SITREP Bigglestheman

[Bigglestheman]

Hello Rangers, DEPers, future soldiers, and everyone else I've just completed the BCT portion of OSUT and am on my 72-hour pass. OSUT is a lot easier than I thought it was going to be the only hard thing is dealing with the egos and all the "tough guys".
So far, no Ranger contracts have been offered yet or even slots mentioned of being available I plan on asking my Senior DS about Ranger slots again. If I remember correctly I have until FTX before it's too late to get a slot.

I fucked up on my APFT 4 and ended up only being able to do 55 push-ups which fucked my score up, which is a bummer. It's frustrating when you push hard but your body just hits muscle failure early. At least, I kept my 100 for the 2-mile run. It's awesome when I look at my APFT 1 where I had a 14:45 and pushed myself and end up getting 12:09 for APFT 3 only four weeks later.

I haven't found anyone in my platoon that wants to go to RASP after OSUT though there are a lot of "I want to go Ranger but I want to wait until i'm physically ready ya know?" which to me sounds like they're mentally not in the right place. Also a lot of people think a Ranger contract means you go to Ranger School

Now for a quick little rant.
We have a few Opt 40 guys in our company 3 of them lost them for being shitbags and having no heart so they fail the PT test. I know another one who said to me "Want to take my contract" because he didn't want his Option 40 anymore I fucking wish I could have taken it.
Shouldn't complain though since I did sign the contract knowing an Option 40 wasn't on it.

I want this so bad, and it's annoying to see the guys who have the guaranteed shot not being grateful to have it.

I feel like the 75th Ranger Regiment is my calling. It's a feeling I have can't explain it. Higher calling maybe?

Advice to future soldiers and the DEPers
Don't listen to 95% of the privates they have no idea what they're talking about I tried to explain the difference between Ranger school and RASP, but they don't listen. You'll also hear a lot of their amazing knowledge for all the Special Operations units

30th sucks and a lot of the Drill Sergeants there lie about what happens in OSUT and various things like that. One guy in my platoon was told by his 30th DS don't learn the Infantryman's creed another DS told us the OSUT Drill Sergeants could only make us do five push ups for a smoke session nobody believed that one. Do your best to try and get PT in at 30th because you won't be able to run.

Practice foot marches it will help with the ruck marches also volunteer for road guard during the ruck marches you go a much faster pace then the rest of the company which will help you out. Ruck up a lot of hills the steeper the better it will help you out a lot. Also make sure you learn the Ranger Creed i'm 99% sure i'm the only person in my company that knows the Ranger creed.
Do your best to try to eat fast it sucks when you only have 4 mins to eat your food or when you sit down for dinner and only eat a roll and a pack of crackers and are told to get up and leave.

Also future soldiers and DEPs the MREs that have the first strike bars and candy in them would be cheese tortellini, Chili and mac, and meatballs in marinara sauce. There are maybe 2 others I think, but I forgot what they were but look out for those because people will trade a lot of stuff to get first-strike bar or skittles or keep em up to you.


I offered to teach the guys who have option 40's who aren't shitbags the Ranger creed, but they turned it down I don't know why.

Another thing that surprised me was how many people didn't enlist to serve our awesome country. Be proud that you're joining to serve this country because I thought a majority of the people joined for the same reason.

I'm still optimistic on getting the Ranger contract I refuse to quit.

[Jim]

Damn fine SITREP! You have come a long way since you initially joined the site. Keep pressing and make sure your chain of command knows you want to earn a place in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Never, never quit!

[Steadfast]

Damn fine SITREP! You have come a long way since you initially joined the site. Keep pressing and make sure your chain of command knows you want to earn a place in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Never, never quit!

X's 2!

