Intro naweir

[naweir]

Hey guys,

My name is Nick, I am 28 (little old) and am looking to enlist and possibly pursue the option 40 contract. I am currently an English major in college, and will be graduating in April of next year with my bachelors. I wish to join the regiment because after having worked for some larger corporations, I have grown tired of the excuses such as "ignore the problems" or "pretend it did not happen." I want to work with and for individuals who are willing to get the work done in order to be successful and have a harder time avoiding it. I am hoping to pursue an MOS of 12B as I was told it would be possible to still get an opportunity to get into RASP, and my contract will include airborne school. As cheesy as it may sound I have felt the need to serve my country for awhile and have put great thought into it, with a long term goal of possibly making it into SF someday. Hopefully I can learn a lot from you guys, as my buddies in the civ world who made the cut for 75th are most helpful already. I figure there is never to much good info however. My PT scores will be available once I am able to retest with the ROTC guys from here. I am not in ROTC, but was able to be cleared to participate in their PT in order to acclimate to both the time and routine of the workouts. I hopefully covered all the intro needs, and thank you all for having me.

Also I am unable to find the NEWT avatar listing. I would be DEP once my contract gets finalized however.

[Jim]

Welcome Nick. If you truly want to earn a place in the 75th Ranger Regiment, you came to the right site. We at armyranger.com take a great deal of pride in the young men who pass through here on their life journey. Please tell us more about yourself. why do you want to be a 12B Combat Engineer, Option 40? You have not established a PT baseline to build on, so report your PT results as soon as you can. Most of the questions you might have can be addressed by using the search feature, located on the top right of this page. Please read the FAQs, as well as select stickies and threads. Never, never quit!

[naweir]

Thank you both Ranger ManchuV and Ranger Jim. I was wondering if there was a thread, as I have not found one, regarding the 12B MOS being Ranger eligible? I ran the search bar,but being new here I was unable to find one should it have existed. Also if I were to not get Op 40 in my contract is that going to say I am not going to get a shot at 75th? I was told by a gentleman, let us call him CG, that there was not necessarily a dis qualifier for not getting it. He mentioned pretty much what I have read through here. Go to OSUT, be a PT stud, but not a dick that draws attention to himself, rather a team player who only makes decisions based on the outcome for the group as a whole, and there is a good shot that I would eventually be offered a tryout.

And being an English major what books do you recommend on history and prep for 75th? I have read bits of Roger's Rangers and things like The Reaper, and have bought, but not yet started Ranger 4.0 from Amazon. I googled some stuff but thought I would ask as I currently have a laundry list of reading, but enjoy it so anything you recommend will be added to my wishlist and I will make my best effort to get through them all this Fall.

[Jim]

Try this link:
http://www.benning.army.mil/tenant/75th ... uiting.htm

[naweir]

Ranger Jim,

I want to be a 12B because my long term goals in the Army are to eventually join the Green Berets and get a place among the ODA teams. I was told that this MOS would help me to better attain my goal of being an 18C, Engineer. I worked at UPS for 7 years in warehouse management and have an in depth knowledge of logistics in the civilian world, and after having interviewed with 20th group here in Alabama, was told that would only support that role for me long term. My desire to go the Ranger route first stemmed from having been told that there is no better preparation for selection than the Ranger program. Also it makes sense to me to learn to follow, as I have no military experience, prior to just diving in head first into the 18X program which was my initial plan. The leadership experience and training this course provides, should I choose not to further myself into selection, would be invaluable. I am not sure what duration my life will play in the Army as a whole, but even still, I am going to pursue my MBA and once again that leadership skill set this program has seems unparalleled in it's ability to translate into that goal as well.

I was not sure if I needed to go ahead and ask for Op 40 as I was aware of what it is, just not how that timeline would work once I shipped which once again should be May, after my college graduation. I was told OSUT, airborne, then RIP/RASP. I wondered if there was a duration of time I would serve in my unit prior to going, or if the "option" meant it was something I could exercise at my discretion. I guess that seems stupid seeing as military life typically does not do optional from what I understand. Hopefully this clears things up and answers your question of WHY I have found my way here.

[Jim]

Having extensive experience, I would say that the best route is Ranger followed by SF training. Service in the Ranger Regiment will be invaluable, no matter what life path you choose. BTW, you still owe a PT test result. Never, never quit!

[cams]

If you're thinking of using Regiment as a stepping stone just to get to SF you will likely fail RASP.

Ranger is either in your heart or it isn't. Regiment is not the JV squad to SF in any way, shape or form. Do more research and you'll have a better understanding of what I'm saying before you waste a RASP slot.

