All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Who are you? What is your age/education level? Clearly state the purpose of your visit. Please protect your privacy by not including full names and current personal information.

Moderator: Site Admin

User avatar
IntelToad
Ranger
Posts: 2656
Joined: March 20th, 2004, 9:03 am
Been thanked: 2 times

All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by IntelToad »

Read the "Letters from School Thread" thread.

I don't mean just be a lazy ass and read on or two of them, I mean block out 2 hours of you life and read every single fucking thing that has ever been written there.

Block out 3 to 4 hours if you are retarded.

I did it this today, and some common trends are evident as to who makes it, who doesn't and who just says fuck it and quits before they even attempt it.

I want to see who really appreciates this goldmine of information that is sitting in your laps.

Post what you have gleaned from your study time and post it, we will compare notes.
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
User avatar
Mjneal
Future Soldier / Opt40
Posts: 17
Joined: March 31st, 2017, 5:28 pm

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by Mjneal »

Ranger IntelToad,


Quizlet is an important tool. (Ranger Bloody_Limey)

Don't fall asleep during classes. (Ranger Bloody_Limey)

Rapid transportation in some cases is better than treatment. (Ranger Bloody_Limey)

Don't underage drink, it could cost you your future. (Pretzel1010)

Being a Ranger is more than just being a PT stud. (Ranger Herbert)

If you do not have a strong end goal in mind you will fail. (Ranger Herbert)

Be squared away and move with a sense of urgency everywhere you go. (ZachN98)

Limit your pack to 35 pounds; that is the Ranger standard. (Ranger Jim)

Learn the creed, well before you get to pre rasp, or else you will get used to smokings followed by an mre instead of hot chow. (Sully2490)

Check over your answers the tests are stupid easy, also trust your gut because I second guessed myself and changed an answer before I handed it in and ended up failing by one (Sully2490)

If you are sick go to sick call and get it looked at, don't be stupid (Ranger Disinfertention)

Throughout this part of your career, you do not need to try to prove yourself to be a badass, or a genius, or clever, or funny, or anything. (Ranger Dreadnought)

Your time, your entire time, in the Regiment is an ongoing selection process. (Ranger Dreadnought)

If you want the respect and trust of your buddies and your leadership, earn it. (Ranger Dreadnought)

No matter how much I teach, or smoke, or belittle, or scream at, or do whatever else to a man, I cannot make him a good Ranger and a valuable member of the team. He can only do that himself, with the tools given to him. (Ranger Dreadnought)

Embrace it. (Ranger Dreadnought)
25U Option 40
Ship Date: 20170619

"Five Mentees Report Here" Thread Member
User avatar
Mjneal
Future Soldier / Opt40
Posts: 17
Joined: March 31st, 2017, 5:28 pm

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by Mjneal »

I can't edit but its Ranger FSHerbert. Did 50+1 push-ups for my mistake.
25U Option 40
Ship Date: 20170619

"Five Mentees Report Here" Thread Member
User avatar
Arch51
Ranger
Posts: 104
Joined: October 18th, 2016, 12:16 pm

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by Arch51 »

After taking 2 hours to read post from numerous forums of the “Letters from School” thread, I have gained a wealth of knowledge and advice. Most of this advice while very important, are what I see to be as “dos and don’ts.” Examples include not quitting, don’t mess with crazy chicks, PT on your own, study on your own, don’t drink underage or don’t drink and drive, and the list goes on. These are conscious decisions you can make for the most part. One particular problem in the Ranger training pipeline is the aspect of injury. This problem is not so black and white, in most cases one does not simply choose to injure himself, shit just happens sometime. So I did some research on decreasing chance of injury. Let me start by by saying one can and people have powered through in selection, training, and combat with a no quit mindset. However there is no denying that performance is increased if there is no injury.

While no one is completely injury proof, preventative measures can be taken to make the possibility less likely by becoming durable. According to coach Rob Shaul at Mountain Tactical Institute, Durability=80%strength+10%stabilizer strength+10%proper movement. To start with strength, Shaul states that “stronger athletes are simply harder to injure.” If a stronger athlete does sustain an injury it won’t be as significant on them as it would a weaker one. Also he says that a stronger athlete recovers from injury faster. I kind of question this last statement, but then again I’m not a medical expert.

