The Hidden Obstacles at Ranger School

[Invictus]

Good luck Sir.
I, for one, will be interested in your progress.

[RGRJim]

Good advice given already. I graduated from RS last year with a number of CS/CSS officers and even a couple non-special operations AF types. It doesn't matter what your background is as long as you pull your weight, don't bitch and make a positive contribution to overall mission success.

No one is going to have high expectations of you because your "just a redleg" but the minute you screw up big time all everyone is gonna mutter under their breath is "f`in dirtbag ADA west pointer can't pull his weight, figures". Just do the right thing and you'll be alright.

Be prepared, work on your rucking endurance, be able to do 49 perfect pushups and start reviewing the Ranger handbook now. There's no such thing as overpreparation.

Good Luck

[Maggot275]

This is all great advice. Do your job everyday, carry your own weight, when in charge be in charge, when not in a leadership pos. be the one every leader can count on. They will help you get your GO's if you help them get theirs. Good luck.

B 2/75- Ranger class 04-80!?! Did they let you use real muskets or did you use the training dummies?

[B 2/75]

M16A1, M14, M60

those were the issue weapons in the school at the time.

PC's, no steel pots

No PT test in school, IIRC, but the 5 mile run was in boots.

Big John was still alive, gulping down two and three frozen chickens at a whack.

The Gator Lounge was still there.

Oh, and Benning Phase was in the original Harmony Church WWII barracks.

Lastly, I do believe that there is at least one Ranger on the boards here who attended at least 11 years prior to me... I suppose you'd have him using stones and a sling?


Beat yer damn face, Cherry ! (LOL I can say that to someone with only 11 years Time in Tab :D)

[rgrjoe175]

Great advice. I dont think the suck has changed that much over the years except they get more food.

Dont make the mistake of assuming because your an Officer that makes more knowledgable than others. My Ranger buddy made that mistake. His arrogance hurt him in the long run. If it were not for an RI, I might have drowned his ass...LMAO.

JP

[RangerEsq]

I was a newly commissioned MP Officer who hadn't even attended OBC yet when I attended RS. Did I feel like I was treated differently because of it? Of course, but that's RS---it's designed to bring out whatever weaknesses you have, stick them in front of your face (and your fellows students' face), and make you deal with them head on. That's what you should be focusing on: doing an honest assessment of where you are and where you need to be and figuring out a path from here to there. I wasn't experienced in fieldcraft (I was so green I belonged in a salad bar) and I wasn't the physically strongest guy in my squad, but I knew that, stayed humble, followed when I was supposed to follow, led when I was supposed to lead, and tried to help my squadmates out wherever and whenever I had something to contribute.

Did being tabbed helped me out when I showed up to my first unit? Yes and no. It gave me some instant credibility (whether deserved or not), but it also gave me a lot to live up to. When I was deployed with my Platoon, me and my PSG (who, amazingly, was also a tabbed MP---formerly in the 75th) did find that Combat Arms officers and NCOs preferred to deal with us rather than other officers and NCOs in our unit. But again, they had higher expectations of us as well.

In any case, good luck. Just by asking the question, you're showing the right attitude---and, as they say, the most important muscle in Ranger School is the one between your ears.

RangerEsq

[Brat Attack]

As being a recent graduate of Ranger School, 01-07, I have a couple pieces of advice. Listen to the batt. boys in your SQD/PLT. Most of them know there shit and have done their time in the real suck of being a Ranger Private. Your NCO's in your SQD, are there to help you out. Being an E-4 I was good friends with an E-7 from Civil Affairs. We helped each other out all the time. Ranger School in my eyes, is all about doing what you need to do and having the respect of you SQD. My class was majority of Butter Bars fresh out of IOBC. The ones that went straight through, knew they didn't know shit, and listened to there fellow SQD members ie. leg and or Batt boys. Mainly sir, listen to your peers when they give advice, or think somthing may work better, and then devise a plan. Don't be the dickhead that wants to send two squads into a baited ambush and get nearly half the PLT killed.

[PurduePara203]

Everyone has something to bring to the table, those who don't aren't around for long. I had a FA butter bar in my squad whose only military experience had been a year of ROTC and FAOBC. To give you an idea, he had only qual'd once with an M16, he had an AD with a 240 in the back of a 5 ton (he thought clearing it meant riding the bolt forward with rounds still in the feed tray), luckily for him the RIs didn't hear it. He had pretty much no tactical knowledge but he had other things going for him. In addition for being a big guy and offering to carry extra weight, he was one of the funniest mo-fos I've ever met. Even though we would have been more than justified in peering him out, nobody ever even considered it because he could turn nearly any shitty situation into a laughing matter. The biggest problem I noticed with the ring knockers in my squad was they had a hard time humbling themselves, not so much at first but more so toward the end of the course. My point is, know your strengths, and compensate for your weaknesses by taking up slack in other areas. Do that and you'll be fine sir.

[K.Ingraham]

Since others have already posted all the best advice, I'll just leave this tiny bit of inspiration and stereotype busting:
The distinguished honor grad of my class was a ROTC cadet who later commissioned Ordnance.

[RTO]

Do you want a secret handshake and password to make it easy?

pssssssssssssssttttttttttt............. hey, ABNRedLeg! :D

don't tell ANYBODY about this, or I could get in BIG trouble!

Here it is, Sir. The secret handshake.


You should be able to find the secret password for your Ranger class located on the new website of one of our esteemed members when he posts his 'blog' :D

[KW Driver]

so RTO, how'd that work for you?

[archangelranger]

When I have to listen to a fat out of shape LTC with a Tab who can no longer spell OPORD it pisses me off.

I can still spell OPROD!