STILL FIVE MORE CLICKS TO GO

[jojoB375]

Do you remember that first road march in basic? You were already tired when you started. You didn’t give it much thought. You still had five more clicks to go.

Then, you were on a run in airborne school. It was 105 deg out and they had you running through the showers. You didn’t care,”what are they going to do, throw me in the giggle pit?” At least you would get a work out. You were in your element and you still had five more clicks to go.

Turn the clock forward and you are road marching again. It’s RIP and there are a couple of NCOs sitting in the back of a pickup truck, yelling at you to give up. “Just take a step up on the road and go off to the 82nd." You wont, you don’t know how to stop now. And besides, you still have five more clicks to go.

You are in Battalion now and on one of many road marches. You speed march at the 197th’s run pace. You ask how far and you still have five more clicks to go.

So many times when you are run to the end of your rope the answer was “five more clicks to go”.

The years have run by. You are laid up in a hospital rack (you still think of it as one) there is a 24 inch chevron carved in your abdomen, it is the 5th operation in a month. You lay there and think about the things that made you strong, the NCOs that pushed you harder than you thought you could take. Time and time again they showed you your limits were farther than you knew. So now, as you look down at the staples and tubes and catheters, you smile to yourself and think, just five more clicks to go.

Some call you tough, but you have met tough, and to get there you still have five more clicks to go.

Every morning, by waking up I beat the odds. As Rangers we are always one of the few. As long as the Ranger God allows me to beat the odds, I will thank him because I still have five more clicks to go.

[Sharky]

Outstanding post brutha.

[Reaper375]

And you don't have to walk those 5 klicks by yourself Ranger. You have the rest of us here, ready and willing to pull fire support.

That's how it works. Never shall I leave a fallen comrade.

[MK19 (mod 3)]

Damn, this is a good post. Really, Really great post.

MK19

[CPTAUSRET]

jojoB375:

Great post!

How are you doing?

Terry:)

[buuckIVranger]

MY GOD YOU GAVE ME GOOSEBUMPS!!! I'm a Ranger I'm not supposed to get those damnit! Outstanding post man.

[jojoB375]

I'm doing fine. Just crusing along doing my chemo. Like I said it's just something ya got to do. Time will tell but we all got that going against us. Sad that we lost a true hero in Tillman. I think the last time I was in the company of true patriots was in bat! Thanks Reaper but I havent fallen yet, just runnin with the profile crowd for a while. ;)

[MikeC2W]

excellent post bro, excellent.

fucking hooah.

I think the last time I was in the company of true patriots was in bat!

Ranger That.

[jojoB375]

oops

[jojoB375]

Still Rucking Along. The March continues, the Ruck is heavy and the road is long but we will Charlie Mike. Yep I’m part cockroach! I also managed to beat Melenoma this summer and recived Type I Diabetes as a door prise. I am a member of an ever dwindling club. I am pleased to announce that this month I pass the 3 year marker surviving Pancreatic Cancer. Less than 4% of people diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer will survive four years. I will beat those statistics. I have a mission, I will continue the Mission and I will not accept being the lone survivor. This month is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month. We need to let our representatives know that less than 1% of the National Cancer Institutes budget for this killer is not enough.
Please add a Purple Ribbon to you collection in memory if the cancer patient that dies every 17 minutes in this country!
For more info go to www.PanCAN.org (http://www.PanCAN.org)</O:p

[SOTB]

Jojo, fantastic news dude!

[GoldCoast]

So many times when you are run to the end of your rope the answer was “five more clicks to go”.

Fucking-a right. Thanks for the inspiration. Do you mind if I quote you in my signature line from now on?

[glassiam]

Stay strong Ranger Brother, keep fighting the good fight, and kick it in the ass.

[Typhoon]

Thanks for the update JoJo. I am glad to hear that you are still hanging in there. It is an inspiration to hear your story; and I will keep you in my thoughts as you make your way on your journey...

[Sharky]

Hang tough JoJo!

[Bravo57]

Stay Strong Brother!

[jojoB375]

Gold Coast, I would be honored

[B 2/75]

Damn, Ranger... only 24"???

Reaper man is in the pickup now... and yer spittin' in his eye!!!

Hang tough and drive on. Here's a reposting of an oldie but a goodie that you just might appreciate.... it seems to fit.

