Introduction-Squidward89

[Squidward89]

The Short story is that my son just graduated Infantry Basic/AIT (OSUT) at Ft. Benning and is now in Airborne School. He is in his second week and was excited to turn in his paperwork requesting RASP. I am a curious Dad looking for as much information to help me understand what he is doing (or going to do). I found this site and found all kinds of great info, so I thought I join.

My background...I'm a former Navy enlisted squid. I enlisted in the Navy while in High School. I was in from 1983-1989. I went through the Naval Nuclear Power Program. That meant Basic Electricity and Electronics School and Electricains Mate "A" School in Great Lakes, Ill.. Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, Florida and Naval Nuclear Prototype training at A1W in Idaho Falls, Idaho. That schooling took about 1 1/2 years and then I was sent to the Fleet. I was stationed aboard the USS Memphis SSN 691, a fast attack submarine. While on board the Memphis, it took me about 1 year to fully qualify my watch stations and earn my Dolphins (Submarine Warfare Pin). While onboard the Memphis, I was also one of only two of the boats Navy certified Scuba divers. I went to that school in Panama City, Florida.

I said all of that to say that while I have an idea about what it takes to get to certain elevated levels in the Navy/military world, I am a nub when it comes to learning about some of this Army stuff. I am very proud of my son and envy some of the things he is doing and will get to do. While he doesn't and hasn't asked me to do intel gathering for him, I do it anyway and relay what I find to him when I talk to him.

I told him about your site and I hope that he takes the time to read and heed the valuable information posted here. Proper knowledge is power and I wish him to be as powerful and prepared as he can be, especially if he get's accepted to RASP.

Thank you for allowing me into your forum and please forgive me if I slip up on your protocol. You know us squids, we tend to be a bit lax at times in that area of professionalism.

Squidward

[Steadfast]

Welcome to this site Squidward89 & thank you for your past service in our country's Navy. Reading your intro was good reading for me, it is one of the best, I've ever read.

Tell your son to make his own luck his best luck & 2 words, "never quit" in his upcoming endeavors & thank him for his present service to our country.

I've upgraded your title & hope it is acceptable to you.

[Squidward89]

Thank you, Ranger Steadfast. The update works for me. :D

I will pass alone the "never quit" advice, although I think he already has that attitude. In one of his letters home in Basic he wrote something like "I will be buried in a tan beret." Of course that didn't make Mama's or my day, but I knew what he meant. He did a report in High School on Gen. Patton, and one of his favorite quotes was the one that says something like "Don't you die for your country. You make the other sonofbitch die for his." So I know he doesn't have death wish, but he wants to be a Ranger more then anything else right now and the only way to do that is to "never quit".

[K.Ingraham]

Welcome Sailor.
Best roomate I ever had spent those same years on a LA class fast attack out of Bremerton.
If being locked up in one of those cigar tubes for 8 months out of the year doesn't teach you how to get along, nothing will!
Submariners gots my respect & not because I read Clancy!

If your son makes it, tell him to poke his nose in here & make an intro.
Tell him to take RASP one day, or one event at a time & never quit!

[Squidward89]

Thanks for the welcome, Ranger K.Ingraham.

I will certainly pass along the "one day, one event, or even one second at a time" advice. I know that thinking about what does or might lie ahead is more stressful then just dealing with the 'here and now'. I did tell him about this site and will encourage him to join up. He just said tonight that if his application gets accepted, he will be on RASP hold until the first of next year. While he's gung ho to get started as soon as possible, he understands that waiting on hold isn't the worst thing in the world.

Right now he's just stoked at getting another chance at RASP. He was working very hard in Basic to be the top in his platoon so he could get a RASP contract there, but while he was the highest scoring recruit in his platoon that wanted RASP ( a 284 I think on the PT), they had run out of contracts. I'm guessing Basic only so many contracts and unless you get a 300, your luck is probably kinda low. He said that his basic company's 3rd platoon was mainly Special Forces and Ranger prospects and many of them got the extra contracts. When he got to Airborne School and learned of a second chance so soon, he was re-energized.

Thanks again for all of your guys advice and your service. Listening to my son tell it, you guys (The Army ) is real particular about attention to details and can get gigged on it at any time. My experience in the Navy was more on passing the main courses and not so much on the 'little' things. I'm not saying that's bad. In fact, for my son, it will be great for him. It's just that I never feared failing out of my schools because I might not be fully shaven or had a dirty uniform. Those things would be punishable, but not the kind of punishment that results in being dropped from the school. I guess basically what I'm saying is that I respect even more what you guys have to go through. Not only in getting to be a Ranger, but in maintaining that standard.

[al_2ndWolfhounds]

Welcome, thank you for your submariner service and also my thanks to you and your wife for raising a patriot. My advice for him is to take the mental attitude that he is as capable or more so than those that have preceded him, if they did it so can he. Never, never quit.

[Buzz]

Welcome to the site.

[Steadfast]

Squidward89, you being a veteran yourself, you & we, are equals. You do not have to preface our names with Ranger except those that have Ranger as part of their name.

[Lefty]

Interesting posts, indeed. Welcome to the site.

First, thank you for your extraordinary service. Being a submariner takes a special breed, and I mean that in a strongly positive sense.
Second, kudos on raising a good son. I look forward to learning of his progress.
Third, you may have crossed paths with my youngest brother, who went through the nuclear program during your time frame. He started at the basic power and ship propulsion level, showed aptitude, and continued progressing through the courses all the way to the prototype level you referenced. He became a nuclear propulsion qualified sailor, although not without mishaps of his own creation, and today works for a gov't. contractor at Norfolk.
Please do continue to post and update us on your son.

[CharlieRanger1FFV]

Welcome to the site, Squidward . . .thank you for your service.


RLTW!!!

[Ndog275]

Welcome shipmate!

[Squidward89]

Thank you to everyone who has welcomed my in. I will keep everyone up to date on my son's progress and pass along advice and information as it comes up.

I did happen to read about the Combat Water test and passed along some advice that someone posted about going to the pool there by the Airborne school. He did say last night that he and some buddies were going to go there this weekend and get refreshed so this board is already paying off. :D

Thanks again for the advice and for all of your guy's service.

Sincerely,
Squidward

[Squidward89]

To Ranger Steadfast,

I appreciate the notion that just because I am a veteran that you see me as an equal, but I know that not all jobs in the military are equal. I will probably drop calling everyone Ranger (mainly cause I'm lazy) but I do want you guys to realize that I do see your Ranger service as something much higher and deserving of respect. Prefacing someones screen name with the honored title of Ranger is certainly not a difficult task and heaven and hell knows.... you earned it.

Sincerely,
Squidward