Introduction - Delcore

[Delcore]

Hey dudes,

My name is Delcore, and I am a 20 year old OCS prospective applicant, and also a 75th hopeful. I'm finishing my sophomore year of college right now, and I'm likely going to be exercising a lot over the summer before my junior year stars. I'll be starting my packet with my recruiter next fall, and soon-after I plan to go to the board and pass. Ideally, I would like to branch Military Intelligence, Infantry, or Armor.

I'd say my main motivation for wanting to be a ranger is based on two things; since highschool, I've always wanted to be an Army officer since learning about American Civil War and how good/bad leadership on the battlefield can make a difference. Secondly, no one in my family has ever been a military officer before, nor went to college, and I'm looking to do something that both myself and future generations can be forever proud of.

As far as fitness goes, I probably have a long way to go. At 140 lbs, and 5'5, I'm a smaller guy. I've heard this can make doing log exercises and some other tasks harder, but I'm optimistic. My 2-mile run is currently an 18:30, my push-ups are 56 in 2 minutes, and my sit ups are 77. Since the APFT is changing soon to the ACFT, I'm planning to join a CrossFit box this summer to train for the PT test. Additionally, I also plan on preparing for and joining my cross-country club at my school to improve my running.

My all-time goal is to apply for RASP2 as a MI officer, and join the 5th battalion as a Ranger MI officer. Over the past week, I've read up on RASP2, but haven't really found out how to excel at that program. Therefore, if anyone can give me advice: Physical, Mental, Academic, or anything that can help me, I want to start preparing now so that I can crush all examinations that can help me become an officer.

[LionsDen]

Welcome.

Just a heads up, there is no 5th battalion. There is the MIB (Military Intelligence Battalion), and 5th RTBn (Ranger Training Battalion), which runs the Mountain Phase of Ranger School, but no 5th battalion in Regiment. It's a tiny detail, but a pet peeve of mine.

What attracts you to MI in Regiment? Why not be an Infantry 2LT? Hell, why not enlist as a specialist with a degree?

What else do you know about the pipeline other than RASP 2?

When I graduated RASP 1, we ran the details for RASP 2 when they went to Cole Range. They played a curious bunch of games... mostly testing your critical thinking. One of the senior NCOs on here might have more to say about it.

[Delcore]

Ranger LionsDen,

Thanks for the clarification. I gravitate towards Intelligence because I like the concept of providing decision advantage to a commander. However, I’m also open to the idea of infantry or armor; granted that I can significantly improve my fitness over the next few years. As far as enlisting goes, I’m really just not interested. I always wanted to be an officer since the moment I studied leadership during the Civil War.

I don’t know much about the pipeline for RASP2 other than I’ve heard that an Lt needs 18 months platoon tome before applying.

[CharlieRanger1FFV]

Welcome to the site, Delcore.

RLTW!!!

[Disinfertention]

Hey dudes,

Don't ever call us dudes again. Read the site rules that are nearly as old as you and mind the idea of using "slang" here very carefully. Especially in a greeting. Do not apologize in your response. The correct response is finding the other error in your post according to our rules and tell me what that is.

Welcome to ArmyRanger.com, Delcore. If you have a desire to serve in the 75th this is a great resource for you. Please leverage the search feature of the site and the greater internet to create an informed question instead of restating things that have been asked or answered before!

Why are you not in ROTC and aiming for OCS? I assume it is because your school does not offer ROTC?
What is your major?
Besides finding this site, how are you preparing yourself to be an Army leader without ROTC?

Great intro, minus the greeting as I mentioned. As Ranger Lionsden pointed out, there is no 5th BN. What made you think this? Write a brief summary of the current task organization (100 words-ish) of the 75th Ranger Regiment in your next reply.

Many of the most stellar individuals I have served with are 5'4-5'8 and 130-170 pounds. Be careful with Crossfit and understand recovery before you dig too deep into exercise. I am looking forward to hearing back from you as you progress to attending OCS.

[Delcore]

@Ranger Disinfertention,

Thank you for your patience with my introduction. I don't believe I capitalized 'Ranger', and I also mis-referred to the new "Military Intelligence Battalion' as a new "Fifth Battalion" based on an article I read from Task & Purpose. https://taskandpurpose.com/75th-ranger- ... -battalion

Summary of the Task Organization - https://www.benning.army.mil/tenant/75t ... index.html

The organization of the 75th Ranger Regiment is composed of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Battalion, as well as the Regimental Special Troops Battalion, and the Regimental Military Intelligence Battalion. All Battalions except the 2nd are located in Georgia. The 75th Ranger Regiment's mission is to plan and conduct special missions in support of U.S. policy and its objectives.