THE ROAD MARCH
Airborne Ranger Operations Order

Weapon, ruck sack, combat load 100 lbs., field uniform. A team made up of men with individual missions but one objective, to execute the mission and survive until extraction. Each individual functioning as one. One Ranger gets emotional, others suffer. One Ranger gets arrogant, others die.

Move out to UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, rig for jump, load, transport to DZ, jump. Gather at assembly point, check equipment, and move out.

Leadership in front of split column, both sides of the road. Night, black, luminescent Ranger "eyes" bobble on the back of the Patrol Cap in front of you. Shut up. Follow. Obey. No nice here. No home and cookies and TV, just pain and suffering. No warm and fuzzy anywhere near this place. Just sacrifice. Just harsh, cold, hard reality stripped of any embroidery or romance. Just pain and sweat ahead all night.

Lt. leads with R.T.O., men follow, Platoon Sergeant takes up the rear security position 50 feet behind the main body. We are aware of his presence back there. 50 yards ahead, 2 man front security team. Their death will buy us reaction time. 50 yards behind, 2 man rear security team. Suffice it to say, this is the Ranger battalion, there aren't any stragglers anticipated. Anyone close to being unfit for this unit would have been DX'd back in the early qualification process.

Platoon moves out, easy, accordion effect until the pace is set. The pace is a ball buster. Initially, it's hard to believe the Lt. actually thinks he can maintain it. Can't think about that now, move out, let's go. Adjust the 100 lbs. of shit on my back, squirm, settle in, lean forward, hump! Ruck sack straps digging in. Pain, sweat, I can't believe how heavy this fucking ruck sack is. "Can I make it?" creeps into my mind. Fuck that thought. That thought IS the enemy. Last time that phrase enters my grape. Keep that bitch out at bayonet point. That will kill you, thinking like that. Fight the pain. Fight through to the other side of it. Laugh at it. Endure. Lean forward, make friends with the pain. Talk to it. Tell it you're gonna kick it's ass.

Then it happens. Always the new guys. The cherries. The bitchin', complaining, questioning begins. Like stupid little kids in the back seat of the Station Wagon they say, "How much further?" "My straps are loose." "Are we gonna break soon?" These whining bastards. All I want to do is cap them off with a .45 slug to the fucking temple but ammo is more valuable to you than they are at this point. These newbies may have bodies that were strong enough to get this far in the Ranger's, but their minds have yet to mature. No problem. That's what Corporals are for. The bitching ends as abruptly as it began with a calm death threat from the Corporal that anyone who breaks silence again shall be fucked over big time. Instant silence. Corporals are more feared than long term pain. A Corporal is a fledgling Non Commissioned Officer; if he fucks up so what… he's just busted back to his previous rank where he can resume hanging with his buddies. He is the one to be feared; he really has nothing to lose.

The Lt. doesn't notice the repartee' behind him. He's thinking of the pace count, the azimuth, contingencies, Operations Order, enemy situation, artillery support, mission, men, and his own pain last. Silence again. Only the sounds of the entrenching tool clacking hypnotically on someone's rucksack frame, the shifting of cloth on nylon web gear, and the panting, coughing, cursing of men in the middle of an effort to perform the mission and survive in order to make it back to clean sheets, hot chow, ice cold brew and a babe or two. Time to reflect later. Time to heal, always later.

Second phase begins. As I strain forward, I see a black figure coming nearer in reverse. He's in the center of the tank trail, and he's slowin' down. The unbelievable happens. This clown is bowing out. He's quitting. A word that is even difficult to enunciate as a Ranger. The first thought you have is "Hey, Dickhead, get your sorry ass back in formation." The point of no return with a quitter is when he falls behind the Platoon Sergeant. You just ain't allowed to get behind that guy. The only option is to help this bastard. So men begin to whisper, "Shithead, gimmee your weapon, gimmee your base plate, tripod, something." "We'll split it up. You'll make it!" After all, anybody can have a bad day. Besides, part of the Ranger Creed is, "Never will I leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy." But all this dead man walking says is, "I can't make it." "I can't do it!" Well fuck me to tears, that's it for me, we offered and you are too stupid to listen so, "Fuck You!" And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You reject the team and you reject life. A man who quits must be turned from. He sets a precedent of weakness that may drag others on the brink of quitting down with him. Other cherries may forget about making it all the way and quit too. A quitter never existed. He was simply never here to begin with. The Platoon Sergeant acts decisively in order to squelch any further dissension in the ranks. He strips the guy's equipment off of him and literally beats his ass down to the ground, kicking him off the trail. He then calls for volunteers to go back and pick up the equipment. We may have lost the "man" but we still have the supplies. But now the team has to hump more weight. The quitter never thinks about others and the extra weight they will have to carry in his absence, oh no, he only thinks of himself. This is arrogance. The ambulance following the road march picks his bruised and bloody body up and carries him back to the "World" where the Black Chinook picks him up and we never see him again.