Both stabilizer strength and proper movement in my eyes boil down to 2 things, mobility and structural balance. Mobility is ability of a joint to move through a given range of motion. Will Hogendoorn contributor of Brotherhood Life makes the analogy of conducting mobility exercises is like an oil change for your car, it keeps the moving parts from wearing out. Structural balance is about having a stable base or foundation so you can build upon that without everything crashing down. One imbalance issue that one of my coaches at Brotherhood Life, Wes Kennedy addresses is single leg imbalance. One leg being stronger than the other is a compromise to your body's structural balance. The solution to this is single leg exercises such rear foot elevated split squats, step ups, lunges, and single leg romanian deadlifts.

Another thing I want to add is accumulation. This basically means don’t jump the gun and physically do something your body can not handle and consequently injure yourself. However this by no means “stay in your comfort zone.” It's that fine line between going easy and not improving, and going so hard you hurt yourself. For example, my training program involves a ruck march every Friday, my first week I rucked 90 minutes with a 20 pound pack. Every week I increase 20-30 minutes and once I ruck 3 hours with that weight, the next week I go back to 90 minutes with a 5-10 pound increase. This gives me a challenge and physical improvement without injury. Although I used lots of external reference on specifics, I would never realized how serious injury is on the road to becoming a Ranger had a not read about those who have been medically dropped or were unable perform task at a high performance like the APFT had I not read the “Letters from School” thread.
3/75
User avatar
Jim
Rest In Peace Ranger
Posts: 21935
Joined: March 8th, 2005, 10:48 am
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by Jim »

Kenny (Arch51), I will say it again, and again. Limit your ruck weight to 35 pounds. That is the Ranger standard for training.
Ranger Class 13-71
Advisor, VN 66-68 69-70
42d Vn Ranger Battalion 1969-1970
Trainer, El Salvador 86-87
Advisor, Saudi Arabian National Guard 91, 93-94
75th RRA Life Member #867
User avatar
Arch51
Ranger
Posts: 104
Joined: October 18th, 2016, 12:16 pm

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by Arch51 »

Roger, Ranger Jim.
3/75
User avatar
IntelToad
Ranger
Posts: 2656
Joined: March 20th, 2004, 9:03 am
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by IntelToad »

Mjneal and Arch51, good answers.

I went through RIP 32 years ago. I had no idea what was coming, or what to prepare for. I would assume most others around that time were in the same boat.

The letters from school are so important because they are being written by men who are going through the process right now ! There are nuggets of information in there that you aren't going to hear anywhere else.

Here are some of the highlights I would stress-

1. RASP candidates that are successful are careful about the people they associate with. They are able to discern who the negative influences are and who will drag them down.

2. They use downtime in places like airborne hold or pre RASP to do more PT- they stay focused during the situations where it is very easy to slack off. I found it interesting how many RASP candidates dropped their contracts during lulls before airborne or RASP starts.

3. They do their homework in terms of Ranger history and the Creed before they get there.

4. They avoid getting caught up in situations involving drinking. Don't wreck everything you worked for because of one night of stupidity. It literally takes seconds to go off the tracks.

5. They follow the standards to the letter- if the standards say no outside medication in RASP, they don't get caught with motrin and get bounced out the door.

6. They see RASP as an opportunity, a challenge, not something they have to do or endure. They want to be there and they want to succeed. They don't quit, they know the sun will eventually come up, they keep driving on.

7. They are early for formation. They get up before everyone else. They pay attention to detail and use spare time to prepare for the next day, not screw off.

There may be grey areas in the big Army, but in RASP and Regiment the standards are black and white. If you are told to do something a certain way, you do it. If you are told not to do something, you don't do it. Once you accept this is how things get done, it is actually not a bad way to live. You always know where you stand.
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
User avatar
J031
Ranger
Posts: 116
Joined: May 6th, 2016, 7:19 am
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by J031 »

Ranger IntelToad,

I was excited when I saw that you posted this task because, much like LionsDen, when I'm sitting in school doing jack shit I'll open up the "Letters From School" thread and read. I usually attempt to find the people who have become Rangers and read their thread from beginning to end, and then read their introduction. I do this simply as a check for myself, am I emulating successful habits?

