My son ships out next June, attends RASP In February of 2022. He is excited, and we are proud parents.

He is in excellent shape. He is the captain of his Cross Country team, runs a 17:50 three mile over rough terrain. Runs a sub 5min mile on a track, hoping he will make State this year with all the Covid BS. He does Murph style workouts with a weight vest. Rucks with a 60lb ALICE pack. He is very determined.

I mentioned to him that he won’t get to choose what time he works out once he’s on the government dime, so he wakes up in the middle of the night to work out. He eats a clean diet. I told him to ditch the girlfriend before he ships out, and any law infractions could ruin his shot at RASP.

Any other words of wisdom? He will be a 68W, and we know it’s not an easy path.

I went thru Ranger School in '76. Seems he has running covered. Work on upper body - pushups and pullups. Don't forget situps. Keep a positive/strong mental attitude. It's only 8 weeks.

Having been the NCOIC of SOF selection process, I see the key to success being mental toughness, physical stamina and recovery, and to never quit. Luck is also a factor.

Injury, physical breakdown, cadre roulette are outside your son's scope of control.

Being a team player, having learned the knots/lashing, ranger creed, rope climbing techniques, land navigation skills are those thing he can pre-learn. SH 21-76 is his friend.

Peer evaluations are also a factor, this is something that most candidate don't understand until it is too late.

Cut training ruck weight to 45 pounds minus 6 quarts of water. If you can ruck 45 you can ruck 75, rucking with overload risks lower back injury.

Fully understanding basic infantry tasks is a big plus. Battle drills and oporder comprehension is good.

Finally, FOOT CARE! Understanding how to properly select, fit, and take care of boot, socks and blisters can not be understated!



18Z50

quote:

Originally posted by 18Z50:
Injury, physical breakdown, cadre roulette are outside your son's scope of control.

Peer evaluations are also a factor, this is something that most candidate don't understand until it is too late.

I've had some friends make it through typically on the second try due to injury, especially lower body injuries.

As for peer evals, one thing I was told is that the ring knockers will gang up on people on the peer evals. The key is to not always be peered last as it shows a pattern.

Another factor is politics. A 68W is not likely to get as much likelihood to recycle as an infantry or armor officer, that's just the way it is. The kid gets hurt, he's sent to his unit. The Army seems to make it difficult for enlisted to attend Ranger school and especially difficult for non-IN enlisted MOSs to attend.

God forbid they're trying to push some female candidates through at that time and someone has to not make it through the course. Who is that going to be?

Sounds like physically he's gonna be pretty set. The army seems to care about running more than anything else.

His biggest hurdle will be mental, as 18z50 said.

That and any sort of accidental injury outside of his control. That seemed to get a LOT of folks while I was in.

quote:

Originally posted by 18Z50:
Having been the NCOIC of SOF selection process, I see the key to success being mental toughness, physical stamina and recovery, and to never quit. Luck is also a factor.

Injury, physical breakdown, cadre roulette are outside your son's scope of control.

Being a team player...

^^^ right here ^^^
The man knows what he's talking about!

and it's all about team work.....

" A long time ago I was trained to jump out of helicopters and eat dead burnt babies."

Unfortunately in the end that is what it's ultimately about; being thrown into the most vile , chaotic and disgusting situation imaginable. Sorry, but that is the truth. But someone has to do it it seems and I admire him for his willing to do this.

quote:

Originally posted by 18Z50:
Having been the NCOIC of SOF selection process, I see the key to success being mental toughness, physical stamina and recovery, and to never quit. Luck is also a factor.

Injury, physical breakdown, cadre roulette are outside your son's scope of control.

Being a team player, having learned the knots/lashing, ranger creed, rope climbing techniques, land navigation skills are those thing he can pre-learn. SH 21-76 is his friend.

Peer evaluations are also a factor, this is something that most candidate don't understand until it is too late.

Cut training ruck weight to 45 pounds minus 6 quarts of water. If you can ruck 45 you can ruck 75, rucking with overload risks lower back injury.

