Introduction - Garglinglabrat

[GarglingLabRat]

Hello Rangers and Members,

I am 29 and from Seattle, WA. I am currently part of the way through the enlistment process for a 11x Opt 40 contract with my medical screen taking place 20150802. Pending a passing med exam I will be shipping 20150928 and already have my contract on hold. While it has taken me a bit longer than most to get to this point in my life making this commitment is something that I have wanted to do for a long time. Being that I have never been one to give up on prior obligations, and having now completed those, I do not see my self being one to give up on this path either.

For a bit more background on my self: I have completed some college with the main emphasis of my studies in biology. I have about seven years of lab research experience in prostate cancer and virology. I have also spent an abundant amount of time living/traveling abroad and volunteering in the healthcare and infrastructure aide fields in a few Central and South American countries. I speak decent Spanish and broken Portuguese.

Self administered PT test:
Push ups: 61
Sit ups: 66
Pull ups palm forward: 11
2 mile run: 15:19

My PT scores are not optimal, I know this. As a result I plan on retesting on my next weekend so as to not have "the burden of a day of work" affect my self test.

[Grim666]

Welcome to the site. What does a youngin like you do all day that would drastically affect your PT scores in the evening? And just a curiosity question with a lot of the background that you have in medicine why not a 68W??

[GarglingLabRat]

Ranger Grim666,

Thank you for the welcome.

I self administered after a 14 hour day on my feet and a good dose of mental exhaustion. I knew going into it that I wasn't going to hit my 100% but I didn't want to post an introduction without an honest on-the-spot self-test. I plan to re administer asap.

As far as the background... 11x was what I wanted to do before I got started with my education - so I just stuck with it. I did ask about 68W when I got my contract reserved but there were none available with an Opt 40. I figured that I should just be thankful that my recruiter was able to pull up an 11x Opt 40 and not let it pass me by. When I finish med, and before I sign, I had the intention of asking again just to try my luck. But, if none are available again, I still would have a contract that I am very happy with.

[rangerjd]

Welcome to the site. Did you attend school here in Washington state and if so, what school did you attend? Give everything you've got, every time you give and never, ever quit! RLTW

[GarglingLabRat]

Rangers,

A bit of a SITREP:

I redid my self administered pt as promised:

Push ups: 68
Sit ups: 71
Pull ups palm forward: 16
2 mile run: 14:57

This feels much more within my norm. The fun bit was that the run portion was me running to my recruiter's office for the trip to MEPS for the med screen and with a bag of about 8-10lbs. They laughed, I was sweating. :D

Now the bad: I was DQ'd at MEPS because I admitted to an allergic reaction to ceclor (an antibiotic of the cephalosporin family) when I was four years old and had an ear infection. The MEPS doc didn't care that I had taken antibiotics of the same family since and hadn't had a reaction, my recruiter said I would be fine... and well - I believed in being honest. Looks like I'm going to be attempting a waiver - which drops my contract reservation and leaves a bit of foot work for me. The up side - extra PT time to increase my points.

After leaving MEPS I contacted a Dr. to conduct an antibiotic allergy screen to see if I am still allergic to said antibiotic (good chance of growing out of a serum reaction since I was a child when this happend) or if it is still a real issue. The recruiters' office said I need to wait to talk to them again until Monday so I can talk to the Command Sergent or wait until my recruiter gets back from leave (2 wks from last Friday). Regardless, I have a bit of ground to cover.

I have read about other recruits obtaining Option 40's with waivers so I am not giving up hope. I will continue until I preserver or get told to never come back. Thank you for the words of encouragement and I will SITREP again when I have news to report.

Thank you,

[GarglingLabRat]

Rangerjd,

I did attend school in Washington. Highline Com Col, Seattle Com Col, and then the UW.

[GarglingLabRat]

Rangers,

A SITREP:

I visited my recruitment center today to obtain further details about my DQ at MEPS. My recruiter is on leave; however, I was able to talk with the Command Sergeant. I was told my waiver had already been submitted and that there is nothing for me to do but wait (and PT) patiently until my recruiter contacts me. The Command Sergeant said his outlook on the situation is positive but to give it 45 days due to there now only one Dr. overseeing the processing of all waivers.

