New guy here

[Slov]

Hello Rangers and everyone,

My name is Alex and I am 18 years old. I turn 19 in January.

I have been a lurker on this site for quite some time, but never made an account until now. I am joining, because I want to be with the 75th Ranger Regiment. I have thought about it for quite some time as the Ranger Regiment was one of my options to be in the special operations community. A few years ago, I was essentially a couch potato and was addicted to videogames ( World of Warcraft) That time period was when I was a Freshman, and Sophomore in highschool. My grades dropped, my attendance plummeted, and my motivation for just living was bad. My parents thankfully kicked my stupid young ass into gear and I graduated this past May 2014. During that time on working to relearn my classes and get the required credits with good grades I asked myelf, " What do I want to do with my life and look back on with no regrets?" I told myself the US military and the special operations community specifically.

I specifically was going for the SEAL program and starting to seriously prepare for it around spring of last year starting with swimming, situps, and some push ups. It was the first time I ever in years that I swam or did situps. I was actually going to sign with the Navy DEP program for a SEAL mentor in the past few weeks, but decided the Navy was not for me. I never asked myself the question," Do I want to be a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine first?" I said," Soldier." Along with the fact I was never a boat guy, I knew I was doing the Navy for the wrong reasons. The Navy just did not offer what I wanted, and I became obsessed with something that I should have put more thought into.

So, after the Navy trying alot of things to get me to sign( due to desperation), I went to go talk to the Army as that is what I am truly interested in. I am going for 11x option 40. The reasons I want to do the Ranger Regiment are multiple:

1) Lineage : The history of the Ranger Regiment is unprecedented going back to World War 2, even further to before the Revolutionary War with Ranger style tactics, and the first Ranger style of unit in the French and Indian War. I have been a World War 2 buff since I was a kid, and knew about the Rangers, but didnt seriously research them until a few years ago. Specifically the book, " Dog Company" by Patrick O'Donell opened my eyes to the World War 2 generation of Rangers. Their journey from formation and training, to Pointe Du Hoc, and finally Hill 400 in the Hurtgen Forest really inspired me. Along with the modern 3 Ranger Battalions today that were in constant rotation overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan told me that the Ranger Regiment is a group that never quits and gets the job done to the best standard possible. That kind of legacy is something I want to uphold and serve under as I think there is nothing more prestigious and honorable in my on heart and mind than that.

2) Brotherhood: The special operations community has units with tight knit brotherhoods. The man to your left and right in the Ranger Regiment is the best damn Soldier the Army has and I want to serve with a group like the Ranger Regiment. I know I can count on any Ranger, if I ever made it to the Ranger Regiment, to be beside me in a fire fight no matter what the situation is. He wont leave me, and I wont leave him. Alot of times, some guys die fighting for each other and saving their fellow Rangers' life. That is something I want to be apart of. I dont see that anywhere else more frequent than the 75th Ranger Regiment

3) Never quit mentality: After graduating highschool, my drive to be in the special operations community was still there. It motivated me to change my life, honestly. I could have quit and dropped out, but I knew I had a bigger better path in life and I need to keep going. I wanted to reach the most potential I had in life. I dont want to settle on anything less as I feel I am giving up on my dreams to be in the special operations community.

4) Training: The training the Ranger Regiment receives is the best all around. I am a firearms buff as well, and like shooting. Even though I dont have alot of money right now its still fun to shoot. Using barricades for shooting over car hoods, under cars, and from various awkward positions really pushes skill to the next level that regular army seems to not have. Shooting challenges to beat time and have 100 percent efficiency is challenging as well. The advanced tactics of taking positions and the training involved seems to be much more advanced than the regular Soldier.

I hope this first post shows who I am, and why I want to be apart of the 75th Ranger Regiment. I am having a difficult time getting 11x option 40 right now, but I have to wait. I know some Rangers on this site like to ask about some more information about the person posting. So, I will go ahead and give an answer.

I grew up as a CODA ( Child of Deaf adult) all my life. My parents are deaf and I am hearing. I grew up in 2 different cultures at the same time. I had to grow up a bit faster with adult interactions as my parents naturally relied on my for interpretation. I am proficient in ASL ( american sign language) and English ( naturally).

