Shipping Out 20140610

[Smokey Bear]

Good evening Rangers and fellow DEPers. I ship out for BCT today. My flight has been delayed an hour due to weather conditions. But needless to say I am excited. First and foremost I would like to say thank you to all the Rangers who have guided me and encouraged me. Y'all have been great. I can't wait to see what the military has in store for me. I will for sure continue to post when a computer or phone is applicable. Thanks again for everything and wish me luck!

[Jim]

OK, you did not get on Option 40. Earn this! Never, never quit!

[Smokey Bear]

Good evening Rangers and future soldiers. It has been quite awhile since I last gave a SITREP on how things have been going so far. OSUT was a breeze. If anything it was a lot of hurry up and wait. I never would have thought it would've been like that. I still soaked up as much knowledge as I could though. Future soldiers, make sure you know your five paragraphs of an OP Order, 8 Troop Leading Procedures, Battle Drills etc. And by the grace of God, please know the Soldiers Creed and the Infantryman's Creed. Although OSUT was a breeze a lot of people still fell out which was pathetic. All you have to do is pay attention to detail and put one foot in front of the other. The DS's didn't even really know my name all that well until the end of OSUT. That's because I kept my head down and didn't screw things up. That's what I was told to do at least! Even though the PT was a joke I did a lot of PT on my own and kept my score up. I made sure the DS's knew that I was there for a reason and was not a quitter. BRM came around and I ended up scoring a 39/40 because I jumped the trigger on a kneeling shot. Towards the end of OSUT I still hadn't obtained an Airborne contract so I was determined to get one. I ended up getting one and was ordered to go to Airborne school directly after OSUT Graduation. Airborne school was extremely easy. The days seemed to drag on forever but it was just one more thing I had to do to get one step closer to becoming an Airborne Ranger. I wasn't able to obtain a Ranger Contract in OSUT or Airborne school because of my GT score but I know what I need to do to get that score up so I can get a contract. I am now sitting in the airport waiting for my flight for Germany where I will be stationed. I got lucky and am getting stationed with the 1-91 CAV RECON 173rd Airborne Division. This unit is a reconnaissance unit which will hopefully enable me to go to sniper school after some time and after I meet some of the pre-requisites. Germany is going to be a blast and I can't wait. After I get some experience and my GT score up I am going to through my packet down for the Rangers. I know my goal and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Forging my own path,

Smokey Bear

[CharlieRanger1FFV]

Always give 100% in everything that you do and never give up on your goal.


RLTW!!!

[Jim]

Keep us informed as you deploy to Germany. I really enjoyed Germany, and have gone back several times since I retired. Never, never quit!

[Smokey Bear]

Good evening Rangers. It's been awhile since I have posted a SITREP. I had to get my WI-FI setup in my room and then I lost my password for this website. Where do I begin, Germany is great. I haven't been able to explore much because my unit has been on ACRF ever since I got here. The thing I love about this unit is the training. We train all of the time. We jump all of the time as well. It took me almost a month to get processed into the system and I missed a lot of training events because of it. So far I've only been to Czech Republic to do a training mission there but there will be many to come. I've noticed there are a lot of opportunities here not only for experience but for schools as well. I've been working my ass off to get noticed and have been trying to go to Ranger School. A couple of guys here are going to Ranger School within the next month. They've been here awhile and they've proven themselves applicable for the slot. So that's what it's going to take, time and hard work. We have a PT test coming up after Exodus and it's a big one. I start the in class portion of the FAST class in January and that's another big step for me. The only bad thing about here is that no one really wants to be here. But in turn that is a good thing because it decreases the competition I guess. I'm doing my best to not let them rub off on me. I will let nothing get in the way of what I want to do and who I want to be. I'm looking forward to the next couple of months. We have a very motivated First Sergeant who came from the 75th. Only time will tell what happens in the future. Until them I am going to keep doing what I'm doing and setting up myself for success. Also, German beer is pretty good haha. Until next time,

Austin

[rangerjd]

Good SITREP, remember attitude is everything. Stay motivated, false motivation is better than no motivation. Do everything you can do to stand out as a top of the line soldier and follow Ranger ManchuV's advice on raising you GT score. That Ranger slot is out there waiting for you, but you have to fight to get it. Give everything you've got, every time you give and never, ever Quit. RLTW

[Smokey Bear]

Thank you for the advice Ranger ManchuV. I've already started the online FAST class but think the in class portion will be better. Plus it physically let's the chain of command know who I am and what I'm doing since I'll be missing duty days for it. Ranger rangerjd, your advice was instilled in me a long time ago and have been doing everything I can and then some to show them that this is what I want. The guys at work think I'm pretty weird because I always have my face full of chapter eight of the Ranger Handbook or whatever I had been studying that day lol. But it's necessary and it will pay off. Even the little things like finding out when my commander goes to the gym and going to the gym at that time I've been doing. Looking forward to the next couple of months. Forging my own path,

. Austin

[Jim]

Great SITREP! Improve your status as much as possible. Try to earn your CIB/ EIB and get that task out of the way. CIB will depend on deployments, but most units test EIB annually. Never, never quit!

[Smokey Bear]

Roger Ranger Jim. I just missed EIB when I first got here. The next training for that will be held sometime in March if I'm not mistaken. In the meantime there are quite a lot of other schools I can attend to. We have a sniper section in my troop and they hold annual tryouts and if you pass you get sent to sniper school. I've also heard of a jungle school in France and there is an air assault school that comes by here once in a blue moon. So if I'm persistent with my goal, which I am, I could PCS out of here with a lot of knowledge and experience. That's what I love about Germany. Opportunities are everywhere in this unit and with not a lot of competition the slots are always there if your command poses you worthy enough. I will post my next SITREP after the PT test come mid January. Until then I have some pushups and pavement to attend to. Respectfully,


Austin

[Smokey Bear]

Good evening Rangers, a lot has been going on lately. We never ended up taking the PT test I had told ya'll about. So I've been using this time to work on PT and finishing up some online classes that my First Sergeant wants done. I've been working on my Ranger School packet and I just finished Phase 1 of my physical. It should be finished this week. I've decided that I want to go to Ranger School before I try out for RASP. Bearing that tab will give me a lot more experience and confidence in leading others before I go to RASP. Air Assault is finally coming here around May and the tryouts for a slot should be coming soon. I've been told I already have a slot which is great news. So with that being said, Ranger School will have to get pushed back a little bit. There's a class in late June that I am looking at. Hopefully I can go to that, graduate in August, come back to my unit for a little while and then throw down my packet for RASP. I have a scheduled FAST class that I am going to next week. By the end of this month I will have my GT score that I need achieved and all I'll have to focus on is PT, work and getting ready for Ranger School which means more PT. Things are finally starting to fall in place but I know that it's only because of the work I have put in so I'm proud of that. I know that I will need to take a Ranger Physical Assessment Test before I go. I'm going to try and schedule that for next month. My next SITREP will be after that. Moving forward as always,

Austin

[Jim]

Good SITREP! What else is going on?

[Slowpoke]

I got lucky and am getting stationed with the 1-91 CAV RECON 173rd Airborne Division.

Smokey Bear

When did the 173rd Airborne get to be a Division?