[Vyce]

A good way I improved on my pushups was to take the ~60% mark of your goal, which should be the max, and turn it into that # x 4 sets. Essentially, it turned into 4 sets of 50 push-ups, to Ranger standard, with a 2 minute break in between sets. If you actually do them to standard and keep the 2min break strict, you WILL max the event. I did that almost every night in OSUT, along with a similar set up for sit-ups immediately following. You obviously use that as a starting block and eventually work up in reps. Its a smoker, trust me.

I know a guy who got his contract the day before graduation. So don't give up.

Good Luck.

[Bigglestheman]

FINAL OSUT SITREP

I graduated OSUT two days ago.

Rangers I was unsuccessful in obtaining a Ranger Contract. Only one person in my platoon was offered a Ranger contract. Three were offered SF and one was offered Airborne. I know another platoon gave out 3 Ranger contracts, 4 SF, and 1 Airborne. I know I was one of the few guys in my Platoon that qualified for a RASP contract and my chance was even greater since three guys already accepted SF but there was only one slot.

I'm just happy that the guy who did get the Ranger contract from my platoon took it very seriously and started learning the Ranger creed right after he was offered. I helped him as much as I could with knowledge that I've gained here. During our 8 hour pass I bought "Sua Sponte: Forging of a Modern American Ranger" by Dick Couch for him so that should help him get through some boring times while he waits for Airborne school.


I'll be heading off to FT.Bliss next Saturday.


Seems my next option is to fill out a packet and apply for RASP after I spend some time in my unit. I'm optimistic i'll get my shot at selection!

I'll still stick around the site.

A good way I improved on my pushups was to take the ~60% mark of your goal, which should be the max, and turn it into that # x 4 sets. Essentially, it turned into 4 sets of 50 push-ups, to Ranger standard, with a 2 minute break in between sets. If you actually do them to standard and keep the 2min break strict, you WILL max the event. I did that almost every night in OSUT, along with a similar set up for sit-ups immediately following. You obviously use that as a starting block and eventually work up in reps. Its a smoker, trust me.

I know a guy who got his contract the day before graduation. So don't give up.

Good Luck.

I'll have to try that Ranger Vyce. Still need to hit the 100 percentile for PU i'm stuck in the mid 80 percentile.

[Jim]

Good SITREP! Please stay in touch. Never, never quit!

[Bigglestheman]

Will post an update soon just haven't had internet. My barracks is pretty far it out if you don't have a POV.

Weather here is much better than Benning in the summer.

[Jim]

Will post an update soon just haven't had internet. My barracks is pretty far it out if you don't have a POV.

Weather here is much better than Benning in the summer.

Thanks for the SITREP. Please stay in touch with us.

[Bigglestheman]

Alright here we go!


They gave us new guys a sheet with the specs of the M4, M240, and the SAW as well as things like 8 battle drills, SLLS, 9 line med evac, ect. I've got just about all of it memorized and have been adding stuff to the sheet as well like specs of the AT4, M14, M110, M107, and other weapons systems. Additionally, the person who originally designed the Weapons. Also, the weapons they were adapted from like M249 is an American adaptation of the FN Minimi.



Only problem I have is some of the specs are different for certain sources/units. I've seen some sources for the M4 weight go from 6.39, 6.49, and 6.5 as examples for an empty M4.

I'll just go with 6.49lbs because that's what my Unit has on the sheet.

[Sleepy Doc]

I'll just go with 6.49lbs because that's what my Unit has on the sheet...

That is a very smart thing to do.

I want to try and get out to El Paso sometime in the next few months. I'd like to have dinner in the place where I celebrated my graduation from basic. Hard to believe it's been 23 years. Now that the Luftwaffe has left, I imagine all of the Germans restaurants will close up, if they haven't already.

Also, there is a steak house on Alabama St. that is still open. The place is within eyeshot of where the old DFAC was, just outside the fence. While we were waiting in formation, it used to torture us with the smells! One could just picture the beautifully grilled steaks, mouth-wateringly cooked to medium rare perfection!.. I swore one day I was going to return and have the fattest, juiciest steak I could muster.

Soon, very soon..

