SITREP: 5 Year Retrospective

[Dreadnought]

Someone asked me to do a SITREP, and I found it somewhat difficult to give one on here, especially since it has been about two and a half years since my last update, on my graduation of Ranger School. At the current time, I have been in 2/75 ("The legendary D Co" - President Obama) for just over four years and have been in the Army for just about five. I'm currently on my fifth deployment, having so far done every role in the platoon - Private rifleman/grenadier, SAW gunner, senior machine gun team leader/one man gun team, currently fireteam leader. I think that it goes without saying that I have learned a lot along the way, both personally and professionally. Hopefully some of the things that I have learned can be of benefit to someone else.

When I enlisted in high school, at the beginning of my senior year, I had no idea what I was getting into, and I'm thankful for it. For that first journey into Initial Entry Training (IET), it's my opinion that the Ranger candidate should be humble, quiet, professional, focused, and strong.

Throughout this part of your career, you do not need to try to prove yourself to be a badass, or a genius, or clever, or funny, or anything. As far as your professional career is concerned during OSUT/Airborne/RIP, you need to endure and crush the standards. I speak for all of the other fireteam leaders in my platoon, and probably my company, when I say that we do not expect to receive graduates from RASP, either young or old, who are combat ready or who are well trained in our specific tactics; we expect to receive someone who is trainable. One of the things that separates us from, for instance, SF (Special Forces) is that immediately after your IET and your selection/assessment process, you get thrown into the meat grinder. To be clear, you should be proud when you graduate each of these phases of training, especially RASP. However, you need to be in the mindset that you have just truly started your training, and what makes or breaks your future in this Regiment is your performance and fortitude demonstrated to your team, your squad, your platoon, and your company once you actually get to your job.

Awhile back, on my first deployment, I worked with a PJ who had used to be in 2nd Batt, and when I asked him about the selection process for the 75th and the USAF PJ program, he told me that in his opinion the selection for PJ was more difficult than when he went through RIP, but that it was much more difficult to stay in battalion. To you, this translates into the fact that your time, your entire time, in the Regiment is an ongoing selection process. Once you get here, you have finally gotten your foot onto the starting line for the race of your life. At every step of your career, however long it is, you are proving yourself against your peers: as a Private you compete for Ranger School, as a tabbed Specialist you compete for the next step in leadership, either a gun team or a fireteam or a specialty platoon, as a fireteam leader you compete for squad leader, or specialized training, and so on and so forth.

More importantly, I think, is that as you advance you also get more responsibility. While you are new to both the Army and the Regiment, and from that point onwards, and even before you've entered into service at all, pay attention to the leaders and men you encounter that you qualify as either bad leaders, good leaders, professional, or unprofessional. From those who surround you or who lead you, you need to identify the traits of leadership, professionalism, and manliness that you like and you don't like. You are building your leadership style, and professional ability in this job, from not only your own failures and successes but also from those of others that you work with.

Do not expect anyone else to make you a Ranger. A memorable quote that I read on this website (attributable Andy Bell, former brigade CSM, and one of the plank-holders from when 1st Ranger Battalion was organized), is that "I am not who I am because I am a Ranger, I am a Ranger because of who I am." Other people, no matter how good, will not get you through your selection processes, your time in the Regiment, your career, or your life. When I get a new Private to my fireteam, these are the only things that I expect from him, regardless of his age or past experiences: strong willed, in good shape, motivated, willing to learn, and unable to quit. Nothing else matters. No matter how much I teach, or smoke, or belittle, or scream at, or do whatever else to a man, I cannot make him a good Ranger and a valuable member of the team. He can only do that himself, with the tools given to him. I have no use for a Ranger who expects things to be given to him. What he should expect when he comes to Regiment is good leadership and the chance to succeed. Everything else must be earned, and rightfully so. Prove to your leadership and your peers that you deserve to be next to them when you deploy, and that they can depend on you to do your job in absolutely any conditions. If there is something that you want, you go after it yourself, do not expect handouts. If you want the respect and trust of your buddies and your leadership, earn it. I cannot stress this enough.

Throughout your training, if you keep your mind on the final goal, and never even think about quitting, then you will at least be on the right track. You will make mistakes, at every phase of all training and in your career, and will probably embarrass yourself at multiple points. I have and I continue to, occasionally. Learn from them, correct them, keep your head in the game, and march on. Your reward will be tougher missions, more work, longer ruckmarches, and harder training. Embrace it.

[Jim]

Good introspection. Never, never quit!

[boomer478]

Roger, Ranger Dreadnought.

[Bronco]

Roger, Ranger Dreadnought.

[cams]

Excellent post Ranger.

This should be a sticky for all newbs to read.

[Coltrain]

Roger Ranger Dreadnought.

[Slowpoke]

Excellent post Ranger.

This should be a sticky for all newbs to read.

Amen!

[CBA]

Roger, Ranger Dreadnought. Thank you for writing this.

Roger, Ranger Jim.

[redbear77]

Roger, Ranger Dreadnought.

Ranger Jim, reading assignment completed.

[pressthefight]

Roger, Ranger Dreadnought.

This post has great advice and helps hammer home the fact that selection is a never ending process and doesn't just stop after RASP.

[Jas32596]

Roger, Ranger Dreadnaught

Ranger Jim, I have seen this and have completed my reading assignment.

[Steadfast]

Excellent post Ranger.

This should be a sticky for all newbs to read.

Amen!

Although I'm not a newb I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ranger Dreadnought's post. I agree with cams & Slowpoke, excellent post!

[KW Driver]

Well written, and as true as it ever was in the 90's too. Probably the 60s, 70s, and 80s... Probably will never change.

Hey Dreadnaught, how was 'ol "Sexy Legs" Teakle? I stopped into D Co in... '08 to say hey.