On the other hand I also read the threads of those who have quit or failed at various aspects of RASP, was it Land Nav, PT, history and standards,or something else? I need to find out as much as I can about what behaviors I shouldn't be doing in the same way that I must find out as much as can about what it is that current Rangers have done to get themselves to Regiment.

I know most of this will be a repetition of what has already been posted, but here are my main observations of successful RASP candidates:

1. They come in squared away; they exceed the standards on PT, know the Ranger Creed by heart, know everything about their Airborne Ranger In The Sky, know Ranger History, they've spent time under a ruck putting in miles before they even shipped, they have the right mindset as to why they are in RASP.

2. They are "ready" for RASP. Successful RASP candidates are eager to start the selection process. As stated by Ranger IntelToad earlier they don't view is as something to endure, but as a learning experience to better themselves before they get to Regiment.

3. They don't dwell on failure. Ranger jth456 failed a PT test in Pre-RASP, got sent to another unit, then came back to RASP more prepared and more motivated than before knowing the feeling the failure. He didn't dwell on his failure and feel sorry for himself; he got up, dusted himself off, and got to work improving himself so when another opportunity presented itself he would be ready.

4. They spend any down time improving themselves or preparing for future events. Downtime in OSUT or BAT was used to smoke themselves, read the Ranger Handbook, or research their Airborne Ranger In The Sky. Any downtime in Pre-RASP is used productively also. The only difference in RASP from the other steps in the training pipeline is an emphasis on recovery. Ranger jth456 had to have put a sentence along the lines of "Just got off for the weekend, going to hydrate and recover for..." in every update in his thread. Countless others have echoed "take care of your feet". Maximizing time to recover as much as possible is a must.

5. They find motivation from watching others succeed. Whether successful RASP candidates see a RASP I class on a run while they are in Pre-RASP, get assigned to a detail for the RASP II cadre while in Pre-RASP, or see Rangers walking around wearing the tan beret they get motivated because of it. Seeing others realize the same dream you have is powerful. If I have to think it is somewhat the same as the motivation I get from reading their "Letters From School" threads.

6. They always keep the end goal in mind. Their only thoughts during the sucky parts of RASP are of the feelings they'll get when they finally don the tan beret. All of them have said something along the lines of, "at times RASP sucks and isn't fun, but if you want it badly enough you'll survive" the 'it' they are referring to is becoming a part of the Regiment.

7. Along the same lines as keeping the end goal in mind; they control who they associate with, and avoid sketchy situations. My mom is friends with a lady whose son was recently going through RASP for the second time; her son was one of about 40 people who ordered food to the RASP barracks on one of the weekends of RASP II, the cadre found out and when they asked who did it only about 15 of the 40 fessed up and got dropped. I'm sure the other 25 or so people will get peered out at the end, but this isn't really the point of this. If he had associated with the right people. and not put himself in that situation he wouldn't have got dropped for something as stupid as some cravings for jimmy johns on a Saturday night.

Unsuccessful RASP candidates for the most part just don't put in the work ahead of time and quit. Though you could also argue that not doing anything to prepare is quitting before the selection takes place because you are setting yourself up for failure.
11X Option 40
Ship date: 20170718

"Five Mentee Report Here" Thread member
User avatar
IntelToad
Ranger
Posts: 2656
Joined: March 20th, 2004, 9:03 am
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by IntelToad »

J031, well done.

By the way, all of you aspiring Rangers, land navigation is not some top secret program closely held by the US government.

The US Army land navigation manual is available online for free. It is a bit more than you need to read at this point, really thick and scientific, so don't get overwhelmed. The parts about plotting a position, moving with an azimuth and accounting for declination are good.

Many good books on land nav are available at your local library or online. You can buy a good compass for $ 20 at your local sporting good stores and protractors are available really cheap online. You can download a 1:50,000 map of your own neighborhood and start practicing.

Another good thing to do is look for an orienteering club in your area. This will familiarize you with moving through terrain with a compass, pace count and map.

