www.march2success.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n4) Must be physically qualified for both military service and airborne duty.<\/p>\n
5) Must be legally qualified to enter the service without a waiver. Waivers are not open to Option 40.<\/p>\n
7) Must remain physically and morally qualified to ship to training. Any changes in your moral, mental or physical qualifications could see you lose Option 40 or even be discharged prior to going to basic training.<\/p>\n
Not everyone is going to get Option 40 or be qualified at the time of enlistment. It\u2019s your responsibility to study, not the recruiter\u2019s responsibility to make you. The ASVAB and what you score is completely on you. The higher you score the better your options are of getting Option 40.<\/p>\n
If you need any waivers for moral, medical or physical issues you are not qualified for Option 40. This is not to deter you from enlisting or wanting to become a Ranger. If you enlist with a waiver and can\u2019t go Option 40, take it in stride. Enlist as infantry and work hard to get to Ranger school later in your career.<\/p>\n
When enlisting there is no \u201cmagic secret\u201d to getting Option 40. Stay ON your recruiter to continuously check availability by calling the ROC. Recruiters work with a lot of people and are always busy; not saying that they will forget about you but do not go more than a week without communicating with them. If you find out you are disqualified don\u2019t throw a fit. The recruiter can only do so much, they have regulations to follow and won\u2019t put their career in jeopardy to bend the rules.<\/p>\n
The attrition rate through basic training is very low, but coming out of basic if you do not push yourself physically to get the best PT score possible they can cancel your airborne school slot which in turn cancels your Ranger school slot. It is in your best interest to work out and push yourself hard as soon as you decide you want an\u00a0Option 40.<\/p>\n
Next you have to be in shape:<\/strong><\/p>\nGod I wish I could be in the shape I was in after basic training. Here is the deal. You will lose you fitness while in Airborne. Fact! You will now have weekends off, shorter days and freedom to head to the mall to spend money you don\u2019t have. This is when it\u2019s most critical to stay in shape! You have to find time to run, swim, and PT on your own. Pull ups! Everyday! In airborne they made us do pull-ups when we entered and left the company area (Delta Rock!!\u2026 but I don\u2019t think all the companies do that). When we were done with airborne and took the RIP (now RASP \u2013 Ranger Assessment and Selection Program) PT test most my buddies failed the pull-ups and off they went!<\/p>\n
Stay motivated through out this whole process. You have to find that one thing that motivates you and hold it close. I had a one year old daughter. She was my REASON. I always imagined her watching me walk across a graduation stage. I kept that vision in my head through everything. She was who I saw at the back of my mind when I was struggling, felt weak or was discouraged.<\/p>\n
I know I know, you\u2019ve heard all the rumors. Well, they\u2019re all true! Behind those walls you might die! RASP is the place where men crumble and make up reasons why they quit because they aren\u2019t man enough to just say, \u201cI am not ready\u201d. Egos are tested. Nobody cares what your blood line is. \u201cMy father was a Ranger and was Special Forces, and I read Blackhawk Down<\/em>\u201c. Sorry to say, none of that matters when you are in the pit at Cole Range.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/ranger002-1-300x191.jpg\")
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Get through RASP\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Ranger Assessment and Selection Program or RASP1, formerly known as RIP, is an extensive 8-week selection course for soldiers out of AIT, Airborne School, or those soldiers coming from their initial duty station. Ranks E1-E5 will endure physical training, corrective training, reduced sleep, high stress, MRE\u2019s, field training, land navigation, classroom testing, medical training, 2-6 mile runs, 6-12 mile road marches, pistol\/carbine marksmanship, cramped quarters, and the infamous \u201cCole Range\u201d.<\/p>\n
RASP 1 is designed to test the physical and mental toughness of soldiers under high stress situations. Those who cannot adjust or adapt to the physical punishment, mental rigors, and high stress usually wash out. Quite a few students are dropped from the course because of injuries or they simply quit.<\/p>\n
To prepare yourself, focus on your PT. Running, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and road marching. A pt test with a score of 80% or higher in your age group is required. In addition candidates must conduct a 5 mile run in 40 min or less, and a 12 mile road march with a 35 lb ruck (before water sources) in 3 hrs or less. The ability to think outside of the box and quickly adapt with critical thinking is key.<\/p>\n
