United States Army Ranger Questions

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beenthinkin

New Member
I am twenty one and lately I have been unable to decide upon a career path. After careful consideration I have been thinking about joining the military, however I don't have the "stomach" for a desk job. I have done some reading on the site, I am new, and have seen that one has to join Infantry then get accepted into a sniper school, of course that is merely speculation which is why I'm here.

What I want to know is what type of operations do the Rangers take part in? What requirements should I expect to have to meet? How long does it generally take to accepted into Sniper school?
 
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When I think of a U.S. Ranger, I see a man who approaches the impossible with steely grit and intense inner belief. Whatever your goals, a positive mental attitude will get you a long way to achieving them. In particular, your determination to succeed.

I’m not a Ranger but my job and that of a U.S. Ranger can be compared, I’m a British Royal Marines Commando. Royal Marines have determination in bucket loads. For a Royal Marines Commando, their state of mind is the driving force. If you want to be a Ranger then you have to achieve that state of mind.

So how do you achieve this mental focus? It's actually quite simple. You need to know what you want. It can be difficult to figure this out - but once you know what you want, the only thing left to do is focus yourself absolutely and completely to achieving it. Force out all the negative thoughts. The last thing you should be thinking is "I can't do this!". Of course you can. If you focused all of your mental efforts on how you're going to achieve your goals rather than worrying that you can't achieve them, you'll have a lot more success.

If you're still unsure of how to achieve the focused, Royal Marine state-of-mind, here is a list of tips to improve your clarity and give you the steely determination you need to succeed:

1. From the moment you wake up each day, focus on what you want to achieve and get motivated to succeed.

2. Cut out (or at least down on) bad habits such as smoking, drinking and eating bad foods. Nothing ruins clarity like impurities in your body.

3. Focus on your short term goals. Your long term goals will materialise as an effect of the short term goals.

4. Be as self sufficient and reliant as possible. There won't always be people around to push you so you'll need to learn to push yourself further.

5. Never be satisfied. Always strive to achieve more.

6. Don't focus on limitations. Focus instead on what you want to achieve and the steps you need to take to get there.

7. Believe in yourself. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

8. If you struggle or falter, ask for help or advice.

The mental stamina coupled with a high level of physical fitness, is what separates you from the mere mortals. They are both core components to the puzzle. Without fitness, all the mental stamina in the world won't help if every muscle in your body is fully exhausted. Without mental stamina, all the fitness in the world won't be enough when everything in your being is telling you to stop.

If you can achieve the Royal Marines state of mind, then you’re halfway there.
As I said, I'm not a Ranger so I won’t give you anything specifically about the Rangers. I'm sure there are some Rangers who lurk around that can provide the answers you seek.

But you seem very unsure if this is what you want. Remember that it is not just a job - it's a lifestyle that will change your life radically. You need to show much more maturity and self-examine these things more. The Royal Marines have a saying that goes: If you want to wear the Green Beret, start with what’s under it. I'm sure that this also applies to Rangers. I hope you can use this, otherwise just ask. We will gladly help you make the right decision. There are many things to consider.

Good luck and remember – it’s a state of mind!
 
You don't get accepted into sniper school bro. Your commander hand picks you and makes a recommendation. Then comes the sniper selection process which varies in different units. From there, if you get selected, you go on to sniper school. There are less snipers than ranger qualified guys, so conditions have to be present. Such as, unit's need for a sniper section or need slots to fill in for a sniper section. Don't be discouraged if you find yourself in for a few years without any sniper or ranger training.

As far as ranger school goes, you can enlist for a RIP contract, which will put you in a Ranger battalion if you pass their selection process and from there you will be sent off to ranger school. Or you could stay regular army infantry in the big army and come across a ranger school slot which units regulary recieve. If you wanna get into a ranger battalion tho, you better do it before you make sergeant because they like indoctrinated individuals, not seasoned guys who did the regular army thing for awhile.
 
Good suggestions - good advice - all hail the Rangers. Its been 20 years since I was on AD but then (as, I think, now) there are other MOS's in Ranger Bn's - other than Infantry I mean.

Murphy’s laws of combat:
1. You are not supermen. (Marines, All “special ops” soldiers (Rangers and SEALs) and fighter pilots take note)
 
Thank you for the replies so far.