After that debilitating episode, you resume the pain. Lean in. Sweat, snot, drooling, blisters. You get mean. Hard. No bitching. No negative or weak thoughts. Just mean. You look forward to the ambush just so you can share pain with others. Inflict pain. Yeah. That will be good. One thing becomes obvious, if you come this far; you'll make it. The worst is the beginning, staying the course is where a man finds his feet. Routine may be boring but if you do it long enough you get there. The mission is a good one. The men you are with are good men. Training is good for detecting quitters so they can be eliminated. In combat you only want tested men with you. There's camaraderie among those left. You can count on these guys and they on you. All types, ghetto rappers, white farm boys, city boys, no matter, Americans. Every one. Tonight we're brothers. Bound together by shared pain and a shared mission. You care about these guys. You'd share your last chow with these guys. Water, ammo, pogey bait, all shared. Nothing spoken. There's a mutual respect because you and they are all faithful to the execution of the mission and each other. They can hang.

Camouflage melts. Muscles explode with searing shots of pain as fresh blood courses through your veins as you rearrange you ruck sack. Breathing hurts. Then as if in a dream we're down. Word passes back that we've reached the ambush site. We move in to occupy our space along the perimeter. For the next hour we clear fields of fire, check commo, set up firing positions, leaders move up and down the line to ensure correct placement and that interlocking fields of fire are established. A terse reminder to wait for the green star cluster before attacking, to sweep the kill zone together so that no one makes a salient and gets shot by his own men. Then after we are set in and ready, we try to stay awake and ready and we reflect on what we've been through. The ambush itself is a piece of cake, killing is easy, the road march is the bitch.

The Road March accomplishes many things:

♦ It allows you to challenge your soul.
♦ It teaches you the importance of teamwork.
♦ It provides a mirror reflecting who you are.
♦ It exposes all good and bad in yourself.
♦ There's no way to hide on a road march.
♦ It strengthens trust in your leaders.
♦ It toughens you mentally.
♦ It beats complaining right out of you.
♦ It orients you to authority.
♦ It makes you think about others.
♦ It matures you.
♦ It makes you more objective.
♦ It provides a frame of reference for suffering.

The Road March is the crucible in which the soul is refined. Pulling a trigger is easy. Humping the load over the distance is where you find out who will be on the ambush site to pull the trigger with you.

In the Battalion, after the mission, you go out to a bar. Drinking, eating, laughing. Talking shit to your Ranger Buddies. Suddenly a cherry who made the hump steps inside the bar. Funny he doesn't look new anymore. Cuts on his face. Bruised. Walks with a limp. But the Mother Fucker made the hump. Before we call this cherry over to proceed with the brain damage, one of the old timers leans in close and whispers, "Man that's one ruck sack humpin' son of a bitch!"

The Road March defines you. Never quit.

Come in ugly if you have to, but come in.

Ranger

[mdb23]

I rarely ever come to the Ranger forums...... unless I see that you have posted. You are an inspiration, brother.

Keep up the good work.

[Hot Mess]

I'm going for a fucking road march!

[GoldCoast]

Gold Coast, I would be honored

I hope this is satisfactory. Thanks for the great post.

GC

[JJL73]

Pardon the intrusion.

This whole godamn thread motivates me!

[Gypsy]

jojo you continue to remain in my prayers.

[rgrdrew]

Great thread! Hang tough jojo!

[rgrjoe175]

Glad your still rucking JoJo. Your an inspiration to us all.

RLTW.

JP

[Sharky]

Damn, Ranger... only 24"???

Reaper man is in the pickup now... and yer spittin' in his eye!!!

