Morning Rangers,
I've read about how much your mental disposition changed after becomming a Ranger, but what kind of attitude did you enlist with? Were you the type that naturally excelled at everything, or was that ability instilled into you? I'm trying to get a "mental profile" of the mindset you had before becomming tabbed.
Thanks,
Ryan
Mental disposition before enlisting
Re: Mental disposition before enlisting
I think you'll find that many of the guys who become Rangers excell at just about everything. They score high on their entrance tests, they are above average in athletics, and they attain the goals that they set out to conquer. As a group, they are also mostly Type A, 'Alpha Wolf' personalities. Most have an excellent, but rather dry sense of humor, as well. I would say that the Ranger experience simply hones these characteristics.Echo Zman wrote:what kind of attitude did you enlist with? Were you the type that naturally excelled at everything, or was that ability instilled into you?
RLTW
EP
Last edited by Earthpig on November 23rd, 2004, 4:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
Always remember: BROS BEFORE HOES.
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Creeping Death
- Ranger
- Posts: 2119
- Joined: April 14th, 2003, 10:11 am
I was raised in a conservative home where expectations of me were high. I was a slightly above average student without having to apply myself. I played football in high school, but was never a star.
I was more at home in the outdoors; hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. I was also somewhat of a hellraiser as a child. My love for the outdoors and my love for cold beer served as my prep for my Rangering days.
On the flip side, my brother was the star running back and made shitty grades. Pretty much the opposite of myself. Part of my motivation for doing what I did was to prove that I could excell as well, except I chose something a hell of a lot harder to excell at than a fucking game of football.
One of the values I was raised with was that once you started something, you always finished it - no matter what. Once the decision was made to become a Ranger, there was never a doubt that I would be successful, and after a lot of suffering and personal sacrifice I eventually was.
I think it comes more from values we were all raised with rather than how well we were at sports or what have you. Of course, it is always easier for a star athlete to make it rather than a lard ass playstation junky. But the one thing that must ALWAYS be strong is the Ranger's mind. I think one would see that every Ranger here was not raised to be a quitter. It is part of who they were, are, and will forever be. And it is something that we were all either born with, or were taught from a very early age. We may not be the best at everything we have ever done, or tried to do. But the can do, never quit attitude, combined with the selection practices the hand pick men who are capable of excelling at the Ranger mission has resulted in the finest light infantry Regiment in the history of armed conflict.
I was more at home in the outdoors; hunting, fishing, hiking, and camping. I was also somewhat of a hellraiser as a child. My love for the outdoors and my love for cold beer served as my prep for my Rangering days.
On the flip side, my brother was the star running back and made shitty grades. Pretty much the opposite of myself. Part of my motivation for doing what I did was to prove that I could excell as well, except I chose something a hell of a lot harder to excell at than a fucking game of football.
One of the values I was raised with was that once you started something, you always finished it - no matter what. Once the decision was made to become a Ranger, there was never a doubt that I would be successful, and after a lot of suffering and personal sacrifice I eventually was.
I think it comes more from values we were all raised with rather than how well we were at sports or what have you. Of course, it is always easier for a star athlete to make it rather than a lard ass playstation junky. But the one thing that must ALWAYS be strong is the Ranger's mind. I think one would see that every Ranger here was not raised to be a quitter. It is part of who they were, are, and will forever be. And it is something that we were all either born with, or were taught from a very early age. We may not be the best at everything we have ever done, or tried to do. But the can do, never quit attitude, combined with the selection practices the hand pick men who are capable of excelling at the Ranger mission has resulted in the finest light infantry Regiment in the history of armed conflict.
A Co 1/75 '94-'97
Class 5-96
Class 5-96
"Rape, kill, pillage and burn" pretty much sums it up.
Nah, I'm just kidding. Just a desire to deal death and destruction under the flag of the greatest nation on earth. To push oneself to the absolute limits of human performance and not an inch less. That was my mentality when I decided to do it.