Fully understanding basic infantry tasks is a big plus. Battle drills and oporder comprehension is good.

Finally, FOOT CARE! Understanding how to properly select, fit, and take care of boot, socks and blisters can not be understated!



18Z50

good info above

went to 25th ID RIP and Ranger School in '91.

the thing about RASP / Ranger is no ONE task is really all that hard. challenging YES -- super difficult -- No. But the POI lumps task after task after task in a seemingly unending succession with minimal food and minimal rest. For weeks. it just becomes a mental game of attrition / survival as you move from activity to activity in a constant state of physical and mental degradation.

then throw in the fact that you must LEAD during portions of the course -- not just sit back and 'suck it up' -- the mental component becomes that much more intense

i wish him the best. and as has been stated : running / rucking is the deal-maker / deal-breaker. His XC experience is huge for this. My kids have run XC over the years and when the boys run by I have always told myself what great Rangers they would be. As such -- the ability to NOT get injured is paramount. If you're nursing a bum knee / back on the outset of an 8-mile w/ a 50lb ruck ... bad news.

so keep up the running. After XC is done -- have him get into some 'moderate' resistance training (bench / deadlift / squats). he doesn't need to be able to bench / squat 300 lbs. but gaining some extra strength will be helpful in terms of rucking and warding off injury.

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He needs to have a big enough “why” to do it. For shallow ego reasons won’t be enough when it gets really hard.

Then, just don’t quit and do your best at every task.

One of the best things to do with "young athletes" is work on co-ordination, and structural imbalances, if you can find someone who's good at it.

quote:

Originally posted by 18Z50:
Having been the NCOIC of SOF selection process ...
18Z50

Once again, sigforum has a Subject Matter Expert for every question that can be asked. Well done!!

I appreciate all the advice and wisdom of SigForum.

My son does have a concern, he is worried about falling “out of shape” while attending basic. He has an option 40 contract, so he is guaranteed to attend RASP. Looking at basic RASP requirements, he is well above the minimum requirements. I honestly think he will be bored in basic training.

He ran a 5k today for a tri-regional Cross Country meet. 18:40 in the hills of western PA.

Standby for updates. This will be an interesting adventure. I truly appreciate the feedback. I am very proud of my son, and he is following his dreams.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
I appreciate all the advice and wisdom of SigForum.

My son does have a concern, he is worried about falling “out of shape” while attending basic. He has an option 40 contract, so he is guaranteed to attend RASP. Looking at basic RASP requirements, he is well above the minimum requirements. I honestly think he will be bored in basic training.

He ran a 5k today for a tri-regional Cross Country meet. 18:40 in the hills of western PA.

Standby for updates. This will be an interesting adventure. I truly appreciate the feedback. I am very proud of my son, and he is following his dreams.

it's a valid concern

but PLEASE tell him it's a process. you can't skip a step and you must focus on the immediate task at hand. IOW -- don't get ahead of yourself

what will likely happen -- after his initial training -- he will get sent to a 'holdover' type unit waiting for his RASP date. the NCOs there will know what they need to be doing to stay fit. and even if they don't -- he will likely have some 'down time' to get some runs in. Basic will expose him to some of the common task requirements he needs to be squared away on. it may be boring to him at times but its a necessary part of the process.

there are ways to 'do more' in a training environment. for instance -- when a unit runs in formation, the NCOs will typically ask for volunteers to be 'Road Guards'. the road guards run ahead and stop traffic. so they actually end up running a little extra mileage and at a quicker pace as they dart back and forth in front of / and behind the larger running formation of soldiers... volunteer any chance you get and there's an opportunity to excel.

another one is carry the unit Guidon (unit flag) during runs -- basically like carrying a rifle weight-wise...

one requirement I remember them heavily pushing back in the day when I was at IOBC was being able to run 5 miles in 35 mins. Not that that was a specific requirement at Ranger School ... but that level of cardio was considered a good benchmark for success.