As for your questions; I am an International Relations major in Washington D.C., and I chose to forgo ROTC so I could concentrate on political and governmental internships in the capital, and also so I could focus on improving my GPA. It currently stands at a 3.18, and it's due to difficulties passing some mandatory math, science, and economics classes that my major requires. Simply put, STEM has never been easy for me, and it dealt a heavy blow on my GPA during my first two years of college. OCS worked out for me since it allows me to study abroad more flexibly, concentrate on school, and pursue more extracurriculars. I know it's not the most traditional route for commissioning, (I get asked a lot why OCS) but it appeals to my interests and career goals. On the other hand, OCS is a lot more forgiving with GPA, (Only requires a 2.7 to be competitive as a Liberal Arts Major currently) and it'll allow me to earn my top branching choices if I score relatively well in my class (Granted that the jobs are available. Thankfully, the up-sizing of the military and increase in spending has made most jobs available to OCS classes, and also has loosened the entry requirements). Lastly, it guarantees me active duty, whereas ROTC can place contracted cadets in the Reserves or Guard. Long story short: I decided on OCS long ago after heavy consideration, research, and personal meetings between both ROTC and OCS graduates both in-person and online.

These two OCS officers have some very good information on the process that led me to my decision.
https://www.reddit.com/r/army/comments/ ... ng_to_ocs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WgPJB9jHPo

Main reasons for coming to this site/Current Preperation - I wanted to become an Army Ranger officer, and thankfully I located this website while browsing. I'm currently joining my schools track and cross country club in order to prepare, and over the summer I plan on taking some MMA and Crossfit classes to physically condition. That said, I'm interested in hearing stories and advice for others here prepared for RASP1 or RASP2, and how I could best prepare myself over the next few years. My first milestone is maxing the APFT (or the ACFT if the new PT test becomes official), and soon-after, the next milestone would be applying for RASP2 and crushing the accessions process and Ranger PT test. I've been recommended the 12-week RASP preparation program, soflete, and other workout guides on the public domain. It's just pretty overwhelming since there's so much out there.

[centermass]

Nice rebound.

Welcome to ArmyRanger.com

[Disinfertention]

Bit of a delayed response here from me, I was on the road this week for work!

Think we just minced words on the 5th battalion thing overall I guess. Technically it is the 5th battalion, just not in the name of the unit itself and I think you threw us off with that phrasing. All good.

You found your other error and posted a current Task-Org. Nice.

Key thing is that if you are not in ROTC you should have a good reason to not be. No idea if your reasoning is 'good' but it makes sense. Lots of guys I speak to that did ROTC say there wasn't much to it. Your last point of avoiding the chance of getting put in the Guard or Reserves makes the most sense to me. Especially if you are behind a bit in your schooling, or if you feel that way. 2017 was a year of hell for me. I had several math classes to do (College Alg, Trig, Calc, Statistics). I can at least have so empathy to the concept of crappy classes...

Being physically fit will be your #1 thing to make you stand out initially when you get to OCS. It is also one of the most important things you can 'easily' be successful as a junior leader since it is typically the most exposed to your subordinates you will be. If they see you suck at normal PT... well, they will probably think you suck. There is an overload of information out there. Military fitness is finally coming around to understanding that measurable fitness isn't just the normal APFT (has been slowly my whole career). Any weight lifting and cardio mix workout is good. The problem with most of the workouts is over-training. Pending your current fitness level, you need to adapt the program to yourself for the most part. Watch out for the crossfit type workouts where they encourage you to do complex lifting through exhaustion. Some people don't break by doing that but a lot do. Just learn proper form, maintain good form or drop weight.

Next easy tip is military history. It's been a long time since I worked at OCS but military history is something that tends to hurt a few folks and can easily separate you into the top 3rd for branch choice if they still do it that way.

[IntelToad]

The primary purpose of military intelligence in the Regiment is to provide information to kill bad guys, and concurrently, provide information to get Rangers home safely.

Take that avatar picture of you carrying a ruck down, you haven't earned it.

And welcome here.