75th Ranger Regiment Question

[rogers0311]

Damn that first post has caused alot of heat. Once again, it was my intention to state that I was interested in the direct action side of the house, but I should have stated it in a different way, because looking back on it, it could be intepreted in the wrong way, especially when members here do not know me. First impressions are important.
So I apologize for coming off the wrong way.

Rangers, I understand that my words about wanting to get back into the fight can come off the wrong way as well. However, I stand by what I said. I think alot of the time people enlist for the wrong reasons. They may have seen too many movies, want money for college, and/or generally have a wrong impression about what being in a combat unit entails. I went over to Iraq and looked out for my buddies. Bringing the guys on the left and right of me as well as accomplishing the mission were the things that mattered to me. That being said, I feel that when you are serving in an infantry unit,, aggression is important, and you have to have the desire to make contact with the enemy. Right or wrong, every single time I left the wire I was trying to seek out the enemy. Those who have been to Iraq know that most enemy contact occurs when we get ambushed. It is rarely the other way around. I believe that an aggressive mindset and solid tactics are what ultimately determines the outcome of a fight.

Maybe my post came across as sounding like I was out for vengence or that I am some bloodthirsty grunt. This is not the case at all, although like I have said, I believe that if you are in a combat unit, you should want to engage the enemy.

If I had to chose between 2 units, I would ultimately chose the unit that would give me the greatest opportunity get into the fight. That is my attitude gentlemen. I am sure that most of you on here feel the same way. That does not make us bloodthirsty. It is all about doing the job you train to perform. I could not imagine going to Iraq or another combat zone and praying we didnt make contact. I understand that combat sucks, believe me. But that is the nature of the beast that we all signed up for. In my opinion once you reach the point in a deployment where you do not want to seek out the enemy, it is time to go home.

[K.Ingraham]

OK, let's move on from that original post.

, its easy to think that SOCOM guys have alot more say then the average grunt. ....that the whole "needs of the Army" applied to the Rangers as much as it does.

When you get up into "Those Units That Have No Name", then the individual carries some weight. But not in the Ranger Regiment.
A Ranger battalion is a hyper-attenuated infantry unit. Very disciplined, well drilled & masters of the basics before anything else & with missions not normally entrusted to other infantry or airborne units.
Ranger deployments are much shorter than in Big Army, but much more frequent and stateside time can & is interrupted by contingencies.
You can quit anytime, and you can be tossed anytime, you're never completely 'there'.
You'll feel right at home in our Regiment, it's not unlike the Corps culturally. Proud history & traditions dating back to the colonies.
Your respect and actions towards everyone who outranks you, or is just plain senior to you is just like that where you are now.
In 'my day', there was a lot of petty chickenshit, but my impression from visiting two different Ranger battalions recently is that now the emphasis is on keeping the go-to-war skills sharp & less concern about what order your boots are lined up in under your bunk or whether your civilian shirts are completely buttoned up in the locker & that sort of crap.
The Op tempo is very high so there's not a lot of time for the peacetime crap, but still, you will meet the standards set, even where it is chickenshit. Make your bones in the Regiment and that reputation can open more interesting doors in future years - it is a small network.
Training is great and funding is not an issue, like it is for your commanders. Training is demanding, but one thing that really sets Ranger unit training apart is that everyone wants to be there & has worked hard to earn the privilege of being there, there's no carrying a guy in your squad who's merely killing time until his enlistment runs out - you know exactly what I mean. So even a basic infantry evolution like a platoon attack,digging fighting positions, whatever, will be done to a higher standard - faster & finely tuned - than in Joe Leg Infantry who might 'know' the same stuff but is just going through the motions, like in many of the squads around you now.
Marines pride themselves on their marksmanship, and rightly so, but until you get to a Ranger line company - you ain't done no shooting yet! Regiment can afford to feed your rifle.
Enlisting in the army is no big deal, there's a short prior service basic for servicemembers who are just changing uniforms (as opposed to having a break in service) - any recruiters check me on that point please - and then you're off to jump school. Assuming you can make that big step out of the plane, jump school shouldn't be anything but marking time to a Marine grunt.
RIP will be another story. Just try & keep your basic PT & rucking up to speed, your minimum standard will be the max scores if you want to succeed. RIP won't qualify you for anything, it's just where you acquire the basic skills needed to function as a private in a battalion - the true measure will be if you're still there 18 months later. Many aren't.
The rest you can glean from the other forums here - read lots/post little until you've been around awhile. There are a few other Marines around here, mostly current & 1-2 who made the move you're contemplating.
In the meantime, go pick up a book by Russ Bryant called "Weapons of the US Army Ranger". There's a dozen current books out right now about the modern Rangers, including 2-3 more by Bryant, but that one is the best single volume to get for a good overview.
In the meantime, your biggest hurdle will be getting a Ranger contract out of the recruiters. Others can speak to that point better than I.
Meanwhile, keep your powder dry, K-bar sharp and your eyes open.
Good luck.

