What was Ranger School like for you?

Three phases and 62 days of hell. This section named in honor of MAJ John Whyte who was taken from us on 04/17/05.
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colt1rgr
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by colt1rgr »

dbmtrman wrote:Do they still do the raid in RS where you take a pen full of live chickens and rabbits and split them up to kill and cook, or has PETA put a stop to that?
Bro were you on the B Co E & E back from Stewart where they gave us 1 chicken per squad? I was (1st Plt 3rd Sqd). I beleive that was mid or late 86.
1st Ranger Bn 86-92, C Co, HHC, Bn COLT, RHQ 94-95 Ranger Class 14-87 MFF 05 May 88

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al_2ndWolfhounds
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by al_2ndWolfhounds »

Memorable points of Ranger School:

Instructors filling the low crawl pit with water just before using it so it wasn't frozen when we were going through it..

Two hours of sleep on a good night.

Obstacle course run three times non stop.

Flying across the hand to hand pit, by way of instructor body throw, because you didn't thump your Ranger Buddy hard enough.

Running God knows where in the middle of the night while it is raining and not knowing how long the torture will continue.

Being stupid enough to find yourself on the ass end of the 17 mile ruck and feeling like you are part of some crazy accordion....spending most of your time either double timing of at a slow walk.

Getting stuck with two Recon Marines as climbing partners and both handing you a camera so they can have pics of them climbing the cliff.

Getting caught by RI taking picture of one of the marines and being dropped for 100 push-ups, while on the cliff in an upside down position.

Walking across a mountain top in the middle of the night in a lightning storm and having lightning hit so close that I couldn't use my left arm for over 6 hours and just knowing it was going to get me a medical drop if it didn't recover.

Walking point on a patrol and doing it so well I came upon a clearing with 5 or 6 deer and there I was with 20 rounds of blank ammunition.

Having an asshole patrol leader who insisted on having us proceed up an Ice cold stream and wouldn't listen to any one.

Having an asshole RI that let us stay in the water long enough so that he could fail our idiot patrol leader. Although he did let us take a 30 minute break with a fire so we could avoid frostbite.

One C-Ration meal per day.

Learning how to pressure cook a chicken in an ammo can without getting lead poisoning.

Always thought it was funnier than shit that every time we swept through an aggressor position we would immediately check their trash for food.

Sitting in a Florida foxhole with one buddy watching as the other one bailed with a canteen cup.

Sitting under a poncho in an inflatable and keeping track of of the turns and twists of the stream we were traversing. Wouldn't have been bad if there wasn't so much water inside the inflatable, also much warmer when you were working your muscles by paddling.

Boiled snake with Tabasco.

Seeing the guy in front of you not making a turn to follow the guy in front and to just keep walking in his sleep.

Getting down on one knee and facing out for each stop on a patrol and then realizing that the guy in front of you is snoring.

Starting a count when the patrol starts out again and getting a back count of 6 when you have an 8 man patrol.

Oh, did I mention one C-Ration meal a day and two hours of sleep on a good night.

Finally, the feeling of elation when it was all through and the camaraderie of those who succeeded.
RLTW

Active service 01/67-12/73
Ranger Class 10-68
2/27 Inf 25th Inf Div Vietnam 01/69-01/70

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dbmtrman
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by dbmtrman »

colt1rgr wrote:
dbmtrman wrote:Do they still do the raid in RS where you take a pen full of live chickens and rabbits and split them up to kill and cook, or has PETA put a stop to that?
Bro were you on the B Co E & E back from Stewart where they gave us 1 chicken per squad? I was (1st Plt 3rd Sqd). I beleive that was mid or late 86.
I was in 2nd Plt, at that time and we did boat ops for that training. We got a pig, for the whole platoon. We took zodiacs out of lotts island and after a couple hours of movement towards the ocean we beached the boats and had a pig roast. We also had a couple casting nets with us and the guys caught a shitload of shrimp, that we boiled in ammo cans. We ate so much we couldn't have e & e'ed anywhere. Was a good time.
RLTW!
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B Co. 1/75 84-86, HAAF
HQ 11 SFG (USAR) 86-87

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gsgitu
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by gsgitu »

Let's see, darby - Action front, engage, look back for B Team and the B Team Leader(a Marine) was already assaulting. NO-GO.Decision time - Sleep or Chow, Sleep, No Choice. What else, Mountains, NO-GO, Major Minus, Major Minus, NO-GO, Some D-Bag Quitting and me stealing his chow from the cache and disseminating it to the squad, Major Minus, Being stuck in a squad of LT.'s and 101st and 10th Goat fuckers, getting sent back to Day One never to see RS again. My Tab is still on the Mountains some where. Probably stuck to a tree with the Gerber Gator knife I lost. I can't believe I remembered that much.
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dogface11b
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by dogface11b »

The best thing I took away from the course was what I learned about myself. You will be humbled. I felt like a meer man amongst beasts. Some of the guys I met there were twice the soldier I'll ever be. Getting to work with some of the Batt boys and other guys really does make you feel good at night knowing that there are men like that are out there protecting my family and my freedoms.
1/30 INF 3/3 ID 2001'-06

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RS Class 05-09
dogface11b
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by dogface11b »

Oh yeah, getting a Gastro infection in Mountains and learning how to simaltaneously barf and shit at the same time. And then having to taste my Ranger buddies' Gastro flavored farts every five minutes for the rest of the course. Scoring a pizza and a powerade from the chow bird pilots, and then puking it all back up after the requisite smoke session afterwards.
1/30 INF 3/3 ID 2001'-06

C. Co 2-152 Cav (ABN)(LRSC)-2008-2010

RS Class 05-09
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75rangermom
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by 75rangermom »

It sucks!!! Oh, you mean for the Ranger - well I could tell you but I haven't had a chance to talk to my son long enough to find out how it is for him.
I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.
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garyedolan
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by garyedolan »

Feeling elated that the Fullback on the Army Football Team wanted me to be his Ranger Buddy--harsh reality was at less than 150lbs I had to carry him through the course & wished I had picked the smallest, meanest guy for a buddy. He was always famished and wanted all my meager food. Case in point: we were tasked with going down a mountain to refill canteens from the creek. Going down with empty plastic canteens on a rope across the body was easy. A few steps up he stopped and sat on a log & cried---so I had to take the full load off him...

