AztecSN95 SitRep

AztecSN95 · Post by **AztecSN95** » August 4th, 2006, 7:20 am

It's been quite a long time since I posted here last, but I wanted to give my friends (Jim in particular) a heads up.

I'll post more later on...I've gotta actually run to formation in a minute, so this is gonna be short.

SOPC Class 04-06
SFAS Class 06-06 (seperated shoulder and was med-dropped)
SFAS Round 2 501-06 - Selected for the 18D program and French (hooray for 3rd group. I wanted french only because of the history in North Africa and Europe...I scored a 126 on my DLAB so they were cool with giving me whatever I guess).

I had a blast throughout all of my training, and I'll continue to post updates as I cycle through the different phases. Expect a more detailed account of my experiences either later today or sometime this weekend.

Thank you to those Rangers on this board that gave me insight and encouragement throughout my training thus far. Let the hard stuff begin!

Earthpig · Post by **Earthpig** » August 4th, 2006, 7:30 am

Great news! Keep up the excellent work. Come back when you can stay on a little longer.

RLTW
EP

spanky · Post by **spanky** » August 4th, 2006, 11:00 am

Good job. Keep up the good work.

Jim · Post by **Jim** » August 4th, 2006, 11:27 am

Damn, Aztec, you are moving forward at a rapid pace!!!
(Or maybe it only seems quick cause I'm so old?)

bmf175 · Post by **bmf175** » August 4th, 2006, 11:36 pm

Good job. Now go get ready for BNCOC and Phase II. Oh yeah brush up on your basic anatomy because once you get to the D course its 100mph. Im taking college A&P and colleges spread it out a lot more, but go into greater detail. In SOCM you will cram 2 semesters worth of A&P into 1 month not to mention PT, the EMT bull shit, pharmacology,and jumps. The more you study now the better off youll be. Remember you need a high grade average when you go into the trauma lanes. Good Luck!!!

Phulano · Post by **Phulano** » August 5th, 2006, 6:47 am

bmf175 wrote:Good job. Now go get ready for BNCOC and Phase II. Oh yeah brush up on your basic anatomy because once you get to the D course its 100mph. Im taking college A&P and colleges spread it out a lot more, but go into greater detail. In SOCM you will cram 2 semesters worth of A&P into 1 month not to mention PT, the EMT bull shit, pharmacology,and jumps. The more you study now the better off youll be. Remember you need a high grade average when you go into the trauma lanes. Good Luck!!!

Something I wish I had done! Med funds was a kick in the teeth!

Also dont just memorize possible test questions. Really study how systems work, because later on in the course youll be expected to know.

Good luck!

IDon'tCare · Post by **IDon'tCare** » August 5th, 2006, 9:05 am

Stay focused and drive on.

AztecSN95 · Post by **AztecSN95** » August 5th, 2006, 1:04 pm

Thank you again for the words of encouragement, guys!

My next step is the PLDC/BNCOC course which has been replaced with CLT (combat leadership course...or maybe it's combined...who knows...they change names on us all of the time). It's a short course out at "The Island" which is another lockdown phase. Following that will be SFPC which is really a crash course of land nav, small unit tactics, and a mini FTX.

As per my experiences so far; they've been nothing but great! SOPC was a blast. I was in the last class that got formal and rather comprehensive land nav classes, and I was damn thankful for them my second round through selection. They changed the course a great deal (I won't go into detail), and my experiences the 2nd time through were memorable to say the least. Quite a huge change in just 2 classes! What I will give you are our selection numbers - my 1st class through had an amazingly high selection rate...the 2nd class was right at 46% from start to finish. We started with 204, lost almost 60 guys to IVWs and Med Drops (and a few VWs in there), and finished the class with ~151 guys. Only 24 of 47 SOPC guys were selected, which was a pretty low number...but the lack of maturity in the guys they just sent was pretty staggering. I can completely see why so many of the 18Xs that are fresh to teams are being sent right to Ranger School - most of these guys are 18-21 and have NO military bearing.

As per those suggestions in regards to studying and such - I've already started reviewing my language...my sister speaks french fluently...and while her conversational french may not do much good in a military setting, I know that it will do wonders for establishing report with Indigs later in life. The books I was issued (and CDs) are more related to military and tactical subjects and they're proving rather easy to learn.

The anatomy shit is no joke! I was an ESS/Kinesiology major in college, so a lot of this stuff is review, but I went ahead and picked up a few books from Barnes and Noble to supplement what I already have. Mosby's PDR isn't very practical, but they also have an abbreviated handbook that is AWESOME. Also, the Physiology coloring book I had in college that was so kick ass I also purchased a fresh copy of - so learning systems and taking notes should be easier. I also too the EMT-B course in college, so I'm picking up my books while I'm at home next week on TDY.

Anything else you guys can suggest or have questions about, please post. I'll do my best to address as much of them as possible in an open forum without violating OPSEC.

Again, Rangers - Thank you.

And Jim, I feel like I'm in purgatory with all of the waiting around we have to do - but it really is a quick course regardless, so I wouldn't go so far as to call you old :)

Take care guys!