Hang tough and drive on. Here's a reposting of an oldie but a goodie that you just might appreciate.... it seems to fit.

THE ROAD MARCH
Airborne Ranger Operations Order

Weapon, ruck sack, combat load 100 lbs., field uniform. A team made up of men with individual missions but one objective, to execute the mission and survive until extraction. Each individual functioning as one. One Ranger gets emotional, others suffer. One Ranger gets arrogant, others die.

Move out to UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, rig for jump, load, transport to DZ, jump. Gather at assembly point, check equipment, and move out.

Leadership in front of split column, both sides of the road. Night, black, luminescent Ranger "eyes" bobble on the back of the Patrol Cap in front of you. Shut up. Follow. Obey. No nice here. No home and cookies and TV, just pain and suffering. No warm and fuzzy anywhere near this place. Just sacrifice. Just harsh, cold, hard reality stripped of any embroidery or romance. Just pain and sweat ahead all night.

Lt. leads with R.T.O., men follow, Platoon Sergeant takes up the rear security position 50 feet behind the main body. We are aware of his presence back there. 50 yards ahead, 2 man front security team. Their death will buy us reaction time. 50 yards behind, 2 man rear security team. Suffice it to say, this is the Ranger battalion, there aren't any stragglers anticipated. Anyone close to being unfit for this unit would have been DX'd back in the early qualification process.

Platoon moves out, easy, accordion effect until the pace is set. The pace is a ball buster. Initially, it's hard to believe the Lt. actually thinks he can maintain it. Can't think about that now, move out, let's go. Adjust the 100 lbs. of shit on my back, squirm, settle in, lean forward, hump! Ruck sack straps digging in. Pain, sweat, I can't believe how heavy this fucking ruck sack is. "Can I make it?" creeps into my mind. Fuck that thought. That thought IS the enemy. Last time that phrase enters my grape. Keep that bitch out at bayonet point. That will kill you, thinking like that. Fight the pain. Fight through to the other side of it. Laugh at it. Endure. Lean forward, make friends with the pain. Talk to it. Tell it you're gonna kick it's ass.

Then it happens. Always the new guys. The cherries. The bitchin', complaining, questioning begins. Like stupid little kids in the back seat of the Station Wagon they say, "How much further?" "My straps are loose." "Are we gonna break soon?" These whining bastards. All I want to do is cap them off with a .45 slug to the fucking temple but ammo is more valuable to you than they are at this point. These newbies may have bodies that were strong enough to get this far in the Ranger's, but their minds have yet to mature. No problem. That's what Corporals are for. The bitching ends as abruptly as it began with a calm death threat from the Corporal that anyone who breaks silence again shall be fucked over big time. Instant silence. Corporals are more feared than long term pain. A Corporal is a fledgling Non Commissioned Officer; if he fucks up so what… he's just busted back to his previous rank where he can resume hanging with his buddies. He is the one to be feared; he really has nothing to lose.

The Lt. doesn't notice the repartee' behind him. He's thinking of the pace count, the azimuth, contingencies, Operations Order, enemy situation, artillery support, mission, men, and his own pain last. Silence again. Only the sounds of the entrenching tool clacking hypnotically on someone's rucksack frame, the shifting of cloth on nylon web gear, and the panting, coughing, cursing of men in the middle of an effort to perform the mission and survive in order to make it back to clean sheets, hot chow, ice cold brew and a babe or two. Time to reflect later. Time to heal, always later.

Second phase begins. As I strain forward, I see a black figure coming nearer in reverse. He's in the center of the tank trail, and he's slowin' down. The unbelievable happens. This clown is bowing out. He's quitting. A word that is even difficult to enunciate as a Ranger. The first thought you have is "Hey, Dickhead, get your sorry ass back in formation." The point of no return with a quitter is when he falls behind the Platoon Sergeant. You just ain't allowed to get behind that guy. The only option is to help this bastard. So men begin to whisper, "Shithead, gimmee your weapon, gimmee your base plate, tripod, something." "We'll split it up. You'll make it!" After all, anybody can have a bad day. Besides, part of the Ranger Creed is, "Never will I leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy." But all this dead man walking says is, "I can't make it." "I can't do it!" Well fuck me to tears, that's it for me, we offered and you are too stupid to listen so, "Fuck You!" And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. You reject the team and you reject life. A man who quits must be turned from. He sets a precedent of weakness that may drag others on the brink of quitting down with him. Other cherries may forget about making it all the way and quit too. A quitter never existed. He was simply never here to begin with. The Platoon Sergeant acts decisively in order to squelch any further dissension in the ranks. He strips the guy's equipment off of him and literally beats his ass down to the ground, kicking him off the trail. He then calls for volunteers to go back and pick up the equipment. We may have lost the "man" but we still have the supplies. But now the team has to hump more weight. The quitter never thinks about others and the extra weight they will have to carry in his absence, oh no, he only thinks of himself. This is arrogance. The ambulance following the road march picks his bruised and bloody body up and carries him back to the "World" where the Black Chinook picks him up and we never see him again.