I am in no way connected with this company, but I just bought a bunch of protractors of varying scales to help my own son in land nav-

www.maptools.com
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
User avatar
IntelToad
Ranger
Posts: 2656
Joined: March 20th, 2004, 9:03 am
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by IntelToad »

Find a topo of your hood and get your land nav on-

https://www.usgs.gov/products/maps/topo-maps
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
User avatar
atl456
Ranger
Posts: 92
Joined: January 19th, 2017, 3:00 pm
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by atl456 »

I just finished spending several hours reading through the letter for school threads. I noticed a few trends. Most people say that basic training is not physically hard and the hardest part is transitioning to a strict environment and dealing with unmotivated people. Most people said airborne was physically very easy as well. Many people said that Pre-RASP is physically a step up from airborne and basic however it can be monotonous but is a good time to physically and mentally prepare yourself.

Unfortunately many people stop writing SITREPs after airborne or Pre-RASP. I’m guessing this is because they either quit or forgot about it. The people who have come back and given a reason why they quit or got kicked out gave several reasons for their failure. One said he quit because his wife was pregnant, one had a fear of heights and didn’t go down the fast rope. Others failed because of the land nav, had contraband, couldn’t pass the PT test, had an integrity violation, got injured or have given some other excuse. Many of the Rangers who did pass RASP have stated that many people drop their contract/quit because they “lost motivation" and gave up or just didn't have what it takes to be a Ranger mentally, physically or emotionally. However, few people have admitted that is why they failed.

Thankfully, Ranger IntelToad provided us mentees with the answer to what makes someone a successful Ranger. JO31, Mjneal and Arch51 also provided concurring and very helpful answers. I don't want to repeat what's already been said and I can't think of anything else to add.

I paid particular attention to the threads about 68Ws going through the pipeline. Ranger Grim666’s, Ranger Bloody Limey’s, Ranger FSHerbert’s and Pretzel1010’s SITREPS were very insightful. The people who passed SOCM had good study habits, didn’t party, and had close to 300 PT score. The people who failed did the opposite. They couldn’t make the transition to doing college level work, partied/drank, slacked on their PT or cheated.

These are a few quotes I found that were helpful to me
“If you don't actually push yourself DEPs - if you just come on here and blab a lot about working hard - then you will fail when the time comes. And who do you think you're going to fail? Armyranger.com? Shit, the men on here don't need you. They've done it. Do you think you're failing the Army? Hell no. They've got a selection process - you're just validating that it works - that it catches the fakes. Do you think the guy above failed me? Not at all. I'm glad there is a system to make sure the guy who winds up next to me out there can cash the checks he writes with his mouth. If you fail, the only person you're failing is yourself.”
–SF Operator/ Marine Leatherneck
“If you want to be a Ranger, and serve with the greatest group of men you will ever get the chance to work with and grow with, then continue to persevere. If you think you are fast enough, you aren't. If you think you're strong enough, you aren't. If you think you're DETERMINED enough, you aren't. If you push each one of these envelopes, as well as strive to be mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight, then you will find yourself in the right place.”
– Ranger Dreadnought

Thank you Ranger IntelToad for the links that will help us with our land navigation.
RASP class 01-19
SOCM class 05-19
Ranger School class 10-21
2/75
User avatar
IntelToad
Ranger
Posts: 2656
Joined: March 20th, 2004, 9:03 am
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by IntelToad »

Thankfully, Ranger IntelToad provided us mentees with the answer to what makes someone a successful Ranger.

No I didn't, in fact that statement is borderline condescending.

Wait, it's not borderline, it is condescending.

There is no magical "answer" there is no secret code, or admission ticket.

It is hard work.

Do fucking push ups.

I am providing some guidance, follow it.
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
User avatar
IntelToad
Ranger
Posts: 2656
Joined: March 20th, 2004, 9:03 am
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by IntelToad »

Other than that atl456, good post.
S-2, HQ 75th, 1985-1987
User avatar
atl456
Ranger
Posts: 92
Joined: January 19th, 2017, 3:00 pm
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by atl456 »

Roger Ranger IntelToad. I didn't mean for it to come across that way. I will do push ups immediately.
RASP class 01-19
SOCM class 05-19
Ranger School class 10-21
2/75
User avatar
J031
Ranger
Posts: 116
Joined: May 6th, 2016, 7:19 am
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: All Of You Future Rangers Read This

Post by J031 »

Roger, Ranger IntelToad.
11X Option 40
Ship date: 20170718

"Five Mentee Report Here" Thread member
Post Reply

Return to “Introductions - Future Soldiers and Other Civilians”