Why did/do you serve?

[Steadfast]

I was drafted into the Army, volunteered to go to jump school after the army gave me 11B MOS. Volunteered for Vietnam, when there, volunteered to go LRRP. My LRRP unit was transferred into K Company (Ranger) 75th (Airborne) Infantry. I was in the company of great soldiers my entire tour.

(NOTE to Bubba) Sorry Bubba, (only) had (unauthorized) LRRP tab & combat scroll (presently being used as avatar).

[Oto-Man]

The real story?
Fucked up my free ride to a private business school...2.98 GPA...Ride needed 3.00...Porked that pooch ...went down to the recruiter and said "I wanna be in Delta Force and kill terrorists" (LONG Before 9/11)...He said "You cant get there from here". I said "how close can I get?" He showed me the '88 Hooah video...I signed right up...I guess it was an option 4 at that time, all I knew is that as long as I passed OSUT, Airborne, and RIP, I would be a Ranger...

I knew from the time I was about 5 years old I would be in the Army, and knew I would go to combat...didn't know how much or little that would mean...but it was kinda a given. I was always the smart ass in class that didn't need to study and still got good grades (up until college ), track team, football team, shit, I used to run 2 miles to and from elementary school just for the fun of it...

[Nomad]

Summer of 1976. IDF Rescue Opn, Entebbe, Kenya. Parade (News Paper) Magazine article said the folks in US military who would do such were 1-75 & 2-75. Passed through GA before, never seen WA, "survey says"...2-75! Probably better for all concerned, if I'd signed up as a cook (Luv Smokin' anyway).

Did do some time @FBNC as well...cdl

Still keep running into the same under-achievers...

Ranger Reiver,

You're one of the few men on this site (and in the world) that I respect unconditionally without ever having met. In any aspect you've exceeded the standard and done so by margins that outpace any other man in modern SOF to date (unless you yourself hold a different standard in regards to Mr. Waugh and co., whom I have a deep appreciation for). In many ways you've set the pace for a new generation of guys out there.

While I never knew of you, I always wanted to be like you and some of the select men on this board who served back in Viet-Nam. You were and are my true heroes (All RVN Rangers and Advisors on this board).

Guys like our own Alphabet company Rangers, MACV-SOG and Ranger Advisor men on this board humble me every day. As do all of you guys out there bringing the fight to actionable targets are studs. None of you would admit it in a million years, but know you're the reason why I wanted to be a Ranger!





As to the OP's question:

My reason for joining and getting into what I got into? Why not? You only have one life to live and there are so many things you can only do once...being a bone fide Ranger is one of them.

While I was only marginal (In my personal comparison to my peers), I managed to take away a lot of lessons from men I admired. Later on those lessons gave me unbelievable access to opportunities I never considered myself eligible for. However, I took those challenges head-on, as I had before, and did quite well.

If you do not serve, as a man, I feel like you're missing an opportunity in life. You have a chance to form a mindset and bond with other men that you simply won't achieve anywhere else. Sure, you might end up a millionaire if you become an MIT graduate, but you'll never ever understand what it means to share your last half of an MRE cracker with your brother on a cold night, in a freezing sleet covered raining night.

Come good or bad, I'll never regret biting the bullet and choosing the hard over the wrong. It was so worth it.

RLTW!

[Reiver]

Shaddup, just an old knuckle-dragger. RESPECT the Young-Un's who are doing multiple tours in Harm's Way, in this Day. We were Predators, many of them are Prey.

I Salute all of the un/known/appreciated/sung/re-covered.

SGM, USA (Ret.)

Summer of 1976. IDF Rescue Opn, Entebbe, Kenya. Parade (News Paper) Magazine article said the folks in US military who would do such were 1-75 & 2-75. Passed through GA before, never seen WA, "survey says"...2-75! Probably better for all concerned, if I'd signed up as a cook (Luv Smokin' anyway).

Did do some time @FBNC as well...cdl

Still keep running into the same under-achievers...

Ranger Reiver,

You're one of the few men on this site (and in the world) that I respect unconditionally without ever having met. In any aspect you've exceeded the standard and done so by margins that outpace any other man in modern SOF to date (unless you yourself hold a different standard in regards to Mr. Waugh and co., whom I have a deep appreciation for). In many ways you've set the pace for a new generation of guys out there.

While I never knew of you, I always wanted to be like you and some of the select men on this board who served back in Viet-Nam. You were and are my true heroes (All RVN Rangers and Advisors on this board).

Guys like our own Alphabet company Rangers, MACV-SOG and Ranger Advisor men on this board humble me every day. As do all of you guys out there bringing the fight to actionable targets are studs. None of you would admit it in a million years, but know you're the reason why I wanted to be a Ranger!





