18x Contract?

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21

[quote]JPCleary wrote:
If it were me, I would go 11B and get Airborne and RIP(Ranger Indoctrination Program) in my contract. Once you’re in one of the Ranger battalions, you’ll get slotted to go to Ranger school. It won’t happen immediately because the Ranger training battalion can only send so many classes through a year, but you’ll go through, and assuming you make it you’ll get your Ranger tab.

At this point you can decide what you want to do. You may find that your are happy as hell as a Ranger and it is more than action packed enough for you. Keep in mind that the 75th Ranger Regiment is a part of USASOC just like SF is. Definitely two different units. But being a Ranger is still not like being in the “big” Army.

And if you did decide that you wanted to drop an SF packet, you would now be much better prepared for Selection and the Q-course.

Or maybe you want to do something like CAG (Combat Applications Group)…or what most people call Delta. If you’ve seen Blackhawk Down, than you are probably somewhat familiar with them. They do a lot of their recruiting from the Ranger Battalions.

But something about the idea of going to Basic, AIT, Airborne school and then going straight to Selection doesn’t seem right to me. I would want a lot more experience and training time, before I went to Selection.

[/quote]

This is what I have seen suggested on a couple of other forums I’ve been browsing. Seems like most agree that going through Ranger school prepares you pretty well since its tough as hell.

Delta is something I’d love to know more about, all I know is that they are tier 1 units and do anti-terrorism stuff. And I know absolutely nothing about the recruitment process or what it takes to get in.

Thank you.

22

I really don’t know what else to add. You really want a bad ass APFT score.

Minimum standards:
65 push ups in 2 mins
50 sit ups in 2 mins
6 pull ups( I’m not really sure)
13 min one mile run

Ranger standards:
85 push ups in 2 mins
70 sit ups in 2 mins
6-7 minute mile run/12 min 2 mile run

Rangers tend to score a 90 or above on their PT scores. Same for Green Berets I believe. I didn’t include the 5, 6, and 10 mile ruck marches.

23

[quote]JPCleary wrote:
If it were me, I would go 11B and get Airborne and RIP(Ranger Indoctrination Program) in my contract. Once you’re in one of the Ranger battalions, you’ll get slotted to go to Ranger school. It won’t happen immediately because the Ranger training battalion can only send so many classes through a year, but you’ll go through, and assuming you make it you’ll get your Ranger tab.

At this point you can decide what you want to do. You may find that your are happy as hell as a Ranger and it is more than action packed enough for you. Keep in mind that the 75th Ranger Regiment is a part of USASOC just like SF is. Definitely two different units. But being a Ranger is still not like being in the “big” Army.

And if you did decide that you wanted to drop an SF packet, you would now be much better prepared for Selection and the Q-course.

Or maybe you want to do something like CAG (Combat Applications Group)…or what most people call Delta. If you’ve seen Blackhawk Down, than you are probably somewhat familiar with them. They do a lot of their recruiting from the Ranger Battalions.

But something about the idea of going to Basic, AIT, Airborne school and then going straight to Selection doesn’t seem right to me. I would want a lot more experience and training time, before I went to Selection.

[/quote]

I second this.

  1. most guys in their early 20s dont have the maturity required to operate independently or in small teams.

  2. most guys in there early 20s dont have any worthwhile life experience. When they get to a team they bring nothing except a warm body and institutionalized learning from the school house.

  3. most guys have no idea what the SF mission is. They want to be shooters and do Ranger shit and then go SF and are pissed off because they spend their time training, advising, and assisting other countries and very seldom kicking doors and pulling triggers.

If you go with the plan laid out by JPCleary you will mature, gain experience to bring to a team, and hopefully know what it is you want from your career.

Either way you choose best of luck,

Sean

24

[quote]WolBarret wrote:
I really don’t know what else to add. You really want a bad ass APFT score.

