Ranger and Veterans,
My evaluation of 13ust1 is a NOGO.
Old Grunt wrote:Mission:
You are to submit a 500-word report on why you want to be an Airborne Ranger and how you plan to achieve that goal... Particular emphasis should be placed on spelling, punctuation, correct composition and grammar.
Objective:
To write a cogent, thoughtful and grammatically correct post.
He failed to meet Veteran Old Grunt's three simple tasks; writing a cogent, thoughtful and grammatically correct post. As Veteran Old Grunt has already identified a plethora of mistakes in his post, pointing out any of the numerous other mistakes is not needed.
My evaluation of a NOGO is due to several factors.
1). After his botched introduction, Veteran Old Grunt gave 13ust1 a chance to rectify himself. Instead of utilizing this opputunity to rebuild his name, the task was executed with no precision. The GO/NOGO Parameters could have easily been met by having a parent, teacher, or friend review his assignment (which he had ample time to do). If he was not motivated enough to do that, a simple Google search would have given him several sites with grammar checks (Veteran Old Grunt made this known to him as well) that would have eliminated many of his errors.
2). While I do not know him personally, 13ust1's lack of attention to detail exhibited in misspellings like "mil" (mile) and "swill" (will) undoubtedly show he did not even proofread his post once. This makes me question the amount of attention to detail he would exhibit during a live fire drill...
Old Grunt wrote:GO/NOGO Parameters:
1. More than three errors in total will constitute a failure of your objective, so use spell check, and any available resources you may find on-line, of which there are more than enough if you are diligent and persistent.
I realize this is a far stricter standard than you are accustomed to, but you are aspiring to a profession with much higher standards, so get used to it..
3). He was aware that he could make a maximum of three errors (however, one would expect an opt. 40 DEP to strive for zero). However, as already mentioned, he apparently did not even proofread.
13ust1 wrote:I want to be an Airborne Army ranger because I want to be infantry but did not want to be just a regular Army ground unit; I wanted to be one of the Army’s finest. Before I signed up for the Army, I was thinking of whether I wanted to be a Marine or in the Army as Delta Force, Special Forces, or Ranger, then I started talking to a friend that was in the Army and he told me that Marines sign open contracts. And I did not want to be told what I was going to be, I rather chose what I want to be...
Disregarding the grammar, his introductory paragraph gave me a sour impression. His disrespect for Army Infantrymen is distateful.
Also another reason is because most of my family served in the Army. My dad was in the Army when I was a little kid. I got most of his stuff from the military that he had gotten. My grandpa was in the Army as a combat medic during Vietnam, I also got his some of his stuff that he had gotten as well.
I feel this thought had potential, had it been established correctly. Apparently his family has a history of military service, which can be a commendable reason to serve.
One thing I am doing to prepare for the Army is running in the mornings at around six in the morning. Since I have recently started doing this my friend and me run about two and a half miles every morning. After we get used to it we swill go further and further every time we run, but most off the time because I am in school I only get an hour to run on the weekdays, also on the days... not running we are lifting weights... We are trying to get up earlier so we can add more. We are going to start doing more since we are going to do that earlier then when we start running.
It was difficult to stumble through this paragraph. 13ust1's communication skills are severely lacking. However, I feel with determination one can overcome such a roadblock. It seems he has no motivation to do so.
Last thing I am doing to prepare for the Army is, I go up to the recruiters building to do drills every Thursday afternoon for one hour up to two or three hours. For the first few minutes that we Future Soldiers are there for us sometimes run just about half of a mil. Then after that we do; push-ups, crunches, jumping jacks, and other stuff that you do in Basic. Then when we are almost done we drill on orders and commands, learn about ranks squads and formations.
I still do not see where he addresses how he plans to achieve his goal of becoming a Ranger. While mentioning a PT program and some drilling is great, I feel he did not dive into how he would prepare for RIP. Perhaps he has not begun memorizing and trying to live out the Ranger Creed, studying Ranger history, etc. but I feel he overlooked one of the main purposes of the assignment.
Basically that is the sum of why I joined the Army. Out of all the jobs I could of chosen from, I chose Ranger. I choose this because it is one of the finest of the Army and I wanted to be part of it.
The task was not why he joined the Army, rather why he aims to be an Army Ranger and his preparation for it. Overlooking the objective during a mission, I assume, would be a catastrophe. While I have no firsthand experience, logic assumes this could easily result in the loss of life
In summary, the assignment did not meet any of the basic requirements set forth by Veteran Old Grunt. The subject matter was also not on topic. Beyond that, he was a minute late in turning it in. My NOGO assessment is a reflection of this.
My suggestion is to let 13ust1 redo the assignment, but with the expection of it being perfect. While he has already struck out and exhibited his laziness, I feel perhaps one more chance will completely reveal his character. Even if he craps out yet again, he would benefit from the Rangers' wisdom (presumably, whether in a Ranger Battalion or not, he will be serving as an Infantryman). However, if the other DEPs feel he does not deserve another chance, it would be a legitimate position.
-Caleb
"Desire is the key to motivation, but it's determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek."
-Mario Andretti