As to the OP's question:

My reason for joining and getting into what I got into? Why not? You only have one life to live and there are so many things you can only do once...being a bone fide Ranger is one of them.

While I was only marginal (In my personal comparison to my peers), I managed to take away a lot of lessons from men I admired. Later on those lessons gave me unbelievable access to opportunities I never considered myself eligible for. However, I took those challenges head-on, as I had before, and did quite well.

If you do not serve, as a man, I feel like you're missing an opportunity in life. You have a chance to form a mindset and bond with other men that you simply won't achieve anywhere else. Sure, you might end up a millionaire if you become an MIT graduate, but you'll never ever understand what it means to share your last half of an MRE cracker with your brother on a cold night, in a freezing sleet covered raining night.

Come good or bad, I'll never regret biting the bullet and choosing the hard over the wrong. It was so worth it.

RLTW!

[Flesh Thorn]

I was an 18 years old country hick who didn't know anything and liked guns, girls, partying, and just wanted to be something. Come to think of it nothing has changed other than I am older......

[rgrokelley]

My overall feelings about serving the country? I think there should be an universal draft. Everyone, between the ages of 18 and 22, should "serve" the country for three years. If not physically capable of military service, there is something a person can do--administrative work or something. Just an opinion.

Fuck NO! A draft is slavery. Slaves do not fight as well as free men. The draft is some bullshit idea Lincoln came up with because no Yankees would fight in his war. He had to fill his army with Germans and Irish and indentured soldiers just to get the numbers.

If a country cannot find men to willingly join their military, that country needs to die. It is not worth fighting for.

[rgrwest]

Well, gave this in my retirement speech. When I was 17 years old, I had no doubt that I would be in the Army, be Airborne and do at least one tour. All of my dad's son did. He took me to the recruiter and did everything but sign my name, and then he ordered me to sign. I had no intentions on going in, I thought I was going to play football at the University of Texas and get a degree in some bullshit career field. 26 years later, I am proud that I stayed in, proud to be Ranger and regret very little of my career. Regrets in life.....too many to mention. I sacrificed 1 marriage, almost sacrificed the second (good woman stayed only God knows why), and put everything that means something other than Rangering on the back burner.

Whether you serve in the Regiment or in the regulary Army, live to the highest of standards and maintain those. It will live with you for the rest of your life.

[Caruthers]

Two reasons:

1. I could.
2. I wanted to.

[CloakAndDagger]

I've had a fascination with the military for pretty much as long as I can remember. Both my grandfathers served: one in the Army as a Mechanic, the other in the Navy as an Aviator (I found out later that each had a brother that served in the Army as a Medic). My dad served in the Navy during the end of the Vietnam War, and later worked on a Navy base as a (civilian) pipefitter.

By the time I hit high school, I was intensely in to flight simulators and wanted to be a flyboy. That fell through when both the Navy and the Air Force basically said, "You sneeze too fucking much to fly!" After trying to figure out what to do next, an Army recruiter peaked my interest in Military Intelligence. I hadn't really shown any previous interest in the Army, but I ended up going for a Reserve contract, which still surprised the hell out of my parents.

[Bravo57]

I watched a movie. The Breakfast Club. The "tough guy" was running down the hall singing: "I wanna be an Airborne Ranger, I want to live a life of danger!" I was hooked.






My best friends Dad was a Marine in Vietnam. I told him I wanted to join the military. He asked me what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to be the baddest MF'er on the face of the planet. He told me that if I wanted to do that, the baddest MF'ers on the planet that he knew of were Rangers. I started doing my research on Rangers in WWII and Vietnam. They became my Hero's. I wanted the opportunity to have anything close to that in my life. I signed the contract for "Unassigned Ranger" and Never quit.


You should be happy at all of the replies. This does not happen very often.

[Invictus]

I wanted to see if I had what it took. Turns out...I did.

Being different isn't easy, but it is fun.

The rewards last forever.

[Headoutdaplane]

Grandfather WWI and WWII, Dad Korea enlisted he made the jump to O and was a chopper pilot in Viet Nam after his third tour he was CO of Fort DeRussy (sp) for a while, last duty station was Schofield Barracks. My uncle was a Ranger in WWII, was also in Korea and Viet Nam. My dad didn't talk much about VN except with this dude that was a LRRP or Ranger. The amount of respect my dad had for this dude, and my uncles stories were what it took. Since 6th grade all I wanted was Ranger.

[Lefty]

All my life I knew I would be in the military one way or the other. Grandfather in WWI, father was in WWII, so were all my uncles. It was just a given. Went SF first, then RS and VN. It was just the way I figured I was supposed to do things.