My current PT scores:

PU: 35
SU: 80
2 mile run: 18 minutes approximately ( I have not taken a 2 mile test)
Chin- Ups: 1

I have been ruckmarching, and adding chinups to my program ( doing negatives specifically to build up to regular chin ups). I struggle in alot of areas, and that is due to my low fitness level before. My goal is to have a 300 on the APFT before I ship out, because there is no excuse to have nothing less than 300apft for me to be in the Ranger Regiment. I know my PT scores are atrocious, but I atleast have a baseline I can improve on by myself.

Thank you for your time and service Rangers.

[centermass]

That's quite an introduction and well written. If you possess most of what you wrote, you have the potential of making the grade.

While I'm sure I don't have to tell you, you need to work on your PT, both strength and stamina, especially upper body and running.

Lots of info here will give you the informational resources you need to get you started. Your drive, desire, dedication and determination will ultimately decide if you make it.

Hold out for the Option 40. Get started now working on your fitness level.

Welcome to armyranger.com

[CharlieRanger1FFV]

Welcome to the site, Slov. As Ranger Jim said, you need continue to work on your PT.


RLTW!!!

[Slov]

Roger Ranger centermass, and Ranger CharlieRanger1FFV. I will continue to push myself and break through my pushup plateau, and other areas I seriously need work in.

Thank you Ranger centermass, and Ranger CharlieRanger1FFV for the welcome, and I will be updating my scores in a month to post my progress on my PT. Hopefully I can obtain 11x Option 40 soon, but I want to make the sacrifice to wait in order to get what I truly want in writing. Option 40 is worth the wait for me.

Thank you again Rangers.

[Slov]

Rangers,

I would like to post an update. My Sergeant at the recruiting station just gave me a call this morning. An 11x Option 40 slot just popped up due to someone dropping it somewhere in the country. They went ahead and reserved it for me without my knowledge, but the ship date is for January 13th. Now, I want to go extremely bad, but with my current PT scores and the the unknown progress in the next month ahead, I dont know if that would be a good amount of time to push myself and prepare for RASP.

I do not have to sign the reservation if I dont want to, and I have 6 days to think about if I want to sign 11x Option 40 with the shipdate of January 13. 2015.

Thankyou Rangers.

[Jim]

I do not have to sign the reservation if I dont want to, and I have 6 days to think about if I want to sign 11x Option 40 with the shipdate of January 13. 2015.

You're right, it is your decision. Read letters from school to get an idea of what lies ahead. Never, never quit!

[Slov]

Roger Ranger Jim. I will do exactly as you have said. I have already seen a few individuals and Rangers accounts of what lies ahead, and the consensus is that I should be prepared to ship before OSUT, because of the easiness factor they experienced themselves. So, at that point, with my current PT scores, I am concerned if I am just flat out setting myself up for failure. If I waited an extra few months to prepare more, I can be in the APFT range of the Rangers who successfully completed RASP.

I know there is a difference between never quitting and setting myself up for failure.Your advice Ranger Jim, is showing me that the individuals, including Rangers who succeeded were prepared before they shipped out. So my assumption is that I should do what they did in order to succeed and ship out a few months from now instead of shipping out next month.

I do not want to waste an Option 40 slot if I got dropped due to failing a PT test rather than not quitting, because I didnt take the extra month or two to improve my APFT scores along with chin ups, ruck marching, and the 5 mile runs. That is what I would view as setting myself up for failure.

Thank you Rangers.

[Jim]

I wish we had more future soldiers with your attitude. Never, never quit!

[Slov]

Ranger Jim,

To hear that reply from you means I'm doing something right. I am going to keep you Rangers up to date on my contract decision. I have a feeling with my findings that it would be best to PT on my own and sign in a few months when I am in much better shape. That way I am setting myself up for success on a pipeline that is already hard. I will keep you Rangers up to date on my PT scores and my decision before this Thursday. I am weighing all the pro's, and cons, but I know what I need to do. Unfortunately that means giving up my current Option 40 reservation for one in the near future when I am much more prepared.