BTW, summers might be pleasant, but don't kid yourself, It gets cold as fuck in the winter time...

[Jim]

quote="Sleepy Doc
BTW, summers might be pleasant, but don't kid yourself, It gets cold as fuck in the winter time...

Understatement! Bigglestheman, please stay in touch.

[Sleepy Doc]

quote="Sleepy Doc
BTW, summers might be pleasant, but don't kid yourself, It gets cold as fuck in the winter time...

Understatement! Bigglestheman, please stay in touch.

I think the coldest I have ever been was pulling guard duty at Oh-dark-thirty on a ruck formation in the middle of the damnned desert. We pissed off one of the Drill Sergeants somehow and that was our punishment, to pull 24 hour guard duty on our ruck..on the weekend. The wind comes whippin' up the valley between the two mountain ranges and cuts you like a knife with nowhere to hide.

Def stay in touch. When you get your shot at RASP, any experience you can bring to the table will give you a huge leg-up on the competition. Then again, the only one you are ever competing against is yourself. If you can manage a Ranger school slot before RASP? Even better. One less thing to do.

Good luck, and stay safe.

Doc Out

[Bigglestheman]

I want to try and get out to El Paso sometime in the next few months. I'd like to have dinner in the place where I celebrated my graduation from basic. Hard to believe it's been 23 years. Now that the Luftwaffe has left, I imagine all of the Germans restaurants will close up, if they haven't already.

Hahah you'll be in for a surprise Ranger Sleepy Doc!


Things always seem to change at mach speed or just never change. Guys who have been here for 2+ years have talked about how drastically Ft. Bliss has changed some people at in-processing who went to Korea and came back to Ft.Bliss mentioned how its a completely different place.

[Bigglestheman]

Well it's been three years but I guess I better update on the happenings of my last three years.
I'll keep it short.
When I got to my battalion, they just got back from Afghanistan then proceeded to go to the field almost nonstop the next two years. Which is where I found the trouble in trying to even get to RASP (All those guys who are looking to enlist just wait for the Option 40 it's your best bet you don't want to end up in a place where it becomes very difficult to get the time to get ready for RASP and take care of your RASP packet.)

I was about to get out of the Army because, I was almost completely out of motivation from getting fucked over and the overall morale where i'm at was in such a low state that I just wanted to get the fuck out. I was ready to leave the Army with a middle finger in the air and DD 214 in hand (Esprit De Corps is still pretty foreign to me).

With maybe 6 or 7 months left I was sitting in my room and I was thinking about my time and decided that I still hadn't done what I wanted to do in the Army which was to become a Ranger.

While I was sitting there thinking about what a lot of the guys I met who worked with Special Forces told me about how they were and realized that SF sounded more like what I wanted to do and I went to the recruiters talked to them and now I'm set up to go to SFAS (Had to fight too because my unit wasn't too keen on this).

I don't regret coming in without the Option 40 or anything I for sure learned that I can do a lot and embrace the suck even with almost no motivation. The same goes for not coming in with an 18x because I at least I have the experience of what the regular Army is like.


My advice to people going to enlist would be
Don't worry about a lot of small shit I've seen a lot of DEPs worry about a lot of pointless shit. Focus on is getting yourself physically ready for RASP/SFAS and getting an Option 40 and if you choose the route I chose be prepared that you may not get an Option 40 in OSUT and you might have to wait once you get to your unit until you can go. REGRET NOTHING!!

Don't let recruiters bully you into enlisting without it I only joined without it because I didn't want to wait and I'm still okay with that decision. There's a lot of recruiters that really don't give a fuck about you and you're just a number.
Still wish I could meet the E7 Cav scout again he tried doing it to me when I joined.


I will say I was lucky enough that my Platoon was amazing and met some great people I still keep in contact with after they've pcs'd/ETS'd we just ended up in a shitty situation.

[Jim]

Good SITREP. Please keep us updated on your progress. Never, never quit!