After that debilitating episode, you resume the pain. Lean in. Sweat, snot, drooling, blisters. You get mean. Hard. No bitching. No negative or weak thoughts. Just mean. You look forward to the ambush just so you can share pain with others. Inflict pain. Yeah. That will be good. One thing becomes obvious, if you come this far; you'll make it. The worst is the beginning, staying the course is where a man finds his feet. Routine may be boring but if you do it long enough you get there. The mission is a good one. The men you are with are good men. Training is good for detecting quitters so they can be eliminated. In combat you only want tested men with you. There's camaraderie among those left. You can count on these guys and they on you. All types, ghetto rappers, white farm boys, city boys, no matter, Americans. Every one. Tonight we're brothers. Bound together by shared pain and a shared mission. You care about these guys. You'd share your last chow with these guys. Water, ammo, pogey bait, all shared. Nothing spoken. There's a mutual respect because you and they are all faithful to the execution of the mission and each other. They can hang.

Camouflage melts. Muscles explode with searing shots of pain as fresh blood courses through your veins as you rearrange you ruck sack. Breathing hurts. Then as if in a dream we're down. Word passes back that we've reached the ambush site. We move in to occupy our space along the perimeter. For the next hour we clear fields of fire, check commo, set up firing positions, leaders move up and down the line to ensure correct placement and that interlocking fields of fire are established. A terse reminder to wait for the green star cluster before attacking, to sweep the kill zone together so that no one makes a salient and gets shot by his own men. Then after we are set in and ready, we try to stay awake and ready and we reflect on what we've been through. The ambush itself is a piece of cake, killing is easy, the road march is the bitch.

The Road March accomplishes many things:

♦ It allows you to challenge your soul.
♦ It teaches you the importance of teamwork.
♦ It provides a mirror reflecting who you are.
♦ It exposes all good and bad in yourself.
♦ There's no way to hide on a road march.
♦ It strengthens trust in your leaders.
♦ It toughens you mentally.
♦ It beats complaining right out of you.
♦ It orients you to authority.
♦ It makes you think about others.
♦ It matures you.
♦ It makes you more objective.
♦ It provides a frame of reference for suffering.

The Road March is the crucible in which the soul is refined. Pulling a trigger is easy. Humping the load over the distance is where you find out who will be on the ambush site to pull the trigger with you.

In the Battalion, after the mission, you go out to a bar. Drinking, eating, laughing. Talking shit to your Ranger Buddies. Suddenly a cherry who made the hump steps inside the bar. Funny he doesn't look new anymore. Cuts on his face. Bruised. Walks with a limp. But the Mother Fucker made the hump. Before we call this cherry over to proceed with the brain damage, one of the old timers leans in close and whispers, "Man that's one ruck sack humpin' son of a bitch!"

The Road March defines you. Never quit.

Come in ugly if you have to, but come in.

Ranger



I think I need to go find a wall to walk through now. Good post.

[RANGER52]

Good post brother. Got me all kinds of motivated. Thank you.

[tova]

JoJo, your strength and endurance are truly a miracle and a blessing :)

God Bless You....

[jojoB375]

Damn, Ranger... only 24"??? I Wish Brother, try 39 but hey forever young. Thanks for that Post yea it fits, and how. Funny how something that sucked so bad and was repeated so often can actually make you nostalgic. There's one for Ranger Psychology! Damn we are some sick pups.

Thanks all, I'd feel pretty stupid slacking off now. The Ranger god may be knocking, but fuck him, I'm locking the door and turning up the music.

[maddmike275]

Keep kicking ass and taking names Ranger! :cool:

[B 2/75]

fuck him, I'm locking the door and turning up the music.


