Introduction- Jesse

[Jesse]

Hello Rangers, my name is Jesse and I am currently in the process of trying to obtain an 11x Option 40 contract to enlist.

I have been reading the information on this site for hours on end for the past three days now and felt it was time to introduce myself to ask some questions that I have yet to find answers to.

First I will tell you a little bit about myself. I am nineteen years of age, have no felony or misdemeanor criminal charges, went to college for a short time before the economy crashed and destroyed my means of paying for college, have been interested in the military since I was a child, and have an extreme interest in the Army Rangers.

Up until April the only jobs I could get were through Daily Labor agencies around town. I worked through Daily Labor in Denver, CO for a year and a half before moving to Arizona to assist my brother, who was also facing economic hardship. My brother also has three children and a lazy, condescending wife, so, I swallowed my pride, said goodbye to my lifelong friends, told my recruiter I'd be back in a few months and came to the Sonoran Desert. My first week in Arizona I picked up a full-time job and worked Daily Labor on my days off, giving about 3/4 of my check to him. I lived out of his garage for about a month before he decided I was no longer welcome and that he no longer needed my help.

With that I no longer have anything holding me back from joining the Army.

Before I left for Arizona to assist my brother, I had been negotiating with a recruiter for a month or so and had been convinced to settle for an Airborne Infantry contract instead of a Ranger contract. The day before I left for MEPS to swear in (had already taken my ASVAB and scored well enough for what I wanted), my mother flew to Denver and explained the situation about my brother, and described her own misgivings about my joining the military. I cancelled my date with MEPS and pissed off my Recruiters Superior Officer, but Loyalty to my family is something I don't take lightly. (Loyalty in general is something I don't take lightly)

After reading the information here, I feel cancelling with MEPS was a good move. I don't want to be anything but a Ranger and I want to make sure I have my shot.

I understand what I have to do with my Recruiter now, and have no questions about the process of enlistment.

There is only one thing that raises questions in my mind to enlisting. That thing is our current civilian leadership who controls the military.

I want to join to protect people, to protect the constitution and the people of the united states (however ignorant some may be).

But recently I have witnessed things that lead me to believe that our government is no longer in that hands of the people or the constitution.

I need to know if the Army is still fighting for freedom and democracy or if it is merely the strong-arm of a dangerously out of control government.

Please don't misinterpret what I say. I am not throwing accusations. I love democracy, I love the constitution and I respect our nations warriors more than anything else. I just need to know that I'll be shooting the right people.

Perhaps principles are a bad thing to have when considering war, but, I have to address them one way or another.

I do apologize for this agonizingly long post, but in my opinion it is very difficult to get a picture of who someone is, via cyber space, from a small paragraph.

Thank you very much for your service to our country and I apologize in advance if I have offended anyone. these thoughts are quite difficult to put into writing.

[Earthpig]

I need to know if the Army is still fighting for freedom and democracy or if it is merely the strong-arm of a dangerously out of control government.

I understand your concern, but I doubt that you will get many responses on this site that indicate that our Armed Forces are running amuck, blindly carrying out crazy orders from a government that no longer stands for freedom and liberty.

I think that most of us here still believe in what this country stands for, and we believe in what our Armed Forces are doing. Regardless of your political beliefs, in the end it comes down to the men on either side of you. I think we all enlisted because we felt it was the right thing to do. When we got to Battalion, all that mattered was taking care of the Brothers around us. They are the best of the best, and watch each others' backs.

I know that was probably a lame answer, but it's the best I can do at the moment. Welcome to the site, and thanks for showing an interest in our community.

RLTW
EP

[al_2ndWolfhounds]

Welcome and thank you for your desire to serve our great country as a Ranger.

Civilian leaderships come and go, the core of our serving military transcends the political machinations of Washington D.C. careerists. If you are interested in serving it will be for what our country stands for and as you join your unit it will be for the brothers in arms with which you serve. You will find that amongst us there are many reasons for our initially joining the service but in time your day to day striving will be for the men on either side of you. My two cents worth, the men I served with are amongst the finest our country has raised up and they stood up in their turn. Only you can determine whether it is what you want for yourself.

[Jesse]

Ranger EarthPig, Ranger as_2ndwolfhounds, thank you for your input.

I just have to be sure that I'm shooting the bad guys, not some big wigs competitor.

I also have a question, not from myself, but from my mother actually. She wants me to be as informed as possible and she has tasked me with asking you what the "Negatives" are of the military are. I asked her to elaborate but met with little success.

