View Full Version : How to become an army ranger?
BlackHawkBR
10-01-2002, 12:36 PM
I wanna know how to become and ranger, because im am interseted in being one when i gradutae for high school. I was reading about it on the goarmy.com website, and it looks to me like i can go right to ranger training. It says to go to a recruiter and ask them for a ranger contract. Does that mean i start out for ranger training, or does that mean somthing else? I dont wanna go to reg army, but i wouldnt mind going through boot camp, then to ranger training. Im not sure how to become one, so can a ranger, or any one who is positive they know, tell me how to become a ranger.
You will hace to get up to date info from Mac, but I can tell you, you will do Basic and you will get an MOS. That is minimum. I don't know what the Ranger Contract is but if it is close to the SEAL contract I believe it guaranteees you a shot at training. I say again, a shot at training, not a guarantee of making it. I also don't know if you would have to finish a tour in the RA, but hey, you could go 10th Mtn or Cav or 101st or etc. There are many really fine units in the Army with very rich tradition dating back 50 to 200 years.
A62 out
ABNRGR
10-03-2002, 04:55 AM
Yes you can get a Ranger contract from a Army recruiter. If that is what you want like with the SEAL challange contract "DO NOT" settle for anything less. You will go through basic at Fort Benning ( If you go Infantry) then attend Airborne school also at Fort Benning. The day after you graduate Airborne school the Ranger cadre from RIP with come and get the students that are going to attend RIP (for enlisted) . RIP is alittle over 3 weeks long. Durning RIP you will fill out a dream sheet asking you your 1st and 2nd choice of Ranger Battalion you would like to serve with. I served with Aco 1/75 Ranger Battalion located in Savannah, Georgia a nice historical local and its close to Tybee Island and the beach. During your service with the Ranger Battalion you will train and train very hard daily. Then your squad will send you to Ranger school (not a requirerment). A lot of Rangers never attend Ranger school. Ranger school is classified more as a leadership school and not a cammando school. All your Special warfare training takes place in and with a Ranger Battalion. Thats why there is a lot of differences from wearing a Ranger scroll and wearing a tab. Someone mentioned a saying here that goes something like this.
"A Ranger tab is a tab but, the Ranger scroll is a way of life".
And that couldnt be closer to the truth. 1st Bat passed a internal law that states: You can only serve 2 years max in the 1st Ranger Bat w/o ever going to Ranger school. It gets the number of Ranger school graduates up. So, going is up to you but, you WILL be pressured to attend I assure you. I will let you soak up this info for now and if you have any questions I will do my best to answer them for you here.
Man the school has changed dramaticly since 67.
A62 out
BlackHawkBR
10-03-2002, 01:48 PM
You can only serve 2 years max in the 1st Ranger Bat w/o ever going to Ranger school.
does that meen if i go to ranger school i will be in longer?... How much longer?
I also wanted to try out for the berets when i get high enough while im a ranger... can i do that?
Whats are the postions in the rangers, like infantry, heavy assualt, sniper?
I was also thinking of just staying in the rangers becuase it seems pretty cool, is this possible, how can i saty in for the max time?
Exactly what do the rangers do? Do they do spec op missions, or jst war stuff?What if i dont make it into the rangers to first time?
ABNRGR
10-05-2002, 05:35 AM
Are you wanting to serve with one of the 3 Ranger Battalions or your you just wanting to go to Ranger school? There is a BIG difference between the two.
I also wanted to try out for the berets when i get high enough while im a ranger... can i do that?
I noticed from the GoArmy website that the Army is now currently taking people from enlistment into the Special Forces. Providing that the applicant has not reached their 30th b-day. When I was active you had to be no less then a E-4 promotable to E-5 to put in a 4187 to request SF training. The training has to be approved through your chain of command.
Whats are the postions in the rangers, like infantry, heavy assualt, sniper?
Most likely you will be a rifleman of a fire team at first. The Ranger Battalions have their own sniper section and heavy weapons squads. You will have to be a Ranger school graduate before requesting sniper, scuba, HALO etc... Oh, you can put in a 4187 but, they see to it grads get first pick.
I was also thinking of just staying in the rangers becuase it seems pretty cool, is this possible, how can i saty in for the max time?