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quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
My son does have a concern, he is worried about falling “out of shape” while attending basic. He has an option 40 contract, so he is guaranteed to attend RASP. Looking at basic RASP requirements, he is well above the minimum requirements. I honestly think he will be bored in basic training.

Basic is just that, basic. He's gonna get thrown in with a lot of different guys, with different issues, all there for different reasons and he's gotta figure out, how to function in such an environment; he may check all the boxes for physical performance but, getting along and functioning with your fellow mates is equally important.

There's likely a handful of other guys who have higher aspirations than just making it to graduation. The stress of running around in basic will keep him on his toes and he'll adapt to Army life. One step at a time, its a process of achievement and completion. Listen to instructions and execute.

He may be a bit un-challenged in basic, he shouldn’t have any problems with the physical standards of RASP. I went through the old RIP as well as Ranger School. While I don’t know the RASP program of instruction, my google-fu says it has a 65% pass rate, so since the vast majority of the 35% are quitters, it can’t be that hard.

Ive heard basic has gotten pretty soft. For RASP he needs to be mentally prepared for “Full Metal Jacket” style treatment and feel ripped off if he doesn’t get it. 75th is voluntary, not only do they not care if he quits, they are specifically trying to weed out the mentally weak ones and make them quit. Have him read Goggins’ book, everything will seem like a cake walk compared to that crazy guy.

Question for the Rangers...

Since sleep deprivation is/was reportedly a big component of RASP/RIP, is there a way for him to train for/acclimate to that now? Or is it just a matter of having the mental fortitude to suck it up in the moment?

I can't help with the military stuff, but quite a few professional athletes have started doing yoga to prevent soft tissue injuries. Some are obviously bad luck, but it seems to lower the odds.

9 Yoga Poses to Keep Athletes Injury-Free
https://www.yogajournal.com/practice/play-it-forward

Lastly, in Lone Survivor Luttrell mentions working with a local guy who helped kids train for SF selection. Maybe there is someone similar in your area?

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Question for the Rangers...

Since sleep deprivation is/was reportedly a big component of RASP/RIP, is there a way for him to train for/acclimate to that now? Or is it just a matter of having the mental fortitude to suck it up in the moment?

for me it was probably the worst part

you might try to acclimate by getting used to ~6 hour / night a few weeks ahead of time. if you are used to 7-8 hours / night and head straight into RIP / Ranger -- your going to be miserable

but you also wouldn't want to build up a long-term deficit though heading into the course --

another thing is learn how to use tobacco / caffeine that is available. when i went you were allowed a certain amount of tobacco. i was not a big user beforehand but i learned to use chewing tobacco. putting in a plug of Beech Nut at 1AM when you're fading was helpful. Guys get creative with MRE coffee powder too -- putting in a pinch of coffee. obviously you can't smoke in the middle of a patrol but you could dip / chew / pinch coffee...

any way you slice it -- it's going to suck

(did not serve in a Ranger unit but attended 25th ID RIP -- two week course -- and went to Ranger School in 1991)

-----------------------------------

I went through before RASP, it was a 3 part system back then, and you had to be assigned to the Regiment to attend. Ranger Indoctrination Program, assignment to a platoon as a probationary period, then Pre-Ranger before attending the actual "Ranger" School. While the courses were very physical, mental toughness was key for me. He will be tired, he will be hungry, he will get hurt, but his mental toughness will get him through.

I would recommend he go to socnet.com MANY threads about this very topic with advice from BTDT vets much more current than my experiences.

I wish him the best of luck, and thank him for not only wishing to serve, but to do so as a Ranger.

I am a 7-8 hrs every night person and was really worried about the sleep issue. It sucked, but I was no more or less affected by it than anybody else (perhaps did a bit better than average to my surprise) and I didn’t/don’t use tobacco at all. From my outside observation it didn’t seem to help them much though subjectively of course they got a pick me up for a few minutes I’m sure?

He’ll be somewhat acclimated to less sleep and RASP likely isn’t as bad as Ranger School was in the field where sleep wise you'd just get 45-90 mins.