An introduction

[ralphiron]

Dear Sirs and Madams,

My name is Pam. I have never served in the military. My uncle Bill, who served as a mentor for me in many ways and taught me to survive and succeed, was a member of 907th Glider, 101st Airborne in WWII.

My husband was a Ranger in 1988-1989, but his graduation class photo is not posted on the Ft. Benning site. I notice that class numbers for those years are not consecutive; he said his class was one of those omitted. I am trying to help him to rebuild his military record, which is lacking in paperwork and documentation of his service. I can walk downstairs and grab my uncle's discharge card, which he carried in his wallet until the day he died, but have no discharge paper(s) for my husband. He said they are somewhere at his parent's home. I sent to St. Louis requesting his records using FOIL, which I imagine will be a blacked out mess with "CLASSIFIED" typed all over it, but remain hopeful.

I want to get him some commemoration of his service, as he has no photos or anything else. Any help or suggestions towards my goal are much appreciated.

I wish you all a blessed holiday and many wonderful new years to come.

[289sotherhalf]

Welcome, ralphiron.

PM (Private Message) Inbound.

[Steadfast]

Welcome Ma'am.

Thanks for all the support you give your Ranger.
Try to get yourself an avatar.

Happy Holdiays Ma'am.

[Ranger Andy]

Good luck and have fun with your project!

[Ranger Ron]

Welcome to ArmyRanger.com. You might want to have your husband post an intro and joins us.

[smokn38]

Welcome.

[ralphiron]

Hello once again,

I am still active pursuant to my previous goal, only I was not doing it here. When pressed for better information, my husband stated that his discharge papers do not list his Ranger training because his class was sent on dark ops to some South American country, and his discharge papers have him in Schofield on permanent assignment during the 13-week period he was training. He noticed this on discharge, but wanted out so badly that he did nothing about it. He said that there may be 12 class photos there, but his class number is missing, or at least it was last time he checked.

Am I legally allowed inquiries on this? It is my understanding of the rules that I have read that inquiries must be through him or an employer, and that I don't qualify as either although legally he gets half my stuff and I got stuck with his last name. If he truly completed his training, he deserves credit; I cannot understand why the army would not do so. If they wish the mission to be kept out of public information, then have them sign a document stating so; those things work even in the private sector. He is not willing to make an inquiry; he said it will go no where, as he will simply get another copy of his discharge paper.

If anyone has can point me in the right direction, or help me to determine which directions to avoid because they are dead ends, it would be much appreciated. Getting information from the military and getting information from my husband are eerily similar endeavours--I can tell you that for free.

Thank you for your time.

[Earthpig]

Hello once again,

I am still active pursuant to my previous goal, only I was not doing it here. When pressed for better information, my husband stated that his discharge papers do not list his Ranger training because his class was sent on dark ops to some South American country, and his discharge papers have him in Schofield on permanent assignment during the 13-week period he was training. He noticed this on discharge, but wanted out so badly that he did nothing about it. He said that there may be 12 class photos there, but his class number is missing, or at least it was last time he checked.

Am I legally allowed inquiries on this? It is my understanding of the rules that I have read that inquiries must be through him or an employer, and that I don't qualify as either although legally he gets half my stuff and I got stuck with his last name. If he truly completed his training, he deserves credit; I cannot understand why the army would not do so. If they wish the mission to be kept out of public information, then have them sign a document stating so; those things work even in the private sector. He is not willing to make an inquiry; he said it will go no where, as he will simply get another copy of his discharge paper.

If anyone has can point me in the right direction, or help me to determine which directions to avoid because they are dead ends, it would be much appreciated. Getting information from the military and getting information from my husband are eerily similar endeavours--I can tell you that for free.

Thank you for your time.

I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, Ma'am, but your husband is lying. To prove it, see if he will give you his Ranger School Class number. PM it to me with his full name and we will make sure.

RLTW
EP

[Bravo57]

Ma'am, sorry about that, but this dude is so full of it. Here, my class date is 9-92. No, the picture is not there; and that happens for some classes. Not that big of a deal.

As for sending Ranger students on "Black Ops" missions...... Nothing could be farther from the truth.

As for getting his records, anyone can get them, you just have to follow the process

http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Hope that helped.

[ralphiron]

I sent to St. Louis for his records, and his Ranger training is not on it. Its not on his discharge paper either. He is trying to remember his class number; it would have been in 1988, second half of the year. I know he is bad with dates; he regularly forgets. I told him that omissions are difficult to carry across the board; just because things are left off one form, there may be something else that places him in the correct location (a medical form, in example) that contradicts and leads to the correction of other forms. I am currently rebuilding records, both financial and membership, for a group I am in. I am not winning any popularity contests among my predecessors who mucked things up, but it is a disservice to not adequately record information and achievements to both the group overall and the individual. So I'm crossed off some Christmas lists. Oh well.

Each should get what they deserve; nothing more, nothing less. I'd like him to get credit for his training and service. He waffles on this; he said he was sworn to secrecy on the mission his group was sent on. I'd like to know if this has happened to anyone else, and how they went about fixing it.

I appreciate any and all replies. I enjoy reading the posts and wish something like this had been around for my uncle. His support system involved drinking, anonymous women, cigarettes and a 12-year-old niece. He deserved more.

[Jim]

His support system involved drinking, anonymous women, cigarettes and a 12-year-old niece.

While I have my doubts about a 12-year old niece, the rest works for me.

[Bravo57]

I'd like him to get credit for his training and service. He waffles on this; he said he was sworn to secrecy on the mission his group was sent on. I'd like to know if this has happened to anyone else, and how they went about fixing it.

This is not Hollywood. What you just said does not happen when someone goes to Ranger school. Maybe I'm not explaining it very well. Ranger School is just that. A school. No operational capabilities. It's like when you went to High School. A school.

He is "waffling" because he is lying to you. Trust me when I tell you this, You don't do secret missions in Ranger School.

Do you understand that he is not being truthfull with you now?

The reason it was not on his records is because he never went to Ranger School. Again..... there's that "School" thing. It's training.

[Earthpig]

Bravo57 said it about as black and white as one can say it. Your husband was never a Ranger. If it makes you feel any better, you're not the first wife who's been by here with a poser husband. Sorry, Ma'am.

RLTW
EP

[ralphiron]

Actually, if he's lying, knowing I'm not the only one does not make me feel any better, because I don't like lying and I don't like taking inappropriate credit and knowing there's a lot of them doing it makes it worse.

What are the best sources for information about Ranger Training and good questions to ask for vetting in this instance? I would like to get to the bottom of this, regardless of outcome. I would like to know who is sharing my home.