Introducing Dave R

[dtr8900]

My name is David R. I joined these forums to futher my knowledge on Army Ranger-related subjects. I have nothing but absolute respect for all of our servicemen/servicewomen and I thank you all for your past, present, and future sacrifices. I hope to be among you some day.

I wish to furthering my knowledge because I am considering enlisting. I tried talking to an Army recruiter, who suggests I enlist with an Infantry MOS. I'm not interested in recognition or glory or anything like that, I just want a challenge, and so far the 75th Ranger Regiment in the Army, looks to be what will give me that challenge. I have worked in the civilian sector in construction for 10+ years and as a chef for at least 6 of those 10 years as well. . . I require little sleep as most of the time I go from job to job. That is my brief introduction, if you have any more questions please feel free to contact me. Thank you. & Thanks you for accepting me here.

-David R

[dtr8900]

Hello Rangers,

My name is Dave, I am 31 years old I went to college for 3 years and studied architecture and psychology, just to run out of money 2 years before I graduated with/o a Masters in Architecture, since then I have been working in the construction field from a laborer, carpenter, mason, Field Engineer, Project Coordinator, Tool Manager, Project Manager and am now an Estimator for an Excavation company. I have also been a cook for 6 year and a chef for about 2 of those years, as a side job. . . I am the kind of guy who gets up at 4:30- 5am and can be going all day through midnight most nights. . .so I feel that this life style change will not be to drastic for me, with the physical and lack of sleep ends. I am currently planning to enlist in the Army with a MOS of Infantry the recruiter tells me that an 11B is where I should go to become a Ranger but from what I have seen here I should be asking for an 11X or 18X.

I am interested in any help you Rangers have to offer me to achieve my goal of getting an option 40 contract or advice you have as to the route to get into the Rangers through the Infantry MOS. According to the recruiter I would not be shipping out till January 2012. After doing some research on this site the past several months I have found that I need to work on my abs, and swimming,

Currently my APFT Scores are:
Pushups - 89
Situps - 63
Run - 12:58.91
Pullups - 15[/b]
Swimming 500m - 13:10.78

From my understanding swimming is involved yet I have not seen much on that topic, so I went to the SEALs site to see what they do, since they are swimmers, and according to that infromation I should be at about 10 mins for the 500m? Does that apply here as well? Is there also an underwater swim involved? I have only seen it mentioned on one site that a 25m underwater swim is required. . . is that true?

I did a 12 Mile run for the first time Saturday 7/1/11 and came in at 1:36:00.2. . . I have been training for the Spartan Beast Race on Killington Mtn. in Killington, VT, which is a 10-12 mile adventure race with approx. 15-20 obsticles. . . Please let me know if this sort of thing will help in the training to become a Ranger.

Thank all of you for your service and inspiration to all those who have come after you and any advice you willing to offer will be greatly appreciated.

-David R

[dtr8900]

Thank you so very much. Ranger Zone IV

[Worldweaver]

Dave, thanks for your interest in serving your Country. You seem like a very solid individual so I'll tell you that arriving at Batt as a 31+ year old will be very difficult for you, not in terms of physical attributes. Although the young studs might run faster than you and recover quicker than you, from your scores I don't think that will be the problem. It's sometimes very difficult for a older man to acclimate to life as a private in the same shoes as a 18 year old getting smoked by a 20 year old Tab spec 4. Understand that I'm not trying to discourage you from this path or influence you one way or the other, however, most men that I know seemed to have trouble adjusting to this lifestyle after age 30. I don't know if SF (18x) would be a better option for you but realize that whichever path you chose will not be an easy one. You will have to work as hard as any man and Cadre don't care if you're 18 or 35, you are there for one purpose and that's to contribute. Best of luck to you in whatever you chose, you have found a very valuable resource here and it will help you succeed if you let it.

Welcome

RLTW

[dtr8900]

Thank you for your insight Ranger Worldweaver. . . I believe that I can at least relate to this concept of taking orders from a 20 year old, since in the field of construction I was the 20 year old giving the 40+ year olds orders/direction as to what they should be doing. . . which, I would imagine, is a little different since in the civilian world rank/title doesn't mean much from what I have been shown through the construction field. . . I know there is a lot more emphasis on rank in the military which I can appreciate. Hard work and dedication are what I am here for, and all i can commit is my 100+% in everything I do. . .without a doubt my willingness to do whatever is asked of me has been proven throughout my careers thus far. . . I take orders well, I lead mostly with question and tactfulness, since being taught that most 40+ year olds would rather have been asked what they would suggest as opposed to ordered what they should be doing, which might be a bit of a change for me since I intend to lead in the military. Yes I think there will be a lot of things to learn here on the leadership end of the field but I do not feel that the task is too much to ask of myself.

[dtr8900]

It is official. . . I have made it into the US ARMY as an 11X . . . no option 40 in my contract but from my understanding there are approx 17 contracts available per BCT company. . .I have the ASVAB scores to meet the criteria. . . now I have about 6 months to train and make sure my PT scores are at the 300 level that I know I can make. . .