Introduction - Tyler

[brow1089]

Hello Rangers,

My name is Tyler, and I am a 21 year old Junior studying mechanical engineering at Purdue University. I'm forcing myself to finish school to get my degree. I plan on enlisting and obtaining an option 40 contract after I graduate in the spring of 2017. I'm here because I happened upon this website a few weeks ago while researching the process to becoming a Ranger, and it contains a huge wealth of knowledge.

Why I want to join:
First and foremost, I have always been patriotic since I was just a little kid, mainly due to my father. He just retired as an E-9 in the Navy, and distilled a love for our country at an early age, so naturally I've wanted to serve our country my entire life. Along with my father, my uncle served as a Ranger in Vietnam in Company D (Ranger), 151st Infantry, a National Guard unit. This, along with reading dozens of books about special operations, is the reason why I want to be a Ranger.

I've been training for this for about 2 years now, and my most recent APFT score is as follows:
Pushups: 105
Situps: 102
2 mile: 12:54
Pullups: 20

I am currently following Stew Smith's "Maximum Fitness" plan, and am planning on following some of his more RASP/Ranger selection programs as I get closer to graduating.

One last thing: I went to the avatar gallery, and for some reason the "newts" option isn't there for me... only the DEPs, insignia, and tactical.

I look forward to learning from the Rangers here. Thank you all for your time!

[Jim]

Welcome, Tyler. You have established a PT baseline to build on, that's great. If you really want to earn a space in the 75th Ranger Regiment you came to the right site. We take great pride in the fine young men who pass thru this site on their journey toward earning a space in the 75th Ranger Regiment. Plead read all the FAQS, stickies, threads, and posts. You will find insights toward dealing with MEPs. The search feature located on the top right of this page is your friend. Never, never quit!

[CharlieRanger1FFV]

Welcome to site, Tyler.


RLTW!!!

[brow1089]

Thanks for the welcome Ranger CharlieRanger1FFV, Ranger ManchuV, and Ranger Jim!

[brow1089]

Update Rangers,

I've been talking with a recruiter and I've decided to enter the DEP this coming summer once my college graduation is less than 365 days away, that way I can get the ball rolling with MEPS and waivers ahead of time. I have a couple potential obstacles with waivers and such. First, I was diagnosed with ADD and took medication for a few years during high school. I haven't taken anything for it since my senior year and am currently sitting on a 3.75 GPA in engineering as a junior without any help. It turns out I was just an immature kid without study discipline, and I'm kicking myself hard for it. According to my recruiter and the research I have done, I should be able to get a waiver for that no problem given I'm doing well in college without medication. Also, I've had a minor surgery for a torn ligament in my shoulder in 2011, but it healed perfectly and I PT nearly every day, doing push-ups, pull ups, and some weight lifting with good flexibility and no pain whatsoever. I'm hoping this isn't too much of a hurdle. The plan is to get an 11x opt 40 contract, and I've already told my recruiter I won't be willing to take anything else, once the time comes. From what I understand, waivers will make it harder to get the opt 40, depending on the availability and needs of the Army, but I absolutely do not want anything else. I'm not going to go regular 11x and leave my future in the hands of the needs of the Army when I'm in basic.

Also, I've had to cut back on my running due to inflammation in the heel of my left foot, called "plantar fasciitis". It's not a big deal, I'm just trying to get it out of the way and heal because I don't want any nagging injuries that will make it any harder once the time comes. I've been biking and rowing in place of running for the time being. For this reason, I haven't self administered an APFT recently. Within the next week I will administer one without the two mile run. Thank you for your time, Rangers! I'll update again soon with my PT scores.


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[brow1089]

Rangers,

APFT Update:

Push ups: 94
Sit ups: 88
Pull ups: 18
2 mile: 15:24

These scores are a terrible decline from the scores I've had previously (most recent was August, I will start performing a test more often). My foot has been feeling better so I decided to go ahead with the 2 mile. Of course, I haven't been running for a while, but I didn't think it would be that bad since I've been biking and rowing hard. No excuses, my scores right now suck. This is a wake up call for me that the fitness plan I've been using just isn't working for me. It isn't intense enough and doesn't have enough cardio or pushups, situps, etc. I'm going to start on my own plan so I can focus on my weaknesses and get my scores back up. Plan is as follows:

Monday: PT/Run
Tuesday: Swim
Wednesday: Hard PT/Crossfit
Thursday: Rest/Stretch
Friday: PT/Run
Saturday: Long Run
Sunday: Rest/Stretch

If anyone has any suggestions I would appreciate it! Thank you for your time, Rangers.

[brow1089]

Rangers,

I self-administered another APFT test today, and here are the results:

Push ups: 95
Sit ups: 94
Pull ups: 20
2-Mile Run: 14:55

I improved my scores some from two weeks ago, but I still want to get my push/sit/pull numbers to 100+/20+. More importantly I'm focusing more on my running, because as you can see my times are way worse than what I've ran in the past. My goal right now is to get back down to a sub-13 minute 2 mile. A small foot injury set me back, but I'll get back to where I was soon enough and improve more from there. Never, ever quitting!

Tyler

[cams]

Definitely have to take care of your feet, your career could depend on it. Let them heal properly, the Army will still be here when you're ready.

[brow1089]

Roger, Ranger cams. I saw an athletic trainer and after doing the therapy, it feels better, but I will pay attention and make sure it doesn't flare back up. I definitely don't want to have a serious injury.


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[IntelToad]

Welcome here and good luck.

Just curious, with a mechanical engineering degree from a great engineering school like Purdue- did you look at the Navy nuclear program ? Or Air Force ?

Not trying to sound negative, that just seems like a lot of school work to get through and then not use.

[brow1089]

Ranger IntelToad,

Thanks for the welcome.

I have looked into engineering programs in different branches, and several years ago I figured I'd end up joining as an officer in the Navy in an engineering field. That was before started learning about special operations and Rangers and I decided that I wanted to become a Ranger (for lots of reasons). As of right now, I don't have much interest in being an engineer. It sucks and I've really considered dropping out to join the Army several times (once in the past couple weeks), but I've decided to follow through and finish it. I realize that if I can stick it out even though it sucks, I'll come out the other side more mature with a better work ethic, which will then better prepare me to be a Ranger. Basically, at this point I'm treating this as an opportunity to become a better man in preparation for the challenge and suck of the process of becoming a Ranger.

Plus, someday, it could come in handy after my career in the military, if I'm in need of a well paying job or I ever decide I want to do something engineering related. At the end of the day I don't think it will be a bad thing to have an engineering degree and I might be better off because of it.

[IntelToad]

Seems sensible, drive on.

[brow1089]

Roger, Ranger IntelToad.


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[Jim]

Tyler, you may find this link helpful and interesting:

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