Essentially the instructors are looking for the ability to lead or the potential to lead. Thats what their job is designed for. They are not going to make it easy. Best advice is to not talk to them unless you have to. They are not your friend. At all.<\/p>\n
Oh yeah. Brush up on your Ranger history. And KNOW your fucking Airborne Ranger in the Sky. Go ahead and try to show up not knowing that. That\u2019ll go over well\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n
Survive BATTALION:<\/strong><\/p>\nThe pain isn\u2019t over yet! Ranger Battalion is the next big challenge. It\u2019s like being the new kid in school. No one really knows what you\u2019re worth. Are you going to cut it as a Ranger or are you going to eventually be released for standards (RFS\u2019ed)? So your group of 20 something guys who made it to battalion from RASP will quickly become 10, 8, or maybe even 5 within a year. Maybe your experience won\u2019t be that dramatic, but it isn\u2019t common for all your buddies from RASP make it through their original enlistment because they fall prey to things like drinking, fighting, marrying a stripper who spends their money and fucks up their credit or being a PT no go. It\u2019s very easy to get caught up in the fun part of living in the barracks but that can also be the cause of your walk of shame.<\/p>\n
Truth is, even most badass CSM\u2019s got in trouble at least once during their careers but I wouldn\u2019t bank on that as the best route to take. I think being married at the time saved me from getting myself in trouble. Truth is I love to drink and have a good time. I always seemed to miss out on all the fun Mat and the boys had while I was home changing diapers.<\/p>\n
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Get through a few deployments:<\/strong><\/p>\nOnce you\u2019ve put in some credible service for your platoon you start to build your reputation. You could be a fast tracking stud or a shitbird. You don\u2019t want to be a shitbird. If you are a high speed the rest of your career can be an easy one. You will still have shitty details but you\u2019ll be given some responsibility and earn some trust, which is always a good feeling. But if you suck, well you\u2019ll be living in what I remember as HELL, or at least what I imagined it would be. Your name is called for every shitty detail or just because you need corrective training. I can\u2019t speak of the things done to me at the risk of them having repercussions, but I can tell you what I have done. And it\u2019s not pretty. I have no shit ripped Soldiers off the ropes, making them fall a good eight feet. Then I yelled at them to get back up the rope so I could\u00a0rip them off again.<\/p>\n
Earn your Tab.<\/strong><\/p>\nRanger School is tough if you are dumb and even tougher if you are smart!<\/p>\n
The course is different for everyone. For me it wasn\u2019t the hardest course until I got hurt, then I had to depend on my Ranger Buddies to pick me up when I was down (literally).<\/p>\n
Patrols were easy if you had good team leaders.
\nWeight was heavy but I don\u2019t believe they were 120lbs like some claim.
\nFood was scarce. That killed me\u2026
\nSleep was minimal. You tend to do weird shit when you\u2019re sleepy.<\/p>\n
If you really want to be successful in Ranger School, know your squad, find what makes them tick and motivate the fuck out of them to stay awake. In the end your buddies earn your tab for you. If you are an asshole you won\u2019t get peered out. Trust me! If you are great at rucking carry some weight for your boys who need a break, in exchange for food. If you are a sleepy ranger make sure you tell your ranger buddy to keep an eye out for you while to take a quick nap. You guys are a team. Use them as such. This is the place to hone those Ranger leadership skills that will follow you your whole career. And always find time to crack a joke or two, that\u2019s the only thing you can do when shit just sucks!<\/p>\n
Hopefully this article answered most your questions and will help you get prepared for your attempt at being an Army Ranger. The road is a long and painful one. Get ready for the suck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mat Best and I have been receiving a lot of emails and messages asking \u201cHow can I be a Ranger\u201d? I thought it would be easier to answer with a post that can be\u00a0shared among\u00a0aspiring future Rangers. Hopefully the information stays current. In the Army you will hear the term Ranger thrown around a lot. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3318,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/rangers001-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3314"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4876,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3314\/revisions\/4876"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vincentroccovargas.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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