Introduction-Josh

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20janderson
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Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Hello Rangers, my name is Josh, I am now a high school senior (Class of '20) who is currently 16 but will be turning 17 next week. I currently work at a Tex/Mex Restaurant as a busser and dishwasher, and have been contemplating joining the Army for awhile. I have decided to join the Army, specifically the Ranger Regiment and I am looking for information regarding primarily jobs and life in Regiment from those who have "been there, done that." I am in the process of submitting my paperwork to MEPS and choosing a MOS, and I look forward to speaking with the Rangers on this forum. Thank you for you time and thank you all for your service!

P.S., I set up my profile via the instructions posted on the forum to the best of my ability, if there is anything wrong with it please let me know and I will fix it accordingly
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Disinfertention
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by Disinfertention »

Hey Josh,

If you have a desire to learn there is quite a bit of information on the site for you to leverage. Take advantage of it and the search button. Nothing wrong with asking questions but it is always better to ask an informed one instead of a repeat... Make sure you read the stickies and pinned posts before doing anything else.

Sounds like you have already spoken to a recruiter. Any idea of what job you'd like to do yet?

Do you play any sports? How is your fitness level? Research how to conduct an APFT and give one to yourself to assess your current fitness and post the scores back here. You can reply first and get to it in your spare time.

I worked in a few restaurants growing up. It's good work and makes you appreciate the dirtier jobs in life I guess.
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CharlieRanger1FFV
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by CharlieRanger1FFV »

Welcome to the site, Josh.



RLTW!!!
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20janderson
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Ranger Disinfertention,
Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you, even though it's been summer I've been fairly busy

In regards to your questions, yes, I have an idea of what jobs I'm considering, my top 3 are 11B, 68W, 37F PsyOps (if an option 40 is available for said MOS, and I think it is). I've also considered 35M HUMINT but it's hard finding info online about what they would do in Regiment.

Yes, I play sports. I did cross country in middle school and joined the track and field team last year. I have yet to compete but I did shotput and discus, and this year I am most likely continuing with shot and switching from discus to one of the dashes, most likely 400m. At my current fitness level, I do fairly well when it comes to push ups, pull ups, and sit ups (my maxes are 65 push ups, 23 pull ups, and somewhere around 80-85 SU), my rucking needs a little work, I think my pace is on avg like 17:00 or so. I'm a confident swimmer, but my running SUCKS. I'm rolling somewhere around a 9-10 minute mile, but I've started following some of Stew Smith's workouts and his PFT beginner running program to get back on it after a year where I did a bunch of weightlifting and neglected my cardio.

Side note that I forgot to address in my intro, parents do NOT approve of my aspirations to become a Ranger and Green Beret (ultimate goal with the Army is to make it a career and become a GB, possibly as an officer.), so my processing into the Army has come to a screeching halt. NOT using the Rangers as a "stepping stone" into SF btw, I have different reasonings for both but I'd like to serve in both Regiment and SF during my career.
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Shoot forgot to mention, 13F is also definitely an MOS I've considered. My mistake
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by Disinfertention »

Josh,

I think Ranger Regiment is an excellent stepping stone into SF. Just don't tell your Team Leader or Squad Leader that. We can talk more on that later!

I don't usually offer this, but if your parents just think you need to "do better" I am willing to talk to them about it through whatever medium. I try to mentor as many young folks who come through here as I can. If they have morale objections I'm not sure if I can help... Just know that although there are certain stereotypes for those who join the military the ones who desire service in Ranger Regiment, Special Forces, or more are not those individuals. A career in those places is more rewarding and prestigious than almost any other work. Obviously the pay is fairly straight forward though... It's ok for your parents to want more if that is the case. Know what you want to do, research it like you are, present your discussion points... If you need help I will try!

I have two tasks for you - 1. Conduct an APFT and post your scores with chin-ups if able. 2. Narrow down what MOS you want. The best thing to do is walk into a recruiting office and say I want -this- MOS with -this- option. The Army is a great thing in that it lets you pick what career you want... after that, you're getting the big green weenie like the rest of us if you are not careful.

I feel like 13F was a direct shoutout to me... so thanks for considering my job!
USASOC 2015-2023
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20janderson
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Ranger Disinfertention,

I will test myself on the APFT on Monday since that is my next workout day. Since my parents have stalled on signing for me, it's given me extra time to look into various MOSs and I have been able to narrow it down to the five I mentioned, as well as really focus on preparing for BCT and RASP. They are just concerned about the danger and the nature of the work Regiment/Infantrymen/SF do with all the direct combat they are involved in. I've had a hard time selling combat arms/Regiment to them because of the stereotype that combat arms guys, especially infantry are "dumb knuckle-draggers" that blindly follow orders into combat and killing. I'm going to keep talking to them and if I have no luck, I'll take up on your offer and reach out to you and find a way you can speak to them. Thank you so much for the offer by the way, I really appreciate that!

Also, for future reference, I'm still having a hard time navigating some parts of the forum. I've pretty much figured out the search function but for when I have a question, where would I post a question I have about a job or Regiment itself or such and such? Just want to make sure I'm not posting where I shouldn't and respecting site rules. Thanks!
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20janderson
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Disinfertention wrote: July 26th, 2019, 7:11 pm Josh,

I think Ranger Regiment is an excellent stepping stone into SF. Just don't tell your Team Leader or Squad Leader that. We can talk more on that later!