LOL... don't forget to get yer canteen cup o beer, and we'll all be meeting in the quad, ready to boogie, 15 minutes after they give the 100% up....

[swamppirate]

Great Post.... truly inspiring....God Bless to you......

[RgrFatty]

Way to hang tough Ranger! You are an inspiration! Sua Sponte!

[Guy]

Here I am feeling sorry because I twisted my ankle:o

Take care,

Guy

[jojoB375]

Every thing is relative. Thanks again all, I am no inspiration just stuborn! I like screwing up statistics ;)

[Doctor_Doom]

I like you screwing up statistics! Keep it up!

[Gypsy]

In keeping with jojoB375's most recent post about the Ride for Hope...bump.

[jojoB375]

Yep I’m still kicking! I’ve been kind of up to my A@# in alligators lately, trying to do something good for once. So to that end I’d like to invite you all to a Motorcycle Ride and Rally to help fight Pancreatic Cancer. As you can tell I have been extraordinarily lucky so far in beating the odds! So any of you that are in SoCAL come on out to Camarillo, on April 14th and join the fun. You don’t have to ride to attend, and if you can’t attend you can still show your support by donating on line on my website at www.rideforhope.info (http://www.rideforhope.info/). All of the information is there. Just trying to do something valuable with my borrowed time. This is like a cancer walk, you can always sponsor a rider if you cant (or don’t want to) attend.
Charlie Mike!


Sharky's note "Post it up. Make sure you note that it was approved by me."

[SOTB]

Jojo,

Good to see you post!

[jojoB375]

What's up Andy all well in your world?

[CCo275]

Keep screwing up the statistics Brother. I love it when the "smart" ones are all fucked up by what we ground pounders do! Keep up the good fight and remember you are never alone! Ranger Creed, now and forever!

[Typhoon]

Keep driving on, Jojo! I hope you continue beating the odds. I also hope your ride in April is successful...

[Sharky]

Whooped em again JoJo! You're still here bro. Congrats on seeing another birthday today. I hope it's a happy one.

[MixedLoad]

This thread is what being a Battboy is all about. Jojo, you keep GRITS (Great Ranger in the Sky) away from your door and keep bringing the fight,

Happy Birthday, Bro!

[Gypsy]

Happy, happy birthday JoJo! May you enjoy many, many more.

[BiblioRanger]

HBD JoJo.

[rgrdrew]

HBD JoJo, keep drivin' on Ranger!

[Guy]

Take care and stay safe.

[Typhoon]

Happy Birthday, JoJo. All the best to you...

[Ranger1]

Happy Birthday JoJo, good to see you're still driving on.

[Looon]

Happy Birthday Ranger!!:)

[eltrane]

Happy Bday, Ranger.

[jojoB375]

Thanks all, I received a great B-Day present a clean PET scan, still keeping the cancer away. Thanks for the support. The road is long, the ruck heavy, but the company is good and hell I got nothing better to do!

[BiblioRanger]

JoJo,

Good to hear.

We need to arrange a link-up.

Later,

Ed

[rgrjoe175]

Great news JoJo.

JP

[SOTB]

Right the fuck on, dude!

[Gypsy]

Excellent news JoJo, keep strong!

[RGR.Montcalm]

Damn, Ranger... only 24"???

Reaper man is in the pickup now... and yer spittin' in his eye!!!

Hang tough and drive on. Here's a reposting of an oldie but a goodie that you just might appreciate.... it seems to fit.

THE ROAD MARCH
Airborne Ranger Operations Order

Weapon, ruck sack, combat load 100 lbs., field uniform. A team made up of men with individual missions but one objective, to execute the mission and survive until extraction. Each individual functioning as one. One Ranger gets emotional, others suffer. One Ranger gets arrogant, others die...

That's what Corporals are for... Corporals are more feared than long term pain.

A quitter never existed. He was simply never here to begin with. ... He strips the guy's equipment off of him and literally beats his ass down to the ground, kicking him off the trail. He then calls for volunteers to go back and pick up the equipment. We may have lost the "man" but we still have the supplies. But now the team has to hump more weight.

... The ambush itself is a piece of cake, killing is easy, the road march is the bitch.