[RRDTm3]

I'll side with ya FM. I trained alot of you guys the last several yrs and understand that you guys were truly in the shit. Doing it all mostlyf with long guns and not enough good kit!

I understand your verbage and your intentions but I only ask one odd question, when is your B-day?

[Chiron]

Maybe my post came across as sounding like I was out for vengence or that I am some bloodthirsty grunt. This is not the case at all, although like I have said, I believe that if you are in a combat unit, you should want to engage the enemy.

Okay I see the issue. I'm a FOG and you’re in and out of the thick of things.
You did come across like some bloodthirsty grunt. It's true that there is a need for aggression but you also must choose your words AND battles carefully. That’s the point of what I was talking about. You have the experience of a BTDT so remember that there will be the days when you are talking to someone that is not of your/our mind set. Cool?

[rogers0311]

Rangers,

Thanks for all of the replies.

My birthday is June 4, 1985.

I do have alot to think about. Right now I have the opportunity to stay in the Marine Corps and go to a Recon unit. It is a very good option for me, as Recon is now a career MOS, meaning Marines are now able to spend 20 years in Recon if that is what they want to do. With the addition of MARSOC, there is also that opportunity.

Recruiters have told me that there is no option 40 contract available for prior service members. I have searched this on these forums, and I have come to the conclusion that while there actually are contracts available, it is an unwritten agreement between the laisons that they will not give prior service members the option 40 contract. It is not really that surprising to me though. I am pretty sure that the Navy will also not grant the SEAL Challenge contract to prior service members.

I love being a Marine grunt, but when you see how a large budget comes into play with other units, its tempting not to want to jump the fence.

I would love to be able to join the Regiment but it does feel like there are a ton of administrative obstacles.

The other issue for me is the fact that I am color blind according to MEPS. I cannot pass the PIP and have trouble with the FALANT as well. Now I have heard that there may be some type of vivid red/green thing given where you just look at a few objects and say which one is green and which one is red. I am able to pass practical exams like that, I can read a traffic light just fine. I really have not been able to talk to anyone who has actually taken this "test" so going into it blindly might not be the best for me, especially when I talk to a recruiter and they say I am shit out of luck if I cannot pass the PIP.

So basically, I need to take a step back, do some research, evaluate all of my options, and then make an informed decision.

Question...I have a few questions about what the Regiment is doing in Iraq, but I do not want to post them yet, because I am not sure if it would be OPSEC. We worked with them once or twice when they were supporting another unnamed unit, but I was hoping to get a bigger picture of what they are doing. But like I said, I will not post any questions until I receive a go ahead, or if it would be better to PM someone here who is in the know, that would be great too.

[K.Ingraham]

Scuba,
My 2c worth is that most of you are reading too much into this Grunt's post.
His mistake was typing what we'd be saying had we linked up at the bar instead of on the web or what they're slinging around the barracks.
Words & phrases can take on a totaly different tone when devoid of the hand/arms signals, facial expressions etc. I'm sure you all know that but it's worth repeating right now.
The dry & sardonic wit of warriors doesn't translate very well onto the web, which is why I save most of my ballbusting for the private areas.