Minimum standards:
65 push ups in 2 mins
50 sit ups in 2 mins
6 pull ups( I’m not really sure)
13 min one mile run

Ranger standards:
85 push ups in 2 mins
70 sit ups in 2 mins
6-7 minute mile run/12 min 2 mile run

Rangers tend to score a 90 or above on their PT scores. Same for Green Berets I believe. I didn’t include the 5, 6, and 10 mile ruck marches.[/quote]

Hmmm I’m gonna have to have someone time me one of these days to see where I’m at. Pretty sure I can beat the minimal requirements easily. Don’t know about the ranger yet though, I need to measure myself accurately. Have you started training for military standards yet? Man I hope I’m a stud at bootcamp.

25

If you’re going to do SF you need to consider your aptitude for languages. There are 7 zones for SF, if I remember correctly and you need to be able to speak a language that is native to the zone you will be assigned to. SF works a lot like insurgents where they are in with locals trying to influence and train them. It’s more of a mental chess game than Rangers and you have to have a mindset of talk/coercion first to a degree.

That said, when it gets nasty it’ll be you, your unit and the brush farmers who don’t just run away. Not nearly the team support of Delta or Rangers initially, although you still have call on just about everything should you make it long enough for them to arrive.

26

[quote]sjoconn wrote:
JPCleary wrote:
If it were me, I would go 11B and get Airborne and RIP(Ranger Indoctrination Program) in my contract. Once you’re in one of the Ranger battalions, you’ll get slotted to go to Ranger school. It won’t happen immediately because the Ranger training battalion can only send so many classes through a year, but you’ll go through, and assuming you make it you’ll get your Ranger tab.

At this point you can decide what you want to do. You may find that your are happy as hell as a Ranger and it is more than action packed enough for you. Keep in mind that the 75th Ranger Regiment is a part of USASOC just like SF is. Definitely two different units. But being a Ranger is still not like being in the “big” Army.

And if you did decide that you wanted to drop an SF packet, you would now be much better prepared for Selection and the Q-course.

Or maybe you want to do something like CAG (Combat Applications Group)…or what most people call Delta. If you’ve seen Blackhawk Down, than you are probably somewhat familiar with them. They do a lot of their recruiting from the Ranger Battalions.

But something about the idea of going to Basic, AIT, Airborne school and then going straight to Selection doesn’t seem right to me. I would want a lot more experience and training time, before I went to Selection.

I second this.

  1. most guys in their early 20s dont have the maturity required to operate independently or in small teams.

  2. most guys in there early 20s dont have any worthwhile life experience. When they get to a team they bring nothing except a warm body and institutionalized learning from the school house.

  3. most guys have no idea what the SF mission is. They want to be shooters and do Ranger shit and then go SF and are pissed off because they spend their time training, advising, and assisting other countries and very seldom kicking doors and pulling triggers.

If you go with the plan laid out by JPCleary you will mature, gain experience to bring to a team, and hopefully know what it is you want from your career.

Either way you choose best of luck,

Sean[/quote]

This was very valuable insight, because though I’d like to think I’m mature and I have some life experience, it probably is not close to what I’d need for SF. I’m somewhat familiar with the SF mission however (I think). What attracted me was the fact that they train insurgents and foreign armies, the language training, the fact that they are badass survivalists, they do humanitarian missions, and their motto is De Oppresso Liber which is something I believe in and would fight for.

I wanted a faster route under the 18x contract but now I’ll consider and most likely go the route JPCleary wrote about. Besides, gunslinging sounds pretty fun too. Feel free to E-slap me if I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about lol. Also thank you very much for the input.

27

[quote]AttackOfTheChris wrote:
This was very valuable insight, because though I’d like to think I’m mature and I have some life experience, it probably is not close to what I’d need for SF. I’m somewhat familiar with the SF mission however (I think). What attracted me was the fact that they train insurgents and foreign armies, the language training, the fact that they are badass survivalists, they do humanitarian missions, and their motto is De Oppresso Liber which is something I believe in and would fight for. I wanted a faster route under the 18x contract but now I’ll consider and most likely go the route JPCleary wrote about. Besides, gunslinging sounds pretty fun too. Feel free to E-slap me if I don’t know what the hell I’m talking about lol. Also thank you very much for the input.
[/quote]

Ranger school would give you a definite edge when it comes time for selection and the SUT (Small Unit Tactics) part of the Q Course. I wish I had more back ground in it when I was struggling through graded patrols. I came from a soft (non-combat arms) MOS. So it can be done but you definitely have an upper hand after Ranger school. Get your gun slinging out of the way when you are young!!