The best way to stay the remainder of your enlistment when you are assigned to a Ranger Battalion is to go to Ranger school. You have to have atleast 1 year retainability on your enlistment to be sent to Ranger school. That means lets say you have a 4 year enlistment and it takes 8 months to get to a Battalion and you stay there for 2 years w/o going to school the Battalion will most likely have you reassigned. But, you still have a1 year a 4 months left. So, you say okay that you want to attend school ( thats if you have not been pressured by your squad to go already ) go and when you graduate you will come back to the Battalion and serve out the rest of your enlistment.
Exactly what do the rangers do? Do they do spec op missions, or jst war
Ranger Battalion mainly support other Special Forces/Operation units during missions. Ranger Battalions work with the Navy SEALs, Special Forces and even DELTA. There is a little known part of the Ranger Battalions called RRD or Ranger Recon Detachment. There a lot like SEAL Team 6 or DELTA. They have all the SpecOps schools under thier belts. And they look more like civilians.
What if i dont make it into the rangers to first time?
You can be a recycle. Or you can request Ranger school 6 months after going and not making it. But, its not a hard school. Ranger school is a leadership school NOT a commando school. All the special warfare skills are taught in the Ranger Battalions not in school. Thats why serving with a Battalion is totally different then just going to Ranger school. Also, thats why you cant be in a leadership position in a Ranger Battalion ie; squad leader or team leader w/o attending Ranger school. I have seen E-5's that have never attended Ranger school. Keep this in mind. The ones who wear the Ranger tab have all the say so. During PT theres a saying. " If you dont have your tab, hit the slab "!!! Which means the have nots start doing push-ups while the haves yell and make fun of them.
Hope this helps!!!
Personally I found it extremely informative and thank you.
a62 out
BlackHawkBR
10-08-2002, 02:37 PM
Thanks alor, thats helped SOO MUC. Just to clear one thing up and make sure i undertsand you completly. Ok, i wanna be in the army for a career, like most poeople are lawyers and stuff. So there for i want to stay in as LONG as POSSIBLE! So if i go to ranger school, i can stay in the rangers until i retire from the army?
ABNRGR
10-09-2002, 02:09 PM
According to the way things were going when I left 1st Ranger battalion once you go to school you have more less secured you ticket to stay in the Battalion providing you are not injuried and can keep up with the pace of the Operational Tempo. Going to Ranger school and serving with one of the Ranger Bats will only help you if your intentions are to make the military a career.
JasonB
10-11-2002, 07:20 PM
How long would an officer in a Ranger battalion stay "in the field", assuimng he comes in as a second lieutenant. I ask because I had considered ROTC for the training, and an opportunity to attend schools like Airborne while in college; and Rangers after graduation; but don't want to do the ROTC if it's just going to get me torn out of the place I'd like to be.
VMI_ARMY
10-17-2002, 01:42 PM
ABNRNGR can clarify this, but I believe that pretty much the max time an officer is in the field with the Rangers is about 2 years, possibly a little more if you accept special assignments or something like that, but it is really rare. This is the way it is with almost all platoon positions. After that time you'll get a nice REMF staff job to "fluff" up you file. This is why I may attempt to go warrant... but we will see...
derekHB229
05-25-2003, 10:17 PM
I heard that some people do ROTC and don't end up in the Ranger uniform until they're 25 or so. I also heard that some people do ROTC and then there are too many officers in the Army and they are put on a waiting list extending time to try out for the Rangers. I don't really know much about ROTC though, anyone know more about this though?
ex11BangBang
05-26-2003, 11:32 PM
i wouldnt mind going through boot camp
Well, that sure was interesting:
You wouldn't mind eh? Well make sure you tell your DS that when ya get off the cattle trucks....yep, just walk on up to him and say "hey dude, I'm going to be an Airborne Ranger... I'm just here in OSUT to bide my time...so don't phuck with me". :-).
In all seriousness: Take it one day at a time, and read up!!! "Regular Infantry" isn't a bad place to be man. You'll still do some cool sh*t....raids, recon (if you're in scouts), ambushes, MOUT etc...
Good luck...and start reading