Her opinion matters to me so I would appreciate it if you Rangers could list anything "negative" that I would encounter while in the service.

I apologize for asking such a broad question.

[Earthpig]

I also have a question, not from myself, but from my mother actually. She wants me to be as informed as possible and she has tasked me with asking you what the "Negatives" are of the military are. I asked her to elaborate but met with little success.

Her opinion matters to me so I would appreciate it if you Rangers could list anything "negative" that I would encounter while in the service.

I apologize for asking such a broad question.

Keep in mind that I have been out for 20 years....

The military, as most government entities has it's own level of stupidity. You will wait in line to wait in line. There is a form to be filled out for everything you can think of. Many of the NCOs you'll come across in your initial training are nitwits from another country on a power trip, and you won't be able to understand half of what they say. Most of the training they give you is rote. You will probably take part in details like picking up pine cones, raking rocks, etc.

In order for the "Machine" to work properly, the instructions have to be understood by the dumbest guy. So, a lot of what you will see is (in my opinion) dumbed down a lot, so in the big picture, everything rolls along.

While there are some outstanding soldiers in every unit, the SpecOps world (since it has higher standards) holds the creme de la creme of our armed forces. You will find better training there, less stupidity, and I believe, a safer work environment.

Living the Ranger life sucks at times. You will surpass what you thought your mind and body were capable of doing many times over. There is pain, there is suffering, there is blood. But, being the best at anything doesn't come easy. You have to put out more to be number one.

As with anything in life, it is what you make of it. I doubt that you would be able to find a single Ranger on this site who would not do it all over again, if given the chance. Through all the suck, it is worth it to be a part of a Brotherhood so rich in tradition and so proven in battle. For many of us, our Ranger experience stands out as the single most challenging, most honorable thing we've done in life. Standing up for your country with the best of the best, while others hide in the shadows of their video games and soap operas, is something that far outweighs any negative memories in the military.

Of course, all of this is simply my own opinion. I will also add that I served during peacetime, which may change some things.

RLTW
EP

[propayne7]

Ranger Earthpig,
Of my small two years served, that is some of the best wisdom I've received.

[Jesse]

Thank you Ranger EarthPig.

I had presumed that I would encounter such things and honestly, I'm not phased by "Pine cone duty" or Power happy foreigners...I got plenty of that through daily labor so it wouldn't be a problem really.

One thing that concerns me is all this talked about BCT being watered down. Less running, less yelling, more "fat burner exercises". I can't help but feel that a softer BCT will not set me up for success at RASP/RIP. Also given that I have probably close to zero percent body fat I would much rather concentrate on strength training and core exercises than Cardio-calorie burners. Is the BCT of today really as soft as some make it out to be?

I fully intend to use any spare time to pound out as much PT as I can, It's just hard to believe that they would make BCT easier because of my Carpel-tunnel suffering, fat, and often times retarded generation.

[KW Driver]

Basic training is just that. basic. if you aren't challenged by it, challenge yourself when you can, and before you go. work endurance.

are we a tool of Imperial domination? you'll have to figure that one out for yourself before you go in. after you are in, it should be immaterial to you, and realistically, echelons above your reality. then it's beyond your scope and span of control. you will have sworn an oath and should carry it out, so long as the orders of those above you are legal. that's your responsibility as a soldier. it's your responsibility as a citizen to evaluate if you can live up to that before you enter.

some of the negatives? you'll get hurt Rangering. it's just a matter of when and how bad. a sprained ankle or back, up to dead. in training or combat. you'll miss important events in your or family members' lives. birthdays, anniversaries, holidays. you'll hurt and ask yourself why am I here? what am I doing this for?

looking back, it's worth it.

[Jesse]

Ranger KW Driver, thank you for your input.

I understand that when I enlist and swear in...I'm in. No matter what. I take promises to heart and if I swear to do something I do it to the best of my abilities, regardless of my personal feelings.

As far as getting hurt goes that's not something that scares me. Yes it sucks, but it doesn't even qualify as a negative to me. Life is full of pain and injury, regardless of chosen profession. So getting hurt is just a fact of life to me.

At this point I think I have enough information to satisfy my matriarch, and also to be sure that this is the decision I want to make.

Off to the recruiters again.

Thank you Rangers, for your information and wisdom.

[Ranger Bill]

Welcome, Jesse. Your desire to serve our country as an Army Ranger is appreciated. I'm a bit late to this thread, but you have been given excellent answers to your questions. Be sure to read and heed the ROE PM I have sent you and keep us informed of how things go with your enlistment process.