#ibolc

You're past RAP week. You've completed all the little classes leading up to patrols. Now you're ready for the important part. Graded Patrols! I couldn't wait to get to this point because until you get here, you really can't start counting down the days until you get into patrols (even then, you probably shouldn't because you'll probably recycle). 

The RI's will announce the leadership in the morning and you'll have small pockets of time to plan. Certain things have to be done in order for other things to happen and the squad leader is gone for most of the morning, coordinating with adjacent units. That's why it's very important to come back and give a solid WARNO before you take off to your meeting. The meetings you go to are to coordinate fires and movement. 

If you are selected to be the Bravo Team Leader, you are in charge of Men, Weapons, and Equipment. Essentially, you are the squad sized Platoon Sergeant. If you are in the planning grading cycle as the B team leader, most of your grade will be based on putting in your supply request, the gear layout is complete and dress right dress with the proper tie downs, and completed status cards. 

If you're selected to be the A team leader, you pretty much got a "go" by default. You need to help with writing the order on the chalk boards but everyone will be doing that. If you help make the Squad Leader successful and get a go, then you will be successful too. 

The hardest part of being the plans Squad Leader, is everyone has to plan (and as importantly, write) your mission. When you go to brief it, you're learning what everyone else has planned for you. On top of that, it's usually hard to read other peoples hand writing. Especially when they're tired, hungry, probably fell asleep when they wrote part of it, and it's on a little piece of paper. 

When you go to brief your order, you'll have guys falling asleep and it's your job to keep control (one of the 5 principles of patrolling right!?) and wake them up. All these things seem pretty minor when you read them here, but it all adds up when you're being evaluated. It's apart of the induced stress and how you react to it and overcome.

Once the order is complete, you need to make sure you get rehearsal done and don't miss your SP time. Then you'll step off at your designated LD, make your LD report and start moving through Darby in the Squad Column, Fire Team Wedge. Some missions will include transportation and that has to be included into the movement plan. Don't forget your seating assignment and a bump plan incase you have to leave someone behind. 

You will make contact with the enemy and react accordingly. Some times the contact is indirect (12 o'clock, 300 meters!), or direct. Whichever kind of contact you make, you must react in the way that you briefed on your 20 boards, by the book. Do it by the numbers because you will usually fail this phase otherwise. 

After you get accountability and make your reports, there will be a change of leadership. Do not confuse this with Index. In an index, everyone can relax. In a change of leadership, you need to stay in security for the sensitive items hand over. If you don't, you'll probably get your balls smoked. 

The new leadership group will receive a FRAGO to either do an ambush or an area recon, and you'll step off. 

At this point, the Squad Leader makes his money on setting up a good ORP, doing a proper leaders recon, putting everyone in place, and delivering a solid GOTWA (5 point contingency plan) to your B Team Leader when you go on your leaders recon. 

B Team Leader makes his money on keeping the ORP active, preparing MWE (men, weapons, and equipment) and counting guys in and out of the ORP, and controlling support by fire. After that, it's pretty cake. 

A Team Leader has to make sure the land nav to get to the ORP and ambush or recon site is good, going on the leaders recon, and is typically the assaulting element on the objective. 

After the ambush or recon is complete, you consolidate and reorganize. Then you'll get orders from higher (the RI) on where your link up site is.

Once you get to the link up site, you must do it the way you briefed in the 20 boards. I won't go into all the details here, but one important part is the challenge and password. If the challenge is apple, and the password is baseball, you have to use it in a sentence. 

Like this.

Challenge- "Do you know where I could get some good apples around here?"

Password- "They have some at the store that look like a baseball"

Once the link up is complete, you move back to Camp Darby for priorities of work. This is a dangerous time to lose any chance of a "go" you might have earned with a stellar performance. This is because people feel checked out and ready to sleep. However, you won't be released for sleep until the weapons are cleaned and inspected. This is also when the RI's like to play fuck-fuck games to induce a little more stress. 

Here's what you can expect. Your weapons won't be clean the first time regardless if they are or aren't, you'll identify the dirtbags in your squad that don't help and should be peered out, and you'll feel a wave of relief for being done with your first patrol. 

Most guys will have to do two graded patrols during Darby Phase, but if you find yourself with only one patrol and it's the end of Darby, it probably means you got a first time "go". 

This is rinse and repeat for the next two weeks accept for Sunday. You will have Sunday off and there will be church services. I don't know if it still happens, but when I went, everyone learned to go to church. Whether you are religious or not, Ranger School can become a very spiritual place and it's nice to have someone talk to you like a person (the pastor does). In addition, the pastor bring bread and peanut butter (aka, GOLD). 

After you get your "go" or recycle, there will be a Dog Ex (Hot Dogs, Soda, and cookies for a fee) for everyone regardless of success. I've seen guys drop $40 on hot dogs on this day.