Also I understand that joining the military isn't just about getting a job, it is a lifestyle of its own. I am willing to go through whatever it takes to achieve the goals I set before myself. I come here seeking knowledge because I understand that this is a decision that one should not take lightly so I am trying to learn as much as possible before pursuing this lifestyle.
 
theres alot of good things and bad things about the "lifestyle" you hear so much about. lots of them vary depending on who you are and what you do. Off the top of my head I will create too sections for you both showing the pros and the cons of the military lifestyle(hope i don't offend anyone and if i do OH WELL you know it's the truth).

PROS:
1.Decent pay if you aren't in debt.
2.Great benefits.
3.Learn job skills and get qualifications normal employees cant get that may lead to other job opportunities upon completetion of service.
4.Free health care.
5.Very hard to get fired.
6.Don't have to worry about getting laid off.
7.Even if you aren't at work, you are still getting paid.
8. After deployments, you come back with alot of savings 20,000+ if you saved up well.
9.Awesome weapons training.
10.Feeling of self worth and accomplishment.
11.If you are lucky enough to be around great leadership and peers, you may re-enlist.
12.Holidays off and occasional 4 day weekends.
13. Leave roughly occurs 2-3 times a year for 14 days. R&R in the middle of deployment or tbd(to be determined) date with 15 days. also usually 30 day leave upon return from deployment with pay.
14.Lots of social services and types of limited family support for you on bases that you have access too.
15. Post exchanges may have reduced prices and are always tax free.
16. Training, depending on the unit you go to.
17. If you go to a hot spot, you'll get to do your job and whack haji everyday like you enlisted to do.

CONS:
1. Countless deployments. If you are unlucky enough to go to a boring area, you will do stupid missions and get yelled at for firing a warning shot.
2. Away from loved ones and family ALOT whether it's deployment or field time training.
3. Sometimes you may not have anything to do and still be stuck at work past 1900 while the dinner your wife made you is getting cold.
4. Infidelity due to absence.
5. Missing child births and growing years of your children.
6. Seeing something you might not be ready fire(i.e. combat, bodies)
7.PTSD
8.Develop a drinking problem, smoking problem or dipping problem. You may not have any of these now, but I assure you my friend, everyone in the military is an alcoholic and if some aren't, then they probably ain't Infantry.
9. Being around bad leadership and losing your morale.
10. Stupid senseless rules will always be a factor regardless of where you go and will eat you up as the years go by to the point where you have a zero tolerance for most things.
11.With all the programs the military has for you and your family, my personal experience only proved to me that they all fix the symptoms, not the problems.
12.Check the box leadership and care.(when I say this I mean, fill out this sheet that asks you if you have any financial trouble. If you select yes, the sheet gets placed in your counseling packet and never looked at. If it does get looked at, they may send you to behavioural health where someone you don't know will try to determine if you are crazy. Later on, that person will send a report back to your commander to see if you are fit for duty.
13. Waking up at ungodly hours of the morning to conduct PT
14.When you put in over time, you still get paid the same.
15. When you deploy, you will see contractors who do less than you, make more than you and with less stupid rules they have to deal with
16. MASS PUNISHMENT(means if your buddy screws up, it's also your fault regardless of the great things you've been doing)
17. Bad units who don't wanna train.
18.The military has many rules that protect your spouse over you and will go to great lengths to screw you over and get her ahead.(financially, material wise and regardless of infedility)
19. Promised schools and training that goes on someone's desk and gets lost.
20. Promised duty assignments that change at the last minute after you made proper arrangments.
21.Countless check the box classes that was written in 5th grade format(i.e suicide prevention, equal oppurtunity and resiliancy
22. Having a family who doesn't love you anymore or doesn't recognize you because you're always gone :)
Only a few things I can think off the top of my head bro. You decide.
 
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My girlfriend of 2 almost 3 years told me that if I decided to make a career out of joining the military she wanted to get married.
 
Military careers and marriage are not a match made in heaven. Esp if you want to go be a Ranger wich have a high deploy rate.

In my unit 58% of all marriges fail.
Most in the second and third year.

Try it out for a couple of years on the inside without getting married.. If it still holds water then by all means tie the knot.

As for the beastings you will recieve in the Ranger Reg´t.
You will learn to love them or you will get kicked out. It is that simple.

KJ sends..
 
Even if you don't become a ranger, or even combat arms, do go airborn, take most any school they will send you to and still don't ge married. Life will be so much easier without a wife and family.
 
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