humility: 1/21 – 3/10
• Fortitude: 3/11 – 4/28
• Valor: 4/29 – 6/16
• Resilience: 6/17 - 8/3

• RASP Selection plan: 8/4 – 9/15

For mental preparation, I am looking to purchase some of the official tools used for Land Navigation as well as the FM 25.26 manual, and I plan on joining the Florida Orienteering club to at least begin familiarizing myself.

I already have a copy of the Ranger Manual and, as mentioned before, the Kaplan ASVAB study guide, both of which I will be studying.

Thanks.
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IntelToad
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by IntelToad »

What is "chassis integrity ?"

Better question, what is your five mile time right now ?
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Disinfertention
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Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by Disinfertention »

Hey Jonathan,

Good replies all around. Dedication to a task and being focused can get you a long way. I would highly encourage you to reach out to a recruiter if you are serious about this. They can help you prep for the ASVAB as well as whatever you are doing on your own.

There are a lot of catchy programs out there. I think I have heard of that one but there are a few with the mountain name in them so who knows. Doing something is good - doing programs with clearly defined workouts is better. I wouldn't say there is really one thing better than the other until you figure that out for yourself.

To Ranger Inteltoad's question... APFT, chin-ups, 5 mile run time, ruck marching. Those are some core things to train to when getting for RASP. Scoring well in those events will set you up nicely for the challenged in RASP that are not related to those things.
USASOC 2015-2023
HHC 2/75 2012-2015
HHC & Cco 1/75 2010-2012
OCS Cadre 2007-2010
Cco 3/75 2003-2007
Ranger School 09-04
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JollyGoodfellow
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Joined: December 14th, 2018, 7:33 am

Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by JollyGoodfellow »

Ranger IntelToad,

Chassis Integrity is a term that the program uses. I would describe it as mid-section/body-frame training and hardening to build functional stability and strength.

My most recent run times are 3 mile unloaded run (23:53) and 4 mile 45lb ruck (45:03).

Ranger Disinfertention,

I do plan to speak to a recruiter soon so that I can get the process started. I also have other things that need to be sorted out, such as my scoliosis and how that impacts my ability to join.

Ranger Lunch,

I appreciate that advice as well. I know that I am going to have to put up with a lot of aches and pains as my body gets used to an entirely new level of work capacity, but anything I can do to prevent injury setbacks will definitely help me progress to the level I will need to be at.
11X Opt 40
Ship Date: 20191230
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JollyGoodfellow
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Joined: December 14th, 2018, 7:33 am

Re: Introduction - Jonathan

Post by JollyGoodfellow »

Ranger IntelToad,

Chassis Integrity is a term that the program uses. I would describe it as mid-section/body-frame training and hardening to build functional stability and strength.

My most recent run times are 3 mile unloaded run (23:53) and 4 mile 45lb ruck (45:03).

Ranger Disinfertention,

I do plan to speak to a recruiter soon so that I can get the process started. I also have other things that need to be sorted out, such as my scoliosis and how that impacts my ability to join.

Ranger Lunch,

I appreciate that advice as well. I know that I am going to have to put up with a lot of aches and pains as my body gets used to an entirely new level of work capacity, but anything I can do to prevent injury setbacks will definitely help me progress to the level I will need to be at.
11X Opt 40
Ship Date: 20191230
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