[naweir]

Ranger Jim,

I am still waiting to hear when ROTC will hold there monthly "official" PT testing. If it is not this week however, I will attempt to have one ran by this weekend so you know where I am. I know my last official was 14:07 2 mile, 47 P/u, 57 s/u. I did not include pullups but will for this next one. I am working on my running using a couch to 5k program and sprints. My situps have improved as my weakest areas in my opinion are pull ups and pushups. I have a weak upper body, but am really trying to drill one thing specifically at a time while maintining my other elements. I am not sure this is most efficient or not, but I am going to address them all as I know my scores suck pretty bad.

Ranger Cam,

I in no way think of Ranger as JV. I had initially looked at Ranger as my first option, and was swayed towards SF as a guy I go to church with suggested it. I apologize if it came off that way. I understand that each element of Special Forces has its own niche and that Ranger is often a direct action element. I eventually hope that it helps with a transition should I go SF because they essentially train others to be that direct action force. I just felt that I should acquire the best possible training in that regards and that Ranger would be the best place to sharpen myself. Also for me it is about really just wanting to serve and I hate desk jobs. I feel I would be most useful in a Ranger battalion, and think their impact as a group is beyond respectable. The people I meet on this side of the line that have been assessed and passed are different for lack of a better term. I want to be a part of that difference making and be allowed the opportunity to make a best possible version of myself in the process. I was in fraternity in college (and in no way do I think that it is greatly comparable), but I have always enjoyed the brotherhood that came with it. The fact that a group of men could come together to push each other, improve the group as a whole, and continue to serve people other than themselves is amazing to me. Ranger is something I have always envisioned that way. I would love to be able to make that kind of commitment. SF is just for me, the opportunity to possibly take that to other people and show them to the best of my ability. I hope that still does not come off as this is a stepping stone. I feel I was made for something that exist like this. I guess that is cliche in some way and you guys probably hear it all the time though.

[cams]

No need to apologize, I'm not offended, it sounded as though you haven't done much research and I wanted to open your eyes to some differences in the units before wasting anyone's time.

I didn't get much farther than the 4th or 5th line of your post before I stopped. Separate your paragraphs so it's legible without getting a headache in your eye. It'll help keep people on point as well and not just skimming over your posts because it sucks to read like that.

Small details matter around here, just as they will in the Army.

[naweir]

Roger that Ranger Cam. My English major got the best of me and I wrote you guys a paper instead of a post. Future ones should not be so much of a headache.

[naweir]

APFT attempt 1

Push-ups = 35 (failed) 50

Sit-ups = 56 (passed) 65

2 Mile = 14:45 (passed) 75

Pull-ups DH = 4

Overall score was calculated in the 17-21 yr scoring range for a total of 190. I failed which I think went without saying.

So the down side is I am kind of an upper body sissy. Up side is my running work is improving my endurance. I know to say I have a long way to go is an understatement. Also I am confident that each rep would have been counted and I did not have any half/poor form reps. This month I am going to continue to focus on my running improving with a goal of having it under 14 minutes by November. November will then be pushups month with continued run training.

[naweir]

Rangers,

I was reading up on the MOS of 12B that I had mentioned my interest in. I have seen that it is "possible" to get an option 40 with that MOS, and that there is a chance to get into Ranger School, Airborne, and 75th with it, but that those contracts are not very common. I know that 20th Engineering in AD is an airborne unit that is stationed in Fort Bragg typically and used for support roles there.

1 - Would anyone know of combat engineers getting option 40, or have I chosen a long shot that is probably not going to happen?

2 - I know that holding out for what I want is something that everyone here encourages, and my recruiter mentioned there may be spots open, especially at the first of the year. What would you all recommend in terms of my wanting to continue this path?

I know that 11X is the most common contract for Op 40, but my interest in engineering is something I have always had and felt I would transition well into military life with

Thank you all for your time.

[Jim]

Please try this link:

http://www.benning.army.mil/tenant/75th ... uiting.htm

You will notice 12B is am enlisted MOS required in the Regiment.


Go for 12B, Combat Engineer, Option 40, if that's what you want.

[naweir]

Thank you Ranger Jim.

I had followed that last link you had provided and my research showed there was definitely a 12B Ranger route. I wanted to doublecheck with you guys though to ensure I am not told something different by my recruiter. My recruiter and I sat down to finalize my MEPS date and he should be getting my job options back to me on 20151022. He mentioned that Op 4 and 40 may not be available this late in the year however. I just do not want to be swayed into giving in if I could hold out for what I want and I feel like maybe my best bet might be to wait on signing until the new fiscal year in order to ensure all my desired slots are open and able to be in my contract prior to leaving. I do not want to leave with this path left up to chance.

Thanks again.