Being a Ranger requires a commitment to do far more than the minimum to get by. When you get right down to it, the only irrefutable payback for the pain and sweat required of you as a Ranger is the constant knowledge that you are operating at the apogee of military service. This is not the job for someone who wants college money. Rangers work ten times as hard as conventional soldiers and get paid the same.
The disparity in payment is made up, however, by the satisfaction of knowing that you are the best- a member of an elite fraternity of warriors envied by all others (and desired by their women). You have to be the type of person who cares more about honor and sacrifice than petty rewards such as money. If you want money, get a job on Wall Street. If you want to suffer like never before and feel pride like you've never felt, then maybe you have what it takes. That will get you halfway there, at least.
Nah, I'm just kidding. Just a desire to deal death and destruction under the flag of the greatest nation on earth. To push oneself to the absolute limits of human performance and not an inch less. That was my mentality when I decided to do it.
Being a Ranger requires a commitment to do far more than the minimum to get by. When you get right down to it, the only irrefutable payback for the pain and sweat required of you as a Ranger is the constant knowledge that you are operating at the apogee of military service. This is not the job for someone who wants college money. Rangers work ten times as hard as conventional soldiers and get paid the same.
The disparity in payment is made up, however, by the satisfaction of knowing that you are the best- a member of an elite fraternity of warriors envied by all others (and desired by their women). You have to be the type of person who cares more about honor and sacrifice than petty rewards such as money. If you want money, get a job on Wall Street. If you want to suffer like never before and feel pride like you've never felt, then maybe you have what it takes. That will get you halfway there, at least.
CPT, USAF Medical Service Corps
A Co. 1/75 99-02
Class 9-01
A Co. 1/75 99-02
Class 9-01
. Almost December and I'm still in shorts.-
Kilted Heathen
- Tadpole
- Posts: 4542
- Joined: November 12th, 2004, 4:52 pm
I had a never quit attitude long before I enlisted...but then again, I dreamed of being in the Spec Ops community since I was like 9 or some shit......
Enlisting only reinforced that I COULD NOT fail. If you don't have the same attitude, I suggest you find it, and quickly.
Enlisting only reinforced that I COULD NOT fail. If you don't have the same attitude, I suggest you find it, and quickly.
Last edited by BadMuther on November 23rd, 2004, 7:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bell
I was scared shitless. Everyday was a fucking surprise to me. I did it all grinning. The surprises and the challenges got me excited. The hurt sucked, but ya had to do that to get to the good stuff. And oh boy was there good stuff. It felt so good when the mission was over and you could grab a cold beer and look back. You could see that it was good.
RLTW
Bell
RLTW
Bell
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Silverback
- Ranger
- Posts: 20118
- Joined: March 7th, 2004, 11:06 pm
- Been thanked: 1 time
High school was drawing to a close and I was not successful finding a sponsor (Freestyle BMX). I was reading a newspaper article about some "Rangers" doing a hand to hand combat demonstration and I thought "That's looks pretty cool".
:::Couple of weeks later:::
Recruiter came to the school during career day and I wanted to ask him about Rangers. Before I could say a word he showed me a butcher block (Big paper on an easel) that said "Rangers...Parachute behind enemy lines and kill anything that breathes". I signed the next day and entered into an 11 month DEP contract.
After all the years of debauchery I have under my belt I know one thing, had I become a Professional freestyle rider I would have destroyed my liver and been the subject of a VH1 Behind the scenes episode. So the way I see it God called me to this job in order to assist in the cleansing of the earth.
:::Couple of weeks later:::
Recruiter came to the school during career day and I wanted to ask him about Rangers. Before I could say a word he showed me a butcher block (Big paper on an easel) that said "Rangers...Parachute behind enemy lines and kill anything that breathes". I signed the next day and entered into an 11 month DEP contract.