The Road March accomplishes many things:

♦ It allows you to challenge your soul.
♦ It teaches you the importance of teamwork.
♦ It provides a mirror reflecting who you are.
♦ It exposes all good and bad in yourself.
♦ There's no way to hide on a road march.
♦ It strengthens trust in your leaders.
♦ It toughens you mentally.
♦ It beats complaining right out of you.
♦ It orients you to authority.
♦ It makes you think about others.
♦ It matures you.
♦ It makes you more objective.
♦ It provides a frame of reference for suffering.

The Road March is the crucible in which the soul is refined. Pulling a trigger is easy. Humping the load over the distance is where you find out who will be on the ambush site to pull the trigger with you.

In the Battalion, after the mission, you go out to a bar. Drinking, eating, laughing. Talking shit to your Ranger Buddies. Suddenly a cherry who made the hump steps inside the bar. Funny he doesn't look new anymore. Cuts on his face. Bruised. Walks with a limp. But the Mother Fucker made the hump.


Before we call this cherry over to proceed with the brain damage, one of the old timers leans in close and whispers, "Man that's one ruck sack humpin' son of a bitch!"

The Road March defines you. Never quit.

Come in ugly if you have to, but come in.

Ranger


Didn't want to paste the whole thing but damn it, I'm packing my ruck now!

JoJo, you're an inspiration to us all- you are obviously harder than a bag full of wood pecker lips and a heart bigger than an elephant's.

I will keep you in my prayers; I know that God listens and protects smal children and fools so I probably have a direct line...

Any way, I hope this post finds you in better health every day.

Motto of 2 Plt A 1/75- March or die! (The Purd's old platoon)

V/r

Rick

[GracieLou]

I am not sure how I ever missed this moto thread...

Stay strong JoJo, you are in my prayers!!!!!!

[Balls]

Jojo, Congrats bro, I hope you're doing well.

B 2/75: "ROADMARCH" may be on of the best damn posts I've seen on here. That shit is moto brother :cool:

[Bushmaster]

Thanks all, I received a great B-Day present a clean PET scan, still keeping the cancer away. Thanks for the support. The road is long, the ruck heavy, but the company is good and hell I got nothing better to do!


About 3 months ago, I had a client and an employee's father both get diagnosed with cancer. For some reason your sig line "kicking cancer's ass one cell at a time" came to mind.

I am glad to see you are still fighting. BTW, within the last week, BOTH of them have gotten clean bills of health.

[jojoB375]

Just an update for my friends. Still kicking don't ya know! Jen and I have been up to some serious Putin up. Check out our web site www.road2acure.org (http://www.road2acure.org) and the charity that we have founded! I don't even know what mile this road march is on but I am headed to every state on a motorcycle soon! You will be able to follow our progress by GPS on the new website and come out to join us for a while or just say hello. As far a PERSEC goes, I can still get grumpy so smile for the Harley's!:eek:

[jojoB375]

BTW, within the last week, BOTH of them have gotten clean bills of health.
Thats frign fantastic!

[Guy]

Hang tough!

Take care and stay safe.

[Looon]

Damn good news, bro!!:cool:

[Sigi]

JoJo, this thread always stands out for me every time I see the title - always. It reminds me of Joe Valvano " Don't give up. Don't ever give up."

Keep the faith and dig deep. You're proving it IS beatable. Every Single Day!!!

[CV]

Hellava story, I hope all is well and that you are still going strong.

[307th_ACE]

First time I read this thread. After reading that first post, all I can say is

Airborne!

Your attitude rocks. I would say I hope you are doing good (I do), but I suspect that hope is something you don't need much of -- you've got a rock solid never quit spirit that cannot (scratch that), will not be beaten.

Keep putting one boot in front of the other.

[mdb23]

Hellava story, I hope all is well and that you are still going strong.

X10000

[Typhoon]

Thanks for bringing up this thread. It is a great reminder and always worth reading again.

Hope all is still good, JoJo...

[jojoB375]

We shot the trailer for the tour we are trying to pull together. Have a look. www.road2acure.org (http://www.road2acure.org) "Trailer". Still here like a bad habit. Hope every one is well all my best. I know I been quiet but been busy seting up a non-profit with my wife. RLTW

[Blackjack78]

We shot the trailer for the tour we are trying to pull together. Have a look. www.road2acure.org (http://www.road2acure.org) "Trailer". Still here like a bad habit. Hope every one is well all my best. I know I been quiet but been busy seting up a non-profit with my wife. RLTW

Right on JoJo, keep on keepin on!!!