Thank you Rangers

[cams]

Ranger Jim,

To hear that reply from you means I'm doing something right. I am going to keep you Rangers up to date on my contract decision. I have a feeling with my findings that it would be best to PT on my own and sign in a few months when I am in much better shape. That way I am setting myself up for success on a pipeline that is already hard. I will keep you Rangers up to date on my PT scores and my decision before this Thursday. I am weighing all the pro's, and cons, but I know what I need to do. Unfortunately that means giving up my current Option 40 reservation for one in the near future when I am much more prepared.

Thank you Rangers

Listen to Ranger Jims advice. His signature line says a few things about his experience, but that doesn't even break the surface of it. He came up through the enlisted ranks from Private to SSG as a Ranger and then again as an young Officer up to Colonel.

His experience and advice is immeasurable.

I believe you're on the right track, it is best to prepare yourself. The road ahead is very difficult if you're not.

There will be more Opt 40's available for you when you're ready.

[Slov]

Roger Ranger cams.

I will most definitely listen to Ranger Jim, but all of you other Rangers as well. When I saw Ranger Jims' signature, my jaw dropped. Thank you Ranger cams for opening my eyes to Ranger Jims' background and story. Ranger Jims' story is remarkable and inspirational.

I will wait for the right time for my Option 40 contract. My recruiters reserved Option 40 without me knowing. I wish my recruiters didn't do that, but they were looking out for me while some recruiters could care less. So I appreciate my recruiters doing that.

However, right now my recruiters still want me to get my Airborne physical. I am at the MEPS hotel tonight and will get the physical tomorrow morning.

Currently, I am pushing past my push up plateau by mixing up my routine. Hopefully this 10 day plan I found from Stew Smith can help me. I am halfway through the program and its a struggle, but that is the only way to improve. After that I will do the push-up program that is stickied on this website.

I also did chin ups instead of pull ups today. My number went to 3. I will post a better PT score in the weeks to come. I am going to take a second APFT on Christmas.

Thank you Rangers.

[rangerjd]

What you are about to become involved in, training to become a Ranger, will be the most difficult thing you have ever done, both physically and mentally. To go in unprepared may be setting yourself up for failure. Back when I went in, when we still used bows and arrows, my recruiter was a Ranger and had me prepping for over a year before I left. And I still felt like I was not ready when I got to RIP, RASP now, especially mentally. The better physical shape you can be in when you start, the better your chances of dealing with the mental aspects of the training. Give everything you've got, ever time you give and never, ever quit. RLTW

[Jim]

I will most definitely listen to Ranger Jim, but all of you other Rangers as well. When I saw Ranger Jims' signature, my jaw dropped. Thank you Ranger cams for opening my eyes to Ranger Jims' background and story. Ranger Jims' story is remarkable and inspirational.

You do not need to flatter me. The reason I feel entitled to give advice is that I have been around a long time. Ranger Cams, has a long and distinguished career as both a Ranger and as a law enforcement officer. Many of the Rangers on this site are experts in their fields. As I have said many times, we take great pride in the fine young men who pass through ArmyRanger.com on their life journey. Never, never quit!

[Slov]

Ranger rangerjd,

The knowledge and advice you gave I will definitely pay attention to. That advice and information shows the preparation I need to achieve before going. I will eventually get there!!

Ranger jim,

Thank you for the advice regardless. Thank you for the reply! Every Ranger who replies to me I have tremendous respect and admiration for.

For all Rangers,

So, I am airborne qualified. However, at the MEPS liaison office is where things took a turn for the worse. I literally had to be firm, loud, and make a scene in order to leave without signing. I dont know if you Rangers want to know, but it is a stereotypical MEPS liaison horror story. I have never been mad like I was in the liaison office. I tried to be professional, polite, and courteous, but they would just not accept my decision. It was just a really bad experience.

However, in the meantime, I will be PTing to improve my scores.

Thank you Rangers.

[cams]

Stick to your guns young man. They're trying to fill a quota, much like used car salesmen. There'll be more Opt 40's when the time is right. If that recruiter gives you hell about it, be firm and polite, if he won't bend because he has a case of the ass now, just walk out and go to another recruiter. You're still a free man and able to do so until you sign on the dotted line. Make sure it's what you want, not what they need.