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Subject: Kids who want to be elite
hailhero    11/7/2007 3:55:45 PM
This is just my personal view. I will start by saying that I am no expert on the military having never served. If I speak out of place feel free to correct me. I originally came to this board to find information on my deceased father (KZ) who was in fact an Army Ranger and a SF affiliate. It would be great to contact anyone who had served with him. I do enjoy reading the posts here. I find it interesting that so many young people are here with aspirations of becoming elite soldiers. I wonder if they really know what it is they are looking into doing. I hear a lot of people talking about going to college and working on their MBA before becoming Rangers. I don't know if they realize what this is all about. My father was a Ranger until the day he died, you couldn't take it out of him. When he volunteered for RIP his primary driver was rage. After RIP his primary driver was adrenaline, suicide and destroying anything in his path. He lived for the rush and looked forward to dying for it. College was not a huge priority for him, killing was. If you are currently in college working towards a degree I think that you are doing a great thing, stay with it, be happy. If you decide you still want to be elite be ready to have your view on the world changed, be ready to give them your soul. People in these positions are professional, dedicated and their first priority is not earning a badge to show their friends on the weekends. If todays Rangers are anything like my father they will not be impressed by college credentials. This is not the movies. These people are serious.
 
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dirtykraut       11/7/2007 8:26:29 PM
I think the problem is that most kids who are rather young and want to be elite soldiers have stars in their eyes about what it entails. A perfect example of this is the option 40's and 18xers in basic training. If you talk to most of these guys in OSUT or basic, few of them want to go on to RIP or SOPC, and sometimes even Airborne School.
 
 They realise that carrying around a rifle and rucksack all day with little food and sleep isn't cool or fun. It's some of the most tedious work out there. When most people go to basic, they can' wait to get issued their rifle, which usually happens within a few days of arriving. After about 2 or 3 weeks of carrying it with them everywhere they go (except the latrines), they want to get rid of the damn thing asap.
 
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ChdNorm       11/7/2007 9:26:31 PM
" ... his primary driver was rage. After RIP his primary driver was adrenaline, suicide and destroying anything in his path. He lived for the rush and looked forward to dying for it ... "
 
Sounds like a hell of a guy.  
 
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hailhero    Hell of a guy   11/8/2007 2:49:58 PM
He was a hell of guy. At the same time he was disturbed, suicidal and one of the most frightening people I have known. He never saw 50.  My main point is if your a nice guy getting out of grad school you obviously have big plans for your future, so enjoy life. The SF might not be the best place for you. 
 
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static       11/8/2007 5:03:10 PM

I can only assume that you are referring to me so I will address some of your points.

First if you think I am here to show off or in some other way aggrandize my accomplishments you are wrong.  To be honest, I don?t give a shit what you think of me.  People have to post their backgrounds if they want to get accurate information about the career paths open to them.  It?s clear that you have a preconception about what college entails and assume that I/we/whoever you are talking about sit around all day fat and happy engaging in academic conversations that have no bearing on real life.  Again, you are welcome to your opinion but from my experience it takes all kinds.  Did you consider the possibility that the reason some of us are looking at the military is that we are dissatisfied with college in general?  If you think I really want to sit in a classroom for two to three more years you are out of your mind, but I am willing to do what it takes to achieve my goals, and those do not include a 9-5 middle management position.

I understand very well the compromises you have to make to join the military, Rangers, SF, or otherwise.  My brother?s enlistment precipitated his divorce and separation from both his kids, and he just left last month for his third tour in Iraq.  My grandparents on both sides were prior enlisted as well.

So why pursue a masters or law degree then?  Because I like to have a plan B.  Yes I have heard that only quitters have a backup plan, but what if I get rejected from military service because of my physical profile?  Lead time on the LSATs and GREs is pretty significant, so I would only have myself to blame for a year to year and a half of downtime.  I guess I have no idea what to do to make you think I am serious about my choices, nor do I really care.
 
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dirtykraut       11/8/2007 7:23:28 PM
Static I don't think he was referring to you personally. I'm glad you don't buy the whole "if you have a backup plan you are already a quitter". It is usually said by pricks who have not been to basic let alone SFAS and Q course. Some SFers subscribe to that line of thinking, but they are just getting on their high horse. Most SF guys and instructors in SFAS and the Q course don't tolerate that kind of silliness. They don't care where you come from or what you did before, and making fun of DOR's is probably the quickest way to get kicked out of the course and never being allowed another try. I am sure even they had a back-up plan.
 
I can also understand your disdain for college life. In fact I joined up because I wanted to avoid college. I had an associates going in, took a few classes while I was in and finished when I got out. I can understand that you feel the need to be around more mature folks than the little infidels on a college campus. Don't worry about what others think. Give it everything you got and I gaurantee you that no one will ever be able to fault you for that. Failing SFAS is even good for your career, if you give it all you have. The instructors will still be impressed and write a glowing report to your unit, and you could be in the fast lane for promotions, assignments etc.
 
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Bluewings12       11/20/2007 2:19:17 PM
It is not strange to think about joining the workhorses (SFs) , it is in fact a quite natural male feeling .
Myself , I joined the French Air Force Commandos because I was a sport guy with a love for weapons and tactical fights .
The SF came later , in fact THEY asked me to follow the course(s) because of my aptitudes . I did and I would still do it :-)

Never ever I had a "suicidal" (?) attitude or feeling ! What for ??? It 's why I still alive by the way . Your Father was most probably a good man but he was most probably a man with the wrong reasons and attitude , sorry to say .
Holding him as a model would be a mistake if you ask me Sir . Of course , I am no-one to talk about your father , I just draw a picture from what you said about him .

The SF life is not that hard anyway . You must like (love ?) what you do , that 's it . If you can , you get pay well ;-)

Cheers .
 
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