Introduction - new Ranger dad

[odysseus54b]

Greetings, Rangers ! My son has graduated RASP in February. He is in 2nd Battalion. Since he started at Ft Benning I have been impressed with the professionalism of the US Army and the solidity of its values, ethos and training methods. My only brush with military life had been one year of compulsory peacetime service in the Italian Army in the late 70's, and I did not know what to expect - the obvious professionalism and the energetic atmosphere at Benning and the changes I saw in my son as he progressed through the pipeline have been a positive surprise. He has amazed me three times already - when he passed Basic/OSUT, when he passed Airborne and when he passed RASP. Now he is showing me once again that he has a reserve of strength , resilience and cool-headed resolve which prove that he has developed into an amazing young man, with a lot of potential. His comrades are also amazing, and that's a good thing, given the life he has chosen. I am very proud of him, and of his new brothers. RLTW !!

[Jim]

Welcome, you have good reason to be proud of your son. please come back and tell us more.

[odysseus54b]

Thanks for the welcome, Ranger Jim. I can add that I am the third member of my family to join this forum - my son has been participating first as a depper/mentee and then with his sitreps in the Letters from School section. My wife joined a couple of weeks ago, and she has already been cleared for the families' private area or whatever it's called. I understand that my son still checks in from time to time, as his busy schedule allows him to - he is pretty reserved and I am not sure he would appreciate if I started flapping my keyboard or getting emotional about him. I am also a bit uncertain about the level of disclosure of personal details that would be appropriate in this public area, or even interesting to the participants.

This forum has been one of the sources of information as I was first discussing my son's inclinations and options with him, and once he took his option 40 contract, it has been an excellent support resource to get him mentally focused and in the right frame of mind to start his climb. He is one of your success stories.

I have been and I am fully behind him on this. Not just because it's his choice, but because I think it's a good, honorable choice. These young men are a force for good in a world full of promise but also of danger. The ambivalence stems from the fact that he is the one that is carrying the weight for us there, while I am here waving my pom-poms , whereas I would like to be there with him... but I am too old, and a father can't be his son's brother etc etc.

I guess what I am saying is that deprogramming myself as a father of a baby/young child/teen ager and learning to take a back seat to my son's life as a young man into his own thing, is something I had to do eventually - this is making it a little faster and more abrupt than I expected.

[odysseus54b]

I would like to edit my previous post, but there doesn't seem to be an 'Edit' button. So I'll have to do it here - I typed

..and once he took his option 40 contract, it has been an excellent support resource to get him mentally focused and in the right frame of mind to start his climb.

where it should have been

..and once he took his option 40 contract, it has been an excellent support resource for him to get mentally focused and in the right frame of mind to start his climb.

It's an important difference.

[garyedolan]

Welcome. Thank you for raising a Patriotic son who certainly is a reflection of his proud and sensible father. You are justifiably proud of your Warrior son.

[odysseus54b]

Thanks to everybody, Rangers and Parents, for their welcome. And thanks for the Rangers for offering this forum.

Now down to business - I will post it here because I don't know wherever else I should post it. With my son gone, I sometimes navigate the net looking for videos etc. that show me the kind of things he could be doing. It's a way to feel closer to him, I guess.

Well, today I stumbled upon a video still up on Youtube , covering an interview with this character Jesse Macbeth, who claims to have been a Ranger, 16 months in Iraq, Purple Heart, slaughtering civilians etc etc. I see that the Posers Enforcement Group has already caught him, and he has been sentenced by a court in Seattle in 2007. The video however is still up, and it's a piece of the worst anti-american propaganda, based solely on a bunch of lies.

I reported it as such to Youtube , and I hope it will be removed. Is there anything else that should be done ? I frankly find it unacceptable that whatever point someone wants to make be supported by outright lies and fabrications. This shouldn't be allowed.

The video is here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT44mis7qDg

[Jim]

Thanks to everybody, Rangers and Parents, for their welcome. And thanks for the Rangers for offering this forum.

Now down to business - I will post it here because I don't know wherever else I should post it. With my son gone, I sometimes navigate the net looking for videos etc. that show me the kind of things he could be doing. It's a way to feel closer to him, I guess.

Well, today I stumbled upon a video still up on Youtube , covering an interview with this character Jesse Macbeth, who claims to have been a Ranger, 16 months in Iraq, Purple Heart, slaughtering civilians etc etc. I see that the Posers Enforcement Group has already caught him, and he has been sentenced by a court in Seattle in 2007. The video however is still up, and it's a piece of the worst anti-american propaganda, based solely on a bunch of lies.

I reported it as such to Youtube , and I hope it will be removed. Is there anything else that should be done ? I frankly find it unacceptable that whatever point someone wants to make be supported by outright lies and fabrications. This shouldn't be allowed.

The video is here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT44mis7qDg

As you can see on the Poser thread on our site. We outed him years ago. You certainly did the right thing in outing him to youtube.

[SLEDGE HAMMER]

Welcome to the site and thank you to your son for his service.

[GUCCiBEAR143]

Welcome =) Ranger wife of 2/75 here thanks you for supporting your Ranger son. I get "all emotional" whenever I read posts from proud parents. This site helped me when I was "just his gf" and still learning new facts a couple of years later. Hope you've visited JBLM.
RLTW o^~^o

[odysseus54b]

GucciBear, I apologize for my late reply - been running around lately. I haven't been to JBLM yet - my wife and I are planning to go there in November to enjoy the balmy Pacific breezes :) I am looking forward to it.