Get A Go

Anytime you are put in challenging or enduring situations where discomfort is the norm, the mind naturally searches for the light at the end of the tunnel. During the first phase of Ranger School, that light is the 8 hour pass! Students at Ranger School will spend all there time in security positions day dreaming and writing the most elaborate list of things they want to do and eat during their pass. Some guys will be more focused on their 8 hour pass than actually getting a 'Go' and never actually get an 8 hour pass. Instead they get a forever pass and remain tab-less bitches with nothing more than an excuse for their failure (that usually blames someone else for their lack of fortitude). While you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch, it is good to be prepared in order to maximize your time in what becomes a relatively short window of time. So here is a list compiled of my own experience and others I went to school with. 1. Coordinate Transportation. When you get released for your pass, there will be a mad dash to change and grab one of the cabs that show up. You'll be ahead of the game if you pre arrange someone to pick you up. Clearly the best choice is someone you know so you don't have to pay and you can spend time with a friend or family member. Also, you should instruct your ride to park on the street across from the Malvesti Obstacle course. All the taxi's will be parked by the barracks and it'll take a few precious minutes to get out of there. WARNING: You will not have access to your POV if you drove it there. I knew a guy that parked his in long term parking and took a taxi to it. That what he had transportation between places for the pass. 2. Coordinate Laundry Services. When I went through, there was a dry cleaning place next to commando's that did your laundry and folded it all within the 8 hour time window and had it ready for pick up when you were done. This is great but creates a bottleneck of ~200 guys trying to get there stuff done. I had some friends that talked the Holiday Inn Express to let them use their industrial size washer and dryer. When I tried they said no, and it was a one time exception. Either way, have a plan. You don't want to spend the whole time looking at your laundry in a laundry mat. 3. Restock your Gum. If you haven't realized at this point, gum is like gold during Ranger School. It's like a small victory every time you get a new piece. The dessert pieces are good and come in many flavors, but don't have many calories. Bubblicious seems to be a crowd favorite for flavor and calorie count but the it doesn't last long. Also, it comes in a soft package and is prone to rain and getting smushed. 4. Eat Fast Food. On your way out to Columbus, stop by all the fast chains and order one item on each menu. Take at least one bite of everything to ensure full flavor pallet utilization. Do this first so you can burn it off walking around to make room for your last 8 hour meal. 5. Go to Commando's. They usually have better prices and more selection than Ranger Joes, not to mention the free drink and snack as soon as you walk in. While you're there, get your gum stock and some suspenders. With all your weight loss, suspenders don't dig into your skin as much as a belt when you're rucking through the mountains. Also, belts come loose and you don't want to spend every fifth step pulling your pants up. 6. Go To Ruth Ann's. Ruth Ann's is a small breakfast restaurant on Veterans Parkway. This place is a combination of the Home Alone menu and every 7 years olds idea of the perfect breakfast. Some of their favorites are Red Velvet Pancakes and my favorite, Cap'n Crunch French Toast. Don't waste anytime drinking water there so you don't fill up too quick. 7. Get Back On Time. You don't want your 8 hour pass being extended by being tardy. I knew a guy that was a stud, got his 'Go' right away, helped everyone, but was 3 minutes late. He then recycled that phase, the next phase twice, and dropped out. Luckily he came back later and got Honor Grad. Don't expect that to happen to you... Don't be late. 8. Avoid Contraband. Upon your return, the RI's will greet you with a contraband inspection. It'll be easy to think you can sneak some freedom back or that you're smarter than them but you're not. They've seen everything unless they're new, and it's not worth it. Plus, your Ranger Tab will be much more valuable if you earn it with integrity. Good luck, God Speed, and RLTW!

Usually not. Letters don't have enough time to go from your mailbox to ft benning and then sorted through the different channels to get to him. Fortunately PRC is pretty short and he'll have a couple free days before he starts Ranger School if he's going right after. Hope this helps

Hi, I'd be glad to help you with a care package. He will probably want/need socks (preferably fox rivers for me, or wool), black tactical gloves (I like the AGT TAC Ops ones), lotion (utterly best) because his skin will be cracked apart, triple A batteries for his headlamp, peanut butter, probably Nutella, his favorite candy, nothing that takes too long to chew, utensils for eating any such peanut butter, and last but not least and usually overlooked... Something to drink other than water. Capri suns or small gatorades are great. Hopefully this got to you in time as I don't always check my messages here. Ps- stamps, paper, envelopes, and a calling card are always good too. Good luck to him and stay in there for you. It's hard for a spouse to be at home completely in the dark about how he's doing.

When you show up to IBOLC, you'll take a PT test, then go into weapons. Most of it will be dedicated to patrolling at the platoon level and land nav. Toward the end you will do Warrior Forge, which is two weeks of grades patrols. It is very similar to ranger school patrols. Pre ranger, at the Warrior Training Center, will be 3-5 days of getting smoked and doing land nav. There will be some graded events as well, like land nav, cold water survival (in a pool), 2 mile equipment run, and obstacle course. Once you get past that, they go into depth on squad level patrolling and it is exactly like they do at Darby phase. Pay attention to the tasks for the squad leader and B team leader. They are the hardest to grasp and are most involved.

After everything gets turned in, you go back to Camp Rogers and wait for the famous 8 hour pass!

Really the only way to get good at doing land nav is by doing it. Handrailing, back stops, attack points... Are all necessary tools but you should look at them like individual skills that you should develop. You should find a land nav course or even just a piece of land and specifically practice hand railing or back stops. Make a quantifiable goal to achieve that will ensure your success. Ex- "I'm going to accurately move through this terrain and find 5 back stops. Make sure you know where the back stop is and have a method of making sure you're where you want to be so you're not meandering through the wood. Another thing to do is practice your Pae count a lot so you know it by heart and practice following your azimuth. The biggest reason people don't find there points is because they drift and don't know they do or how much, and they over/under shoot their pace count. If you have those locked in, you can't fail. Hope that helps!RLTW!

That's fine, my roster number is 511 from class 0113. I'm not in Ranger Battalion so I'm not a "Real Ranger" but I am Ranger Qualified.

After you’ve gone through all the 20 boards, the RI’s will walk you through each of the battle drills. Make sure you pay attention and try to volunteer to be in one of the positions during rehearsals. You’re not going to want to because you’ll be tired but it’s better to get reps here, so you can be good at it during your graded patrol.

Table for two?

Drinking excellence

At Ranger School and any tactical environment that you may split your forces up, you must leave the rear element with a contingency plan. It's a plan for the rear to carry out if shit hits the fan when your gone. It's called a GOTWA, and it's a 5 paragraph plan. Every time you leave the main body, you must must must leave a GOTWA. It stands for; G- where your Going O- Others going with you T- Time you'll be gone W- What to do if your not back in time A- Actions to take if you make enemy contact, and Actions to take of they make contact It's good to get this down and practice it before you go to school. The less things you have to worry about there, the easier things will come to you. Here's an example of one put together. "I'm going to recon the objective, I'm taking the alpha team leader, the Bravo SAW gunner and an alpha rifleman and leaving the SAW gunner and rifleman, we'll be gone for 20 minutes. If we're not back in 20 minutes, try me on radio. If you can't get me on radio, send a team to come get me. If we come into contact, we'll break contact and move back to you. You make contact, stay in fight and we'll come back to you. If your overrun, break contact and move to the last enroute rally point" You want to answer any question that may come up when your gone and leave it with your second in command ( either B team leader or PSG depending on the phase). Make sure he briefs it back to you and then counts the recon party out of the ORP (objective rally point).