After all the years of debauchery I have under my belt I know one thing, had I become a Professional freestyle rider I would have destroyed my liver and been the subject of a VH1 Behind the scenes episode. So the way I see it God called me to this job in order to assist in the cleansing of the earth.
RC 2-87
3-75 84/85, 95/97
"thnks 4 pratn merku!"
3-75 84/85, 95/97
"thnks 4 pratn merku!"
Silverback wrote:High school was drawing to a close and I was not successful finding a sponsor (Freestyle BMX). I was reading a newspaper article about some "Rangers" doing a hand to hand combat demonstration and I thought "That's looks pretty cool".
:::Couple of weeks later:::
Recruiter came to the school during career day and I wanted to ask him about Rangers. Before I could say a word he showed me a butcher block (Big paper on an easel) that said "Rangers...Parachute behind enemy lines and kill anything that breathes". I signed the next day and entered into an 11 month DEP contract.
After all the years of debauchery I have under my belt I know one thing, had I become a Professional freestyle rider I would have destroyed my liver and been the subject of a VH1 Behind the scenes episode. So the way I see it God called me to this job in order to assist in the cleansing of the earth.
You're not free and clear of that yet.........might still happen. :D
I was in 2/75 from 97 to 00. 5-99
"He only loved people, he thought, who had fought or been mutilated. Other people were fine and you liked them and were good friends; but you only felt true tenderness and love for those who had been there and had received the castigation that everyone receives who goes there long enough." Ernest Hemingway
"He only loved people, he thought, who had fought or been mutilated. Other people were fine and you liked them and were good friends; but you only felt true tenderness and love for those who had been there and had received the castigation that everyone receives who goes there long enough." Ernest Hemingway
Vee wrote:Dublo wrote:
You're not free and clear of that yet.........might still happen. :D
Yo Dubs!
In regards to the original question.........were you an asshole before enlisting, or did becoming a Ranger do that to you?
Ahhh Vee, my long haired friend. Being an asshole....is no overnight process, why, it takes years and years of dedication.....and insight...to truly become the best asshole that you can be. Some are born with the propensity to excel in the art of asshole, whereas, others have to earn each and every level of assholiness.
Vee, my friend, I was actually pretty well on my way to becoming an asshole before I joined the Army, but service within the Battalion....only helped to fine tune everything....to a very efficient level of assholism.
Good question.
I was in 2/75 from 97 to 00. 5-99
"He only loved people, he thought, who had fought or been mutilated. Other people were fine and you liked them and were good friends; but you only felt true tenderness and love for those who had been there and had received the castigation that everyone receives who goes there long enough." Ernest Hemingway
"He only loved people, he thought, who had fought or been mutilated. Other people were fine and you liked them and were good friends; but you only felt true tenderness and love for those who had been there and had received the castigation that everyone receives who goes there long enough." Ernest Hemingway
Thanks for responding Ranger Kilted Heathen, Ranger BadMuther, Ranger Silverback, Ranger Bell, Ranger Dublo and Ranger Vee. I appreciate the honesty and the insight. I will agree that the new recruits have an advantage where we can learn from the experts. Basically, the prospective Ranger needs to suck it up, and NEVER say the two most dangerous words..."I QUIT". I truely hope I can make it and join your Brotherhood.
Ryan
Ryan
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Bell
Say it? I don't even understand it. Sounds like an excuse to me. And you know the maximum effective range of an excuse? Zero fucking meters.Echo Zman wrote:Thanks for responding Ranger Kilted Heathen, Ranger BadMuther, Ranger Silverback, Ranger Bell, Ranger Dublo and Ranger Vee. I appreciate the honesty and the insight. I will agree that the new recruits have an advantage where we can learn from the experts. Basically, the prospective Ranger needs to suck it up, and NEVER say the two most dangerous words..."I QUIT". I truely hope I can make it and join your Brotherhood.
Ryan
RLTW
Bell
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ImportsRsloths
- Ranger
- Posts: 175
- Joined: June 20th, 2003, 7:27 am