Marine,
You can infer all you want to know about Ranger missions from reading open sources, youtube videos etc without asking questions of those who won't/shouldn't reply anyway.
You already know well enough or you wouldn't be thinking seriously of jumping the fence.
By the way, 'the grass is always greener' they say. I'd thought about seeking a Marine commision after college, dropping out of college & trying out for SEALS, switching from my SF reserve unit for an ANG PJ squadron and all the other pipe dreams. Meanwhile I ran into all sorts from those outfits considering Rangers or SF.
We're always seeking the next challenge. While I admire your willingness to take risks in going for something new, there's nothing wrong with a career in the Corps, following the recon route (if that color vision issue isnt an issue) or taking a break long enough to get your degree & PLC/OCS.
Ranger school is also possible through the Corps, besides the obvious advantage of the training RS offers, that'll give you a close up view of our community to see if you really want to tank four years in the Corps.

[rogers0311]

Ranger Scuba Wino,

You are probably right from reading my post it does sound like I need help. I should have typed it a different way, considering we are not in the barracks. In the barracks something like that would get said alot. I do think you may be reading too much into it to be honest. I certainly do not think killing is glamourous, believe me. But as an infantryman, we either kill them or they kill us. That is a very simple concept but yet complicated at the same time. No, I am not some type of psychopath who thinks about killing people nonstop. Not at all. But when the time comes to go back to Iraq, I want to be around people who want to engage the enemy. That is what I was attempting to say, but instead of remembering I was typing something over the internet, I treated it as if I was drinking beer in the barracks with my fellow Marines.

[RRDTm3]

My birthday is June 4, 1985.

Wrong!

Try again!

[rogers0311]

I dont know what you mean to be honest.

[Speedracer]

I dont know what you mean to be honest.

based on what you said earlier "I would rather spend my time in the Corps as a grunt then in the Army as a grunt. I say again, the reason I am looking at the Army is strictly the Ranger Regiment."

Keep this in mind.....you fail at becoming a RGR ie dont pass RIP, YOU WILL go to the regular army side PERIOD

So if you like were you at then stay there be the best, learn to be the best, do the right thing, Marines go to RGR SCH so put in for it, but you diff need to get this i want to kill everything shit out of your head or its going to lead you to trouble, I have seen way to many troops with that type of thought in their head get kicked out of RIP or even the RGR Reg.

[lusus]

I do think you may be reading too much into it to be honest. I certainly do not think killing is glamourous, believe me. But as an infantryman, we either kill them or they kill us.

I joined the army and made my run at the Ranger Battalion in the hopes that I would go to war. While I have probably never said 'I wanted to go to Panama and shoot motherfuckers in the face', the simple fact is that I joined the unit that gave me the best chance to face the ultimate test.

I would have been disappointed if I had gotten out without getting in a real world gun fight. I consider myself lucky that I was able to participate in Just Cause.

I don't see any real difference between his statement, my own desires, or even and all those cadences we had, which included the fun phrases:

'Picked a -60 from among the dead, shoot that commie in the head'
'Airborne Rangers don't give a shit, cuz Napalm sticks to kids'
'See that Ranger on the hill, you know he's not afraid to kill'
'Pray for War, Pray for War'
and the ever popular
'That there General, he's a sucker, he don't know that I'm gonna fuck her'

We can dig up numerous threads on here where Rangers have advocated the public execution, castration, immolation, nuclear destruction or even defenestration (which I find despicable) of other human beings. I don't recall anyone suggesting they seek professional help.

Lets keep some perspective. I don't have a big problem with a U.S. Marine and Ranger wannabe saying he wants to shoot motherfuckers in the face. In so saying it was clear he meant hadji. Interestingly, I believe that is the first time I have ever typed the word 'hadji', which appears to be a slur used to identify people by cultural traits in order to dehumanize them. That's pretty offensive and imperialist. Do I need motherfucking sensitivity training?

[RRDTm3]

I dont know what you mean to be honest.

You don't even know your B-day?

[Ranger Bill]

I dont know what you mean to be honest.

You don't even know your B-day?

Are you sure you were in the Marine Corps?