SITREP: jcchamp

[jcchamp]

Rangers,
I'm heading to the recruiter's office next week. As Prior Service, I recognize that I'm basically SOL right now when it comes to getting an Option 40, let alone any sort of incentives... but I wanted to ask if anyone has any advice about getting something better than what will effectively be a Needs-of-the-Army contract. Is there a way to work with the current ugly-ass USAREC Message, to get one step closer to a slot in RASP?
Thank you very much,
jcchamp

[Jim]

Have you considered the Army Reserve or National Guard?

[jcchamp]

Thank you Ranger Jim, I looked into them briefly, but due to how hard it is to go Active from there right now, they'd be taking me a step farther away from RASP.

[jcchamp]

I'm heading to the recruiter's tomorrow. If I have any leverage at all, I want to try to get a contract that would get my Prior Service ass as close to RASP as possible. I understand that I can always walk away until something better comes along, but that could be a very long time. I would be very grateful for any last-minute advice about how not to step on my dick.
Thanks again,
jcchamp

[rangertough]

Thank you Ranger Jim, I looked into them briefly, but due to how hard it is to go Active from there right now, they'd be taking me a step farther away from RASP.

Try impossible. In 10 years I have never seen a successful transition from Reserve to Active.

Tough

[jcchamp]

Thank you, Ranger rangertough. It does look like the Guard/Reserve would be a dead end for me.
As it stands, I'm going to go to MEPS and get the best contract I can (which looks to be effectively Worldwide with no incentives). At my duty station I will strive to be the best soldier I can be, and when the time is right I'll put in a 4187 to go to RASP; this strategy is flawed, though, since if I am useful to my unit they will not want to let me go. I will continue to try regardless of how many times I get shot down by the Powers That Be.
This is not the ideal path, but as I want to have a shot at deploying with the 75th Ranger Regiment before Afghanistan is over, I can't afford to wait and hope that the USAREC message is gonna change (from what everyone has told me, it won't). Right now, I'm not seeing an effective alternative.
If I'm making any major mistakes with this plan, please let me know.
Thanks again for any advice you may have.

[jcchamp]

USAREC (and every recruiter in central NJ) says the ONLY option right now is 18X. Fuck that. There has got to be a better way. Is there some entity I should be writing to ("Dear Congressman, gee, I'm such a great guy, I just want the chance to serve my country as a Ranger, the same chance you'd give any 18-year-old off the street, and I'm physically fit, PLUS I have a t-shirt with a picture of an eagle on it", etc) in order to state my case/ask for strings to be pulled?
At this point I'm willing to try just about anything short of chaining myself to the Pentagon in protest or offering Obama a crumpled paper bag full of cash to make it happen.

[rangertough]

USAREC (and every recruiter in central NJ) says the ONLY option right now is 18X. Fuck that. There has got to be a better way. Is there some entity I should be writing to ("Dear Congressman, gee, I'm such a great guy, I just want the chance to serve my country as a Ranger, the same chance you'd give any 18-year-old off the street, and I'm physically fit, PLUS I have a t-shirt with a picture of an eagle on it", etc) in order to state my case/ask for strings to be pulled?
At this point I'm willing to try just about anything short of chaining myself to the Pentagon in protest or offering Obama a crumpled paper bag full of cash to make it happen.

I gotta say that post was damn funny.

Tough

[centermass]

There is a shot......may be a long one. Are you Airborne qualified? My thinking is if the recruiters are dead set against anything in the way of getting you into the Regiment, either find an MOS shortage the Regiment is in need of filling......but one that either the 82nd, 18th Airborne Corps (Who have Abn slots) needs as well.

Or, see if you can just get a shot at Jump School by itself. Then you at least have a shot of getting your foot in the door when Regiment shows up looking for potential candidates.

If anything at all, if it will get your boots on the ground at Benning, if you can network, even prior to BAC, getting your foot in the door there is more realistic than anything you have a shot at as it seems right now.

And if a member here sticks their neck out for you, you damn well better not fail or worse, quit.

[jcchamp]

Thank you, Ranger centermass, that sounds like the route to go. Unfortunately, it doesn't jive with the current USAREC message.
I'm not Airborne qualified- when I joined I didn't know shit, and I just wanted the quickest route to go help win in Iraq, so I didn't bother even asking for any extras on my contract.
Reclassing is not an option according to the current USAREC rules. The only people they're letting back in are a bunch of wild and wooly POG MOSs I've never even heard of (Grid Square Welders, Swordsmen, etc). If the option comes open to reclass (especially to a Combat MOS), I'll jump on it, then make my way to Airborne School- I am staying in close touch with recruiters in case anything changes.
But yeah, if I could find a way to get to Jump School/Benning I will open up a fucking enormous can of Savage Tenacity on getting a RASP slot.
And if I could do so and still be an 11B, I'd be living my dream.

Again, thank you all for your help and advice.

[jcchamp]

Also, Ranger centermass, if a member of this site were to stick their neck out for me in any way, I would not fail them. I've never failed at anything in my life... but talk is cheap, and I'm looking for a chance to prove myself.

[jcchamp]

I am glad to see that hundreds of people (hopefully many of them Rangers) have taken the time to view this thread. If any of y'all has any sort of suggestion, no matter how wild (other than telling me where I can stick my quest to become a Ranger), as to how I can parlay my way to RASP, I'd love to hear it. I will try just about anything, and I need to do it soon. This civilian life grates on me daily, and I want to see Afghanistan, in the company of true professionals, before it's too late.
Thanks again,
jcchamp

[hobbit]

You know, regardless of the issue, I knew a few Special Forces and Ranger people back in my day, who circumvented the whole infrastructure, who found out who they needed to see at the Pentagon, and then they went and banged on the door. What have you got to lose? There are brass at the Pentagon who'll throw you out for that kind of cheek, but there are a lot who like that kind of brass as well. At least they know you're serious.

[jcchamp]

Thank you, Ranger hobbit, for that excellent advice. I'll look into who I should be talking to within the Pentagram, and as I live reasonably close to DC, it shouldn't be too hard to take a few exploratory trips there. I'll keep it brief, polite, and professional, and see if someone will take an interest.
Thanks again.

[No slack]

JcChamp tho i am not a Ranger i am a recruiter and an Infantryman. Your best bet honestly is to take that 18x contract if you were not previously an 11B, you will be sent to Benning for Infantry training then to Airborne school which is accomplishing two of the goals that you have set for yourself. Now while your there you can work with the Regiment liasons and attempt to change that 18x contract to an opt 40. Im not sure how this would work honestly but it puts you right where you said you wanted to be to make that attempt to become a Ranger. Also two things can happen if you take this route, 1 if you cant get it changed well you will become a Green Beret and hell man thats no small accomlishment, and 2 you wash out at some point in your SF training you get sent to an Infantry unit and you put in a Ranger Packet. Given my time on recruiting(the last two horrible years of my life) there has been no other retraining other than 18x.