1st Phase--crashed & burned on the Dirty Name obstacle; woke up with no memory of the entire day but refused to stay in the hospital for fear of being recycled...

On the night jump into the swamps of Florida, my entire stick missed the LZ. Actually grabbed silk on the way down but hit the trees anyway. When I came to, one canteen was ripped off my web belt--absolutely sucked going through the balance of the course with only one canteen. I did not even feel better when I learned the RI who jumped with us broke his leg.

Stifled a laugh when a fresh RI sat in a nest of baby rattlers...

More RIs broke their legs when they misjudged the distance or the chopper pilot screwed up in a demo of rappelling...

To this day I swear the best food I ever ate in my entire life were the thick pancakes with pineapple at the Florida Camp at the end of the course!!! Had really nothing to do with being starved...

God help me but I loved hating it...
Gary "28"
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Buzz
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by Buzz »

KarlinPhoenix wrote:Ice on the water of the barbed-wire crawl under obstacles (worm pit) and diesel in the water to make it stink
Shortly there after you had to negotiate the ladder, about half way up there was a wait because of the crossover at the top, when everyone started to move I couldn't move my left hand, I thought it had frozen to the 4x4 timber but when I looked I couldn't move it because someone on the other side going down had stopped and they were standing on my fingers, couldn't feel it. The most wonderful thing about finishing PT in city week was getting to take the most wonderful cold outside shower ever (get that mud off ya boy) before being allowed in the baracks.

Two months after I was back at 2nd Bat. I pulled out the OD fatigues I had taken specifically for the worm pit, I had had them laundered and pressed and when I checked the shirt pockets there to my suprise was a thinly pressed wafer of Georgia red clay in each.
2nd squad-1st plt-C 2/75 77-78
RS 4-78

The way I became a Ranger and have earned the small amount of success I have had in life has been mostly due to one quality - determination. Lefty.
Oto-Man
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by Oto-Man »

The women weren't as fat as the ones issued to us at 2/75...so the nights were a little chilly--and they had fewer teeth...I think that was a bonus actually. The beer in Florida phase was too warm, and in Desert my entire 12 pack actually froze solid-that'll teach me to hump light beer on a night movement.

Other than that, it was kinda like summer camp...


without food, sleep, water, heat, and shelter...

And someone yelling at your platoon and tossing arti simulators every 15 friggin minutes (usually timed when you were in the middle of dropping a liquid duece!)...


Just google " whatcha gonna do PL?"....that'll get you close.
B Co 2/75 (WEBCO)
1988-1990
RS Class 1-90
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Ndog275
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by Ndog275 »

I learned how to kick tigers in the face.....
A 1/75 93-97
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Said this leader to his outnumbered lot.

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Buzz
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by Buzz »

KarlinPhoenix wrote:Did you have some 'classmates' die of hyperthermia in Florida? My memory is failing me a little bit on the history back then (maybe TBI has something to do with that ).
Don't remember any deaths, there were constant rumors thou.

I don't think they were going to let any of us die we had at least 1 foriegn student (Thiland).
2nd squad-1st plt-C 2/75 77-78
RS 4-78

The way I became a Ranger and have earned the small amount of success I have had in life has been mostly due to one quality - determination. Lefty.
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whocares175
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Re: What was Ranger School like for you?

Post by whocares175 »

lets see memories of Ranger School:
holding duffle bags over our heads for god knows how long at the start of RAP week, getting yelled at/smoked by the RI's when my Ranger Buddy and i were on top of the cargo net on the darby queen because we told them we already were Airborne Rangers when they asked what we wanted to be, being waist deep in mud in benning and when i started to feel bad for myself i looked at the guy in front of me burried to his chest in mud then thinking "glad i'm 6' tall", oh yea-my raging cellulitis/staph infection on my heel from "breaking in" new jungle boots during PRC (that lasted until mountains when i finally went to sick call)...
speaking of mountains-thinking "hey, i never have to do another elevated push up again", blueberry pancakes (i hate blueberries but was hungry enough to eat anything then), being brought back from the field a day early due to hurrican dennis and having to set up a patrol base right outside the barracks and being rained on all damn night, hallucinations, the famous movement to day light where we walked from one end of a saddle to the other and back and forth all night, flying copperheads, doing half of florida phase in the mountains because eglin got evacuated when dennis came through.....
speaking of florida phase, catching a coach whip and getting a major plus for it (i needed it at the time), getting hissed at by a cottonmouth when i was getting off a zodiak, heat stroke on the last day of patrols (was PSG at the time and then was made Security SL later that night so i get my go in FL), being the scout swimmer for every rope bridge we did (that was actually kinda fun), moon pies, lighting lock down just as we were about to get on the pogie birds, sleeping through the daily 3pm t-storms, yea, those are the highlights.
as for the physical side-coming from Batt i was already in more than good enough shape to go through, especially after coming back from afghanistan.
10th mountain division 2/22 scout plt 2002-04
1/75th Ranger Regt 2004-2006
Ranger school class 8-05
2008-2011-Q course
2011-present-10th Special Forces Group (A) Ft. Carson, CO
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