Entering Rangers/SF any harder as a Lt.?

[wraith5]

I, like a buncha other people here, am in high school and I'm totally set on going in the army and onto rangers, and possibly SF. My deal is, Im shooting for West Point, failing that I'm probably going to a junior military college at Valley Forge. Both will get me into the Army as a 2nd Lt. My question is, does being an Lt. hurt my chances at getting in? I'm not worried about the course being tougher because I'm an officer, I'd be expecting that

[Dark Helmet]

I would expect TFR to respond to this one. He's a West Point ring-knocker and was with 3/75 in Mogi. This question is right up his alley.

[This message has been edited by TackDaBoat (edited 05-20-2000).]

[wraith5]

*whistles to himself* http://www.specialoperations.com/ubboard/smile.gif

[TFRANGERMEMBER]

Well your chances of getting into the RGT are lower than going in as an enlistedman...simply because not as many officer slots. Is it possible to get in as a LT..shit yes..they still need LTs in the RGT, but you need to be highspeed..or sleep w/ the right people (like I did)..

RLTW

[RKW]

TFRANGERMEMBER,
Maybe I'm wrong, but did you once say you got into the regiment as a 2LT because of prior enlisted service? Maybe Im wrong, but if you did, is it a common possibility or option for prior enlisted Rangers?
If this makes no sense, tell me.

Thanks to TFRANGERMEMBER or anyone who can help.
RKW

[Jaxxman]

i'm confused. so being an officer reduces your chance of becoming a ranger compared to someone in enlisted personel? why is that so? shouldn't it be the opposite?

[Snake]

Jaxx,
because there are a hell of a lot more enlisted Ranger's than Ranger Officers.
Only so many slots to go around.

Snake
25th ID(L)

[Daredevil]

Is it possible that some of the guys on here are getting going through Ranger School and being in the Regiment mixed up? A good friend of mine from high school graduated from West Point about 5 years ago in the top 10% of his class. He's an infantry officer and he's graduated from both Airborne and Ranger school. He was telling me that if you're an infantry officer and you haven't gone through those schools you're basically unpromotable after a certain point. He was talking about trying to get into a Ranger Batt. he said it was very competitive but he thinks he'll make it eventually (the guy is in very good shape and a West Point grad so I'm sure that will help). That was right before he shipped off to Hawaii to take a spot in the 25th Infantry.

Do any of you guys have a concern that it seems like a lot of officers view Ranger school as a ticket punch? I live right outside Washington DC (a lot of military around here) and I see a lot of Ranger Qualified officers around here that have never been in a Ranger Battalion and never really planned to. Do any of you feel that the Battalions themselves suffer as a result of the school being used this way?

[wraith5]

Ah, danke guys

[Ted]

No, I don't think that the Ranger BN's suffer because people just go through Ranger School and never serve in Batt. Those who are truly motivated WILL serve in Batt. Personally, at my Ranger School graduation, I looked around and saw people graduating that I thought didn't deserve to graduate. These same people wouldn't last 2 minutes in a Ranger Batt, as there is a DX policy there. That (DX policy) means the Rangers can kick people out that either don't make the standards or simply don't belong there.

The only aggravation I have about people who just go to Ranger School is that they call themselves Rangers, although they have never lived the life. That is like going to church once in your life and then telling people that you are a Christian. One needs to lead the lifestyle as well; or at least, attempt to lead the lifestyle.

Ted A 1/75 '91-'95

[Snake]

Guys,
maybe they ought to have a Ranger Tab for guys that served in the Regiment, and one for people that just took the school?
Do the same for Airborne, as well.


Snake
25th ID(L)

[JOE-BOO]

Maybe the Army should train and expect more from people so this heirarchy shit does not exist...why is it not good enough just to be a soldier...why this elitism when everybody who is a warrior puts his life at risk...just a question...

[Snake]

Lt,
good call. When I graduated from OSUT at the Benning School for Wayward Boys, It was the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life.
Now, it's like "if you aint wearing a beanie, your just a pogue with a gun...", That aint right. I'm a triple volunteer. I Enlisted, I chose the Infantry, and I chose to go Airborne. Along the road, I've done some pretty tough things. Your average civilian is suprised I can tie my shoelaces.
Example, in Honolulu, a military town (Golden Triangle, between Schofield, K-Bay, and Pearl) the civvies like and respect us. A lot of em are Vets. However, go over to Hilo, wearing a Unit shirt, or uniform, and you get treated like a particularly rabid-looking mutt. We've had cafe's ask us to leave because other patrons didnt appreciate our presence. Nice, huh?

Snake
25th ID(L)

[Ted]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I know plenty of people in the regular Army who don't have/don't want a tab; yet they are great soldiers. My gripe is with the pogues, and we've all seen them, who talk shit about being a bad-ass Ranger, and all they know about Rangering is a 2 month school. (read: many RI's at Benning phase, there's a reason why those fat folks are teaching and not in an infantry unit)

Along the lines of great soldiers who don't have a tab. My best buddy in the 75th failed Ranger School 3 times for various reasons, but he was such a stud at basic soldiering and leading a machine gun team, that he wasn't kicked out of the Regiment; he served his whole 4 year tour there. This man was a Ranger in every sense of the word. It makes me sick when I see some REMF with a tab strutting around talking smack about how hard he was for 58 days.

[This message has been edited by Ted (edited 05-30-2000).]

[Mike]

4 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment without the Ranger tab!! Is that unusual? IIRC, students relieved from the Ranger course for mandatory reasons (lack of motivation, training refusal, honor violations, disciplinary, etc) will never be permitted to reneter and will have a letter placed in his OMPF telling why he was relieved from Ranger training.
Perhaps your buddy has one of the non-mandatory reasons (failing peer reports which your nice and friendly fellow students grade0, failing patrols, failing performance test, leadership deficiencies, medical, etc).

[Dark Helmet]

Originally posted by Mike:
4 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment without the Ranger tab!!

Yes, unusual, but not impossible. Keep in mind that during a typical 48 month enlistment, if you take into consideration the OSUT/ABN/RIP cycle (about four months with "zero" weeks), the almost-always-at-least six month wait to get the first RGR school slot if you are squared away, and the (I think DA-mandated) required six(?) months that must remain of service time in order to go to the school at all on the tail end of the enlistment, you are really only looking at 32 months or so of an eligibility "window". Also, remember that a serious injury could prevent a candidate from going back for months at a time.

I knew of only a couple guys that didn't make it after more than one try that were worth keeping around. Not to say they did not exist; just that they were pretty rare.

[realpolypro]

Fat R.I.'s at Benning teaching instead of doing?...Ted, I think you need to look at the "Who was an RI" list throughout the years. Names like Purdy and Grenier come to mind. Remember the 10% rule is always in effect...everywhere.

Polypro

[Ted]

RPP, you're right. I just remember my first exposure at Benning phase to some fat E-7 who talked about getting his tab 12 years ago... then he talked about being at RTB for many years subsequent to getting his tab. Kind of turned me off. There are good RI's there, unfortunately the worst ones are usually the easiest to recall.