Charlie sitreps

[IvoryCharlie]

Roger Ranger Jim. I will be going back to sick call next Friday to get cleared to see if i'm 100%. On the pt test in pre rasp I got a 12:48, 60 something pushups and 90 something situps. I'm irritated that my body would not allow me to put out these numbers a few weeks ago, but such is life. My run time will certainly improve once i'm all cleared up. I no longer feel any gurgling with breathing but I still feel a great amount of fatigue with heavy breathing. I see no reason why this illness should not be cleared up in a week. I'll be carrying around hand sanitizer and lysol wipes next class; I learned my lesson.

[Jim]

Hope your health is improving. One of our DEPs indicated that he had met you and some of the other pre-RASP trainees at an event. Never, never quit!

[IvoryCharlie]

Ranger Jim, I completed week 1 for the second time. I have met several other RASP trainees that have been viewing and posting on this website. None of them have quit, and they all seem motivated.
Cole Range this coming week should be consistently over 90 degrees Farenheit, with 100% humidity and a large probability of rain. I'm hoping not to get sick this time around, so I will bring a wealth of hand sanitizer with me to Cole Range. I have no traces of pneumonia anymore.

[Jim]

Great SITREP. As you can see, a number of other board members recognize your achievements. Never, never quit!

[IvoryCharlie]

Roger, Ranger Jim.
I completed Cole Range for the second time. The heat was debilitating, and the flash thunderstorms kept things interesting. I got bitten by several spiders during land nav, so i'm hoping my immune system doesn't fail me. I found 12 points this time around, even with my first iteration not being counted because I put my name down in the wrong format. The phrase "I quit" will never be uttered by me. Ever. It baffles me how easilly some people quit RASP due to being uncomfortable.
One of the mentees failed land nav due to falling asleep on the course. Romaniak96 said that he would take a recycle if it was offered.
Baraka481 is in my squad, and is still going strong.

[IvoryCharlie]

I dislocated my shoulder today on the practice RPAT. Shoulder instability is what caused me to get disqualified from airborne school a long time ago, so I hope that I can push through RASP with the shoulder instability that I am experiencing all of the sudden. Fastroping and the one jump that may happen this week are worrisome, but all I can do is hope that my shoulder doesn't pop out again while it heals.

[cams]

I dislocated my shoulder today on the practice RPAT. Shoulder instability is what caused me to get disqualified from airborne school a long time ago, so I hope that I can push through RASP with the shoulder instability that I am experiencing all of the sudden. Fastroping and the one jump that may happen this week are worrisome, but all I can do is hope that my shoulder doesn't pop out again while it heals.

Jesus. Hang in there kid, been a long road already. I'll leave the medical advice to our Docs here but if you're fast roping this week best advice I could give is to make sure your good arm is the first to contact the rope and keep that one on top. It's risky business and you're playing with your life here, jump shouldn't effect it much but roping is a whole other thing with a bad wing.

You need to think this one over long and hard.

[IvoryCharlie]

Roger Ranger Cams. I thought it through and I knew in my heart that I'd rather die trying than quit. I went fastroping and my shoulder had a subluxation during the slide. I locked in and slid down slowly with my feet and right arm. I hit the ground and felt pretty messed up. Walking back to the formation my shoulder came completely dislocated and I collapsed. Some asshole thought I was faking it so he grabbed me by my messed up arm and yanked me up so that my shoulder was protruding through my tricep. The medics sent me to the ER and the doctors there popped it back in. I'm getting an mri to see if I need surgery. I am going to be dropped.
I'm going to try and get back to RASP when i'm fully recovered, but my lack of luck is definitely bothersome. Thank you all for the advice.

[Jim]

Charlie, you have come a long way, and you have experienced a set-back. Take time to heal and recover. Please remain an active member of ArmyRanger.com; we need more members like you. Let us know how you are doing and where you will be reassigned. Never, never quit!

[IvoryCharlie]

Roger Ranger Jim. At this point it looks like I may be medically discharged, as per what I was told by the doctor who relocated my shoulder in the ER. The doctor at sick call assessed my shoulder, and found that I have a very limited range of motion, and I have absolutely no strength of movement with my arm. The sick call doc seemed convinced that I could recover, eventually, but never fully. It will be a 6 to 8 month recovery with surgery, and a 3 month recovery if nothing too bad shows up on an MRI. It sucks to suck, but it doesn't look like i'll be going to a unit in the immediate future.
If I do get kicked out, I still want to fight these terrorists who threaten everything that I hold dear. I know of a few avenues on how to make this happen, and I will be following through with them should the worst case scenario come to be, since I am proficient in the marksmanship training that I have received at OSUT and RASP.

[Jim]

Charlie, If you are given a medical discharge, ensure you get a copy of all your medical records and immediately apply for compensation from the VA. Never, never quit!

[jth456]

Charlie, If you are given a medical discharge, ensure you get a copy of all your medical records and immediately apply for compensation from the VA. Never, never quit!

X2

Sorry to hear about the shit you have gone through. That fucking sucks. Like Jim said, should you be medically discharged, make sure you claim any disabilities and all medical issues you have. If you get a 50% rating, you can receive free health care when you are back on the civilian side. Best of luck.

[IvoryCharlie]

Roger, Ranger Jim and Ranger jth456. I was briefed today by a Major regarding my options and it seems that I have 3:
1) Get a medical discharge within 4-6 months, and fix my shoulder when i'm out.
2) Get surgery, hope that everything heals, and stay an 11bravo. It would be very unlikely that I will have a full recovery considering my medical history and the fact that I have a break in my Bankart (the bone that fits into the shoulder socket). It is extremely unlikely that I would be able to deploy, and getting back to RASP or any other selection would be borderline impossible. I would be spending close to one and a half years in the transition platoon (worldwide), where I would sit and not be able to do any details for the duration of that time. If I was able to transfer to a unit where I could make use of my time and not waste away, I may take this option.
3) Get surgery and reclass. I am willing to look into this, but frankly I signed up to go to war. Having a deskjob in the army is not appealing to me in any way.
At this point, I am looking to follow through with the first option. I'll make this decision after I get an mri done. In typical Army fashion, I will be waiting another 2 weeks or so for that to happen. I will try my best to get an accurate disability rating. My right shoulder frequently pops and catches, my knees are destroyed from all the ruck running i've been doing lately, and my hearing is a bit shot from the amount of sim grenades that i've had thrown right next to me throughout OSUT and RASP.
It sucks that this is how everything turned out after catching so many lucky breaks. It happens, and i'm trying to stay positive.

[IntelToad]

Very sorry to hear this. Sounds like you gave it everything you had and then some. Life has a weird way of working, some doors close, other ones open up. Keep your chin up.

[jth456]

When they mentioned surgery, do you know if they will let you go to a civilian surgeon or an Army surgeon? I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I've had so many friends get fucked over by Army surgeons.