I don't usually offer this, but if your parents just think you need to "do better" I am willing to talk to them about it through whatever medium. I try to mentor as many young folks who come through here as I can. If they have morale objections I'm not sure if I can help... Just know that although there are certain stereotypes for those who join the military the ones who desire service in Ranger Regiment, Special Forces, or more are not those individuals. A career in those places is more rewarding and prestigious than almost any other work. Obviously the pay is fairly straight forward though... It's ok for your parents to want more if that is the case. Know what you want to do, research it like you are, present your discussion points... If you need help I will try!

I have two tasks for you - 1. Conduct an APFT and post your scores with chin-ups if able. 2. Narrow down what MOS you want. The best thing to do is walk into a recruiting office and say I want -this- MOS with -this- option. The Army is a great thing in that it lets you pick what career you want... after that, you're getting the big green weenie like the rest of us if you are not careful.

I feel like 13F was a direct shoutout to me... so thanks for considering my job!
Well I tested myself with the APFT and I did pretty bad, I've got some work to do before I go anywhere...
Here's what I got:
PU: 62
SU: 51 (no one held my feet so it was much harder, but that's not much of an excuse :/)
Pull Ups: 23
2 Mile Run: 18:00 exactly, 9:00-9:35 avg pace
In short I definitely have to work core a lot more an run more often. I have a little over a year before I even go to basic training so that should be enough time to prepare. I have yet to really test myself on rucking since I've only gone on 2-3 short rucks and I probably should gain a better running foundation before I worry about that.
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by Disinfertention »

Josh,

Good scores. I tend to say this but I like seeing scores like this instead of guys maxing it out. You have room to improve and you know that. That's the goal of doing the APFT. Also, perhaps not scientifically proven, but it is a well known 'fact' that people who do APFTs more generally score higher because you're prepared for the events and how to best do them for yourself.

In your next bit of free time research the ACFT and report back here on it. I don't think I have asked you to do that yet.

Look up programs to improve your running and let us know what you come up with.
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OCS Cadre 2007-2010
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by IntelToad »

Welcome here Josh, there's a lot of information around these parts. Good luck to you.
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20janderson
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Disinfertention wrote: July 30th, 2019, 5:57 pm Josh,

Good scores. I tend to say this but I like seeing scores like this instead of guys maxing it out. You have room to improve and you know that. That's the goal of doing the APFT. Also, perhaps not scientifically proven, but it is a well known 'fact' that people who do APFTs more generally score higher because you're prepared for the events and how to best do them for yourself.

In your next bit of free time research the ACFT and report back here on it. I don't think I have asked you to do that yet.

Look up programs to improve your running and let us know what you come up with.
Ranger Disinfertention, I looked at some running programs and have started to build a good running foundation, I was browsing some pages on getting better at running and one of the suggestions was to run competitively. So, I signed up for my first ever 5K. Just for some quick background info, my town does the Run for the Fallen 5K every year in memorial for 1st Lt Michael J. Cleary, he was a platoon leader and a graduate of my high school with 1/15 Infantry, 3rd BDE 3rd ID and was KIA on Dec. 20, 2005 in Iraq during OIF. I figured it would be a great opportunity for me to run for a cause and challenge myself. I ended up running my fastest paces ever, 7:32 min/mile for the first 1-2 miles, around an 8:10 min/mile for the rest of the race, and my overall time was 25:56. I came in 3rd in my age group (16-19) and 23rd overall out of 110. so my APFT 2 mile time is about 15:30 now, which is passing. I'm going to keep on running and start rucking so within a few months I can attempt the Ranger PFT and see where I stand there.
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by Disinfertention »

Lunch wrote: August 16th, 2019, 6:20 am I was just recently selected to serve as a superintendent of a National Park.
That is awesome to hear, Ranger Lunch. Congratulations. Great advice for Josh too. Hopefully he checks it out.

Great job on putting yourself out there, Josh. I've never run competitively before so you're already ahead of me in challenging yourself on some stuff. Keep working on it and keep your goal in mind. Makes everything else easier. Make sure to take time to recover and do things you like other than PT all the time too... balance.
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HHC 2/75 2012-2015
HHC & Cco 1/75 2010-2012
OCS Cadre 2007-2010
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Ranger School 09-04
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Re: Introduction-Josh

Post by 20janderson »

Lunch wrote: August 16th, 2019, 6:20 am Hey Josh,

Don't know if your parents are good listeners, but here's an example of how knuckle-draggers are people, too:

After serving in the Regiment I went SF. In a nutshell, my mission was to train, advise, and assist other people to do the things I wanted them to do. I needed to have an elevated attention to detail, be able to plan operations with every contingency accounted for, and to be professionally competent, culturally sensitive, and excellent at building rapport with people from all walks of life.

I was just recently selected to serve as a superintendent of a National Park. The key things that contributed to my selection is my elevated attention to detail, my demonstrated exceptional planning competencies, and my ability to train, advise, and assist my partner organizations, volunteers and other stakeholders and to get them to do the things I want them to do.

Huh...seems like there's a connection there, eh?
Ranger Lunch, Wow, that's really awesome! It's really hard to explain things like that to people who don't understand what Army SF actually does, and explaining it to my parents was hard since pop culture has kinda influenced how they see "spec ops." I even had a hard time explaining that you need at least a 110 GT score to be considered for SF and a 107 for the other SOF job fields in the Army. And if I remember correctly, you need a 110 to qualify for every job the Army has to offer. Thanks for the reply

Ranger Disinfertention, I plan on doing more 5Ks and probably some competitive rucks too in the future, I found it really fun! And I will definitely heed your advice on balance, that's definitely really important to remember.
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