8
8
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Ranger School
Ranger Instructor
Ranger
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 21
1. Be an asset – Learn as much as you can so you have help your Ranger Buddy. The more you know the bigger asset you are. When it comes to peers they will keep those who are helpful. If you offer nothing to the team you aren’t really needed and you will get peered. Someone will get peered. Some will say that there is a way to game the system but they will figure that out. We lost 3 in Benning off the bat. We lost a few later on and even in Florida we lost some.
2. Sewing – Learn how to sew. You will be required to sew on your cat eyes and name tapes. After you go to CIF. Some guys sucked at sewing. I did mine and helped out my buddies.
3. Learn your knots. You will be required to tie everything down in each phase. It is a nightmare. You will spend hours getting everything tied down. The best way to do it is to get one person tie down one piece of equipment. You will have a person for each piece of equipment. It will be more consistent. And it is great team work.
4. Leg strength is the corner stone there. I rucked on my own while before I went. I was hurting in Mountains. You are going up mountains all day every day. If you can’t keep up you will get a major minus. If you fall out you will be a safety violation and be dropped. I would do as much stair steppers and squat as you can.
5. Learn as much about light infantry tactics. It is more important to know why you are doing things instead of knowing just to do this. If you are going emplace your Left and right side security at an objective you need to know more than just that they go on the left and right side. You need to be able to analyze the terrain and how would be a good location for them. Everything you do will be judged against the Five Principles of Patrol. If you can justify why you do something and it makes sense you can do it. In florida we got stuck in swamps and it took us hours to get out of them. It sucked. I took over at 3 am as PSG and had 30 minutes to have an ambush set in place. We did it. Instead of the regular Support By Fire being in one place we put a gun team on each side of the assault line. I have never seen this but that is what the PL wanted to do. It is nowhere in the Ranger Handbook but it worked and we got our goes.
6. TTLODAC. If you can learn this you will down wonders there. You will also have to do an overlay. You will have to request fires. You may only get three targets. One for each phase.
Target
Trigger
Location
Observer
Delivery System
Attack Guidance
Comm Net
7. Bring as much admin stuff as you want. A roll of acetate will do wonders. I packed a full roll. It was awesome. 5’ x 7’ note cards were great too. We made a handmade outline of an outline of a OPODR shell. We acetated it and passed it around. After that no one failed OPODRs. You can make whatever you want while you are there. But you can’t bring anything. They will take any notes you have and if you bring a ranger handbook they will take it from you. But I took with me a bunch of pens, markers, and anything on the extra items.
8. Packing list – You can bring extra of some items. I had 4 sets of boots instead of 3. I had an extra pair of summers and it was worth it. I always had dry boots when others didn’t. I also took extra sock. I had 18 pairs of fox river socks. I never had a blister there the whole time. I also had the Nike boots. I have the old school ones, that are no good now, and the new Field ones. They were awesome there. You will need a very durable boot.
9. Home Cache system. I learned this a long time ago. Set some stuff aside at home or at your unit in boxes. Like socks, grooming stuff, uniforms, boots, or admin stuff, or whatever you may need. I would number mine. Then I would write home and tell my wife to send my box number two. She would then send it off right away.
10. In addition I had a ranger Joe’s catalog also. My wife had one too. I would write her with an item number and she would call and have it ordered. I would get it pretty quick. It is pretty easy to get this worked out. While in Benning have someone send you something from Ranger Joes like 550 cord or notepads. They will always have a catalog in the package or you could get one on your pass between benning and mountains.
11. Gear is a big deal. I took 2 head lamps, 3 flash lights, 2 gerbers, and other stuff. You will lose stuff and so will your ranger buddy. If you lose a head lamp you will always have a backup. One in the ruck and one on you. I did the same with watch caps. Bring a couple. Tie down your Gerber also. I lost mine in mountains and I was devastated. I felt like someone stole my first car. Someone had an extra one so I got by.
12. Gain weight. You can put as much as you can as long as you can run with it. I put on ten pounds. I was still able to pass the RPFT. I lost 30 pounds overall. They don’t way you at all. You can be as heavy as you want. Just don’t gain too much to slow you down.
13. RPFT – I had the lowest APFT in my infantry officer course but I trained for quality. Some guys had 330 scores and failed the RPFT. The best way I learned was to get a Metronome App on your phone and time the beeps for one second. You take a second to go down, to where your chest is lying on the ground, and up, to where you are completely locked out. It will take you a while to do this but it worked just fine. I think they counted every one of my push ups. I didn’t have any trouble at all.
2. Sewing – Learn how to sew. You will be required to sew on your cat eyes and name tapes. After you go to CIF. Some guys sucked at sewing. I did mine and helped out my buddies.
3. Learn your knots. You will be required to tie everything down in each phase. It is a nightmare. You will spend hours getting everything tied down. The best way to do it is to get one person tie down one piece of equipment. You will have a person for each piece of equipment. It will be more consistent. And it is great team work.