They change up SFQC and selection all the time and team life varies with Team Sergeants, Groups, etc. But if you have a question send me a PM and I will try to track down an answer for you.

28

[quote]sjoconn wrote:
JPCleary wrote:
If it were me, I would go 11B and get Airborne and RIP(Ranger Indoctrination Program) in my contract. Once you’re in one of the Ranger battalions, you’ll get slotted to go to Ranger school. It won’t happen immediately because the Ranger training battalion can only send so many classes through a year, but you’ll go through, and assuming you make it you’ll get your Ranger tab.

At this point you can decide what you want to do. You may find that your are happy as hell as a Ranger and it is more than action packed enough for you. Keep in mind that the 75th Ranger Regiment is a part of USASOC just like SF is. Definitely two different units. But being a Ranger is still not like being in the “big” Army.

And if you did decide that you wanted to drop an SF packet, you would now be much better prepared for Selection and the Q-course.

Or maybe you want to do something like CAG (Combat Applications Group)…or what most people call Delta. If you’ve seen Blackhawk Down, than you are probably somewhat familiar with them. They do a lot of their recruiting from the Ranger Battalions.

But something about the idea of going to Basic, AIT, Airborne school and then going straight to Selection doesn’t seem right to me. I would want a lot more experience and training time, before I went to Selection.

I second this.

  1. most guys in their early 20s dont have the maturity required to operate independently or in small teams.

  2. most guys in there early 20s dont have any worthwhile life experience. When they get to a team they bring nothing except a warm body and institutionalized learning from the school house.

  3. most guys have no idea what the SF mission is. They want to be shooters and do Ranger shit and then go SF and are pissed off because they spend their time training, advising, and assisting other countries and very seldom kicking doors and pulling triggers.

If you go with the plan laid out by JPCleary you will mature, gain experience to bring to a team, and hopefully know what it is you want from your career.

Either way you choose best of luck,

Sean[/quote]

Sean brings up a really good point that I planned on mentioning in my post…but forgot to.

The SF mission is largely misunderstood. People think Green Berets and imagine a lot of door kicking and shooting. I mean make no mistake about it, SF is obviously trained in direct action and wouldn’t hesitate to move to contact, should the need arise.

But from it’s inception, SF has been more about advising. Embedding with indigenous forces and training them. Also there is the CA (Civil Affairs) mission. For example, the team medic might set up a small clinic in a village to care for the people. This of course is about the winning of hearts and minds and developing assets and relationships.

You should definitely consider what you hope to get out of this and make sure you understand what you really will be doing. There are plenty of books on the subject.

But in the meantime, becoming a Ranger can only help, no matter what you decide. And I think you will find that contract easier to get, than a 18 series guarantee.

29

FYI- check out the links below to get a full understanding of some of the standards/requirements. You’ve got all the advice you really need- but knowledge is power (i.e. read, read, read). And, for what it’s worth- Ranger school won’t make you a badass; it is primarily a gut-check and an extended patrolling school. You’ll learn some good/great TTP, and learn how to lead small units under stressful conditions.

The physical standards may not appear to be that high (which they aren’t), but those are the bare minimums. It is a long, slow, suck- and the more fit you are the better.

https://www.benning.army.mil/rtb/rtbmain.asp

To learn about the 75th, see below.

http://www.soc.mil/75thrr/75th_home.htm

Hope this helps- and good luck to you. A lot of people start down this path, but far fewer succeed. The difference is the decision.

30

I really appreciate all the answers given so far. Sjoconn, I will PM if I have any specific questions, thanks!

31

BUMP. Its a good fucking thread.