[SOTB]

Still here like a bad habit....I'm rooting for that to not change, either. Keep posting, dude, you are a serious motivation....

[rgrdrew]

Drive on brother!

RLTW!

[Gypsy]

Still here like a bad habit.

I think it's safe to say you're one habit none of us would care to quit. ;) Glad to see you posting, C. Best wishes on the non-profit!

[RGR.Montcalm]

jojo,

obviously when the phrase " Hard as a bag of woodpecker lips' was invented, the guy had you in mind.

You still motivate the hell out of me everyday

RGR.M

[DrlSgt]

+1 on that comment CSM...

That's MOTIVATION!

God bless you!

[Latewatch]

Damn, I love a motivating story. Glad to hear your doing well there Ranger.

5 Clicks more reminds me of roadmarching after I fucked up my ankle on a jump on Abrams. Throw the 90 on my shoulders 1st mile was good, 2nd mile ankle would burn, 3rd mile it would go stiff, 4th mile it would loosen up and after that who gives a fuck how many clicks are left just drive the fuck on...................

[Sigi]

Love it every time this thread gets kicked to the top. Keep on keeping on, JoJo.

[schibbs]

I am humbled by all of you and all that some of you still do!

B2/75, 78-80, 5-79

[Doctor_Doom]

HBD Jojo.

[jojoB375]

Hey Doc, Still be here! Getting ready for the 50 state 42,000+ mile motorcycle tour for Pancreatic Cancer I am starting in Feb. Health is good, no recurrences after the first one so far. Still on chemo every 8 weeks. That means continuous chemo since Feb 2004! We will be relaunching our web site for the tour on Wednesday so check it out when you have a chance. www.road2acure.org (http://www.road2acure.org). If you don't see a block that says Miles to ride - 42,000+ then the update hasn't happened yet. How are ya?

[Hot Mess]

Hey Doc, Still be here! Getting ready for the 50 state 42,000+ mile motorcycle tour for Pancreatic Cancer I am starting in Feb. Health is good, no recurrences after the first one so far. Still on chemo every 8 weeks. That means continuous chemo since Feb 2004! We will be relaunching our web site for the tour on Wednesday so check it out when you have a chance. www.road2acure.org (http://www.road2acure.org). If you don't see a block that says Miles to ride - 42,000+ then the update hasn't happened yet. How are ya?

I was just wondering how you were doing. I'm back in CA and should be around in Feb. Is it possible to start the ride with you guys?

[jojoB375]

I was just wondering how you were doing. I'm back in CA and should be around in Feb. Is it possible to start the ride with you guys?

How far you want to go? The details will be up on the site as soon as we nail them down. Working on a kick-off party and going to ride to Palm Springs from LA first so any one that wants to do a short departure ride with us can. We will be posting the schedule and the route maps so people can hook up around the country. We are taking a camera man and will be posting video blogs, pics, and helmet cams from around the country. So you can follow along on-line to. How was the WWII link up I saw an email that it was picked up on the news! I was bummed not to be able to be there.

[Sharky]

Good to see you are still holding hard JoJo.

[rgrdrew]

Awesome JoJo, just awesome! Keep drivin' on!

RgrDrew
RLTW!

[Hot Mess]

How far you want to go? The details will be up on the site as soon as we nail them down. Working on a kick-off party and going to ride to Palm Springs from LA first so any one that wants to do a short departure ride with us can. We will be posting the schedule and the route maps so people can hook up around the country. We are taking a camera man and will be posting video blogs, pics, and helmet cams from around the country. So you can follow along on-line to. How was the WWII link up I saw an email that it was picked up on the news! I was bummed not to be able to be there.

Depends on when your leaving. I have some stuff lined up in FEB, but P.S. shouldn't be a problem if I have a day or two;) I'll keep an eye on the site to make sure I can make it.

I was at the Q and missed it last year, but I'll be around this year for it though. I went to visit a Darby Ranger on Wednesday but sadly he had passed.

[ksg1]

Jojo, you're one tough sob. I've seen what pancreatic cancer can do (lost a family member to it) Thanks for sharing your story. It's inspiring.