4. Leg strength is the corner stone there. I rucked on my own while before I went. I was hurting in Mountains. You are going up mountains all day every day. If you can’t keep up you will get a major minus. If you fall out you will be a safety violation and be dropped. I would do as much stair steppers and squat as you can.
5. Learn as much about light infantry tactics. It is more important to know why you are doing things instead of knowing just to do this. If you are going emplace your Left and right side security at an objective you need to know more than just that they go on the left and right side. You need to be able to analyze the terrain and how would be a good location for them. Everything you do will be judged against the Five Principles of Patrol. If you can justify why you do something and it makes sense you can do it. In florida we got stuck in swamps and it took us hours to get out of them. It sucked. I took over at 3 am as PSG and had 30 minutes to have an ambush set in place. We did it. Instead of the regular Support By Fire being in one place we put a gun team on each side of the assault line. I have never seen this but that is what the PL wanted to do. It is nowhere in the Ranger Handbook but it worked and we got our goes.
6. TTLODAC. If you can learn this you will down wonders there. You will also have to do an overlay. You will have to request fires. You may only get three targets. One for each phase.
Target
Trigger
Location
Observer
Delivery System
Attack Guidance
Comm Net
7. Bring as much admin stuff as you want. A roll of acetate will do wonders. I packed a full roll. It was awesome. 5’ x 7’ note cards were great too. We made a handmade outline of an outline of a OPODR shell. We acetated it and passed it around. After that no one failed OPODRs. You can make whatever you want while you are there. But you can’t bring anything. They will take any notes you have and if you bring a ranger handbook they will take it from you. But I took with me a bunch of pens, markers, and anything on the extra items.
8. Packing list – You can bring extra of some items. I had 4 sets of boots instead of 3. I had an extra pair of summers and it was worth it. I always had dry boots when others didn’t. I also took extra sock. I had 18 pairs of fox river socks. I never had a blister there the whole time. I also had the Nike boots. I have the old school ones, that are no good now, and the new Field ones. They were awesome there. You will need a very durable boot.
9. Home Cache system. I learned this a long time ago. Set some stuff aside at home or at your unit in boxes. Like socks, grooming stuff, uniforms, boots, or admin stuff, or whatever you may need. I would number mine. Then I would write home and tell my wife to send my box number two. She would then send it off right away.
10. In addition I had a ranger Joe’s catalog also. My wife had one too. I would write her with an item number and she would call and have it ordered. I would get it pretty quick. It is pretty easy to get this worked out. While in Benning have someone send you something from Ranger Joes like 550 cord or notepads. They will always have a catalog in the package or you could get one on your pass between benning and mountains.
11. Gear is a big deal. I took 2 head lamps, 3 flash lights, 2 gerbers, and other stuff. You will lose stuff and so will your ranger buddy. If you lose a head lamp you will always have a backup. One in the ruck and one on you. I did the same with watch caps. Bring a couple. Tie down your Gerber also. I lost mine in mountains and I was devastated. I felt like someone stole my first car. Someone had an extra one so I got by.
12. Gain weight. You can put as much as you can as long as you can run with it. I put on ten pounds. I was still able to pass the RPFT. I lost 30 pounds overall. They don’t way you at all. You can be as heavy as you want. Just don’t gain too much to slow you down.
13. RPFT – I had the lowest APFT in my infantry officer course but I trained for quality. Some guys had 330 scores and failed the RPFT. The best way I learned was to get a Metronome App on your phone and time the beeps for one second. You take a second to go down, to where your chest is lying on the ground, and up, to where you are completely locked out. It will take you a while to do this but it worked just fine. I think they counted every one of my push ups. I didn’t have any trouble at all.
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COL (Join to see)
That's a lot of good advice but how do you have time to write and carry acetate. You don't get a ranger handbook either? Man things have changed. I must have gone to the last easy class.
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9
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Grab your little not so Ranger Nuts, and Ruck up.
1. Run sub 37:00 before school
2. More then 70 perfect push-ups
3. Ruck, Ruck, Ruck ohh did I Ruck??
4. You don't earn your tab, you earn your RB's Tab.
5. Team Player
6. Ranger the Fu<K UP
1. Run sub 37:00 before school
2. More then 70 perfect push-ups
3. Ruck, Ruck, Ruck ohh did I Ruck??
4. You don't earn your tab, you earn your RB's Tab.
5. Team Player
6. Ranger the Fu<K UP
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8
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1. Get out n the best shape of your life
2. Buy a Ranger handbook and study it
3. Mentally prepare -- it will be hard....so what - don't quit for nothing. I said to myself I was only leaving Ranger school in one of three ways, death, disability, or tabbed (DDT).
2. Buy a Ranger handbook and study it
3. Mentally prepare -- it will be hard....so what - don't quit for nothing. I said to myself I was only leaving Ranger school in one of three ways, death, disability, or tabbed (DDT).
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