Being that patience is something that I have been well graced with as a virtue I will be knocking on their door in 45 days if I don't hear from them. :D Expect a SITREP around then.

thank you,

[rangerjd]

Keep PTing until then. Bug them as many times as you need to, to get the message through to them that you are serious about being a Ranger. Give everything you've got, every time you give and never, ever quit! RLTW

[GarglingLabRat]

Rangers,

A brief SITREP: I was notified that my med waiver was approved yesterday and then today set up a MEPS appointment for three weeks from now to finish up the med and swear in. I would have chosen to go in sooner but have a crazy work schedule and a trip out of town to work around. Regardless... It feels good to be making some progression and have the tough part of the wait over.

Thank you Rangers.

[elgecko]

Congrats on getting the waiver. Like you I was also 29 when I enlisted, had completed college, and had been around the world a little bit. As such, I was more mature than 90% of anyone in my Basic, AIT, or RASP classes. This was a good and bad thing. On one hand, it gave me instant leadership opportunities and prepared me to be an NCO in the Regiment. On the other hand, it drove me insane at times. As a Ranger you will be expected to step up constantly, that's what "Rangers lead the way" means. Don't think you can wait until you have your beret in hand to start acting like a Ranger because if you do, you will probably never earn it in the first place. You sound like a smart guy, just make sure you make the most of it.

[GarglingLabRat]

Ranger Elgecko,

Thank you for the words of encouragement and sharing of experience. I'm looking forward to giving my all to this opportunity.

I will post again after swearing in.

Thank you Ranger Elgecko and all.

[Jim]

Please let us know when you take your oath. Never, never quit!

[GarglingLabRat]

Rangers,

Well, no swear in yet. There were no 11x or 68w contracts available with the Ranger option. However, the salesman spirit was well and alive in the recruiters as I had to politely decline several MOS's which were "all the rage because they have a bonus." It was a little frustrating because I also found out that I could have been bugging my recruiter for the last few weeks to reserve me an MOS and that I didn't actually have to wait until MEPS again as he had said initially. Oh, well; out of my hands for the most part.

Now comes the part where I stop by recruiting every day that I pass by to/from work.

More time to up those PT scores!!

[Jim]

It has been almost two weeks since we heard from you. But, we are now in a new fiscal year so the slots ought to start opening. Never, never quit!

[GarglingLabRat]

Ranger Jim,

All is well and thank you for asking. I have been keeping up with my recruiter. His unchanged words since I went in to finish the MEPS process are that "there are no available contracts for anything infantry." Part of my plan for the remainder of this week is to make contact with a different recruiting station to see if I receive the same results there. Other than that I have just been working and PT'ing.

updated self administered PT test:
Push ups: 66
Sit ups: 64
Pull ups palm reverse: 13
2 mile run: 15:08

Pretty standard for me now. I haven't been seeing much improvement because I have been mixing up my workout routines (less strength, more endurance) and doing more hiking in anticipation that the weather is going to turn to crap soon in my area.

I did buy a GoRuck weight plate setup. And as a gift to my self for making it to the good ol' "dirty 30" I took my self on a nice long hike that ended up being about 21 miles over about 15 hours (round trip) though some my favorite nooks and crannies in the Cascades. My pack when I left contained a 45lb plate and 5lb plate plus water, food and a few other things. I don't usually go hiking on my own but wow was it nice to just enjoy some peace and quiet and be able to go at it at my own pace.

I have also been picking up a few books to help kill spare time. Sua Sponte, Chosen Soldier, Get Selected for SF, Get Tabbed, Ranger Knowledge are ones that I've already read but repurchased and read again. I'm also pretty sure I've read close to a majority of the posts in the forums here and at professionalsoldiers.com. Together the wealth of knowledge provided in both forums aids in being such a motivator to keep at it while I've got family and friends questioning my desire to make this step.

I'll sitrep again in a few weeks or if anything significant occurs.

Thank you,