Ranger School throws doors open to airmenBy Jill Laster - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Nov 11, 2010 21:09:29 EST
The Army wants you to go through its 61-day Ranger School, one of the military’s most demanding leadership courses.
There are plenty of open slots at the school these days because so many soldiers who would attend are busy fighting overseas, according to school leaders.
At least six airmen attend the school every year under an agreement between the Army and Air Force. In fiscal 2010, 14 airmen earned the coveted Ranger tab.
Enlisted airmen or officers, regardless of their career fields, can go to Ranger School. Enlisted airmen, though, must have the rank of at least E-3, according to Master Sgt. Jamie Newman, the Air Force Ranger instructor. All need to complete a pre-Ranger course, a rigorous two-week program.
Earning a Ranger tab won’t boost your promotion score, but it could give you the tools to do your job better, Newman said.
“The intangible things the student gets from [Ranger School] — to be able to participate in a course like that — is a very, very big accomplishment,” he said.
Founded in 1950 at Fort Benning, Ga., Ranger School has had an almost steady attrition rate of about 50 percent, making it a consistently tough course to get through.
Most who don’t make it wash out in the first three days, known as the Ranger Assessment Phase, or RAP week, which is done with little or no sleep. Those who do complete RAP week’s set of tests have 20 hours a day, seven days a week to look forward to for the rest of the course, which is held 11 times a year.
The second, or mountain, phase is held three hours north of Benning in Dahlonega, Ga., at Camp Merrill, where students learn mountaineering and tactical techniques near the southern terminus of the scenic Appalachian Trail. The final, or swamp, phase takes the students to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., for boat drills, rope-bridge making and patrolling in a humid, junglelike environment.
“When you come to Ranger School, it’s not two weeks, it’s 60 days,” Newman said. “It’s not a sprint. … It’s a big long marathon, and you’ve got to be in that for the long haul.”
Newman recommends airmen interested in Ranger School talk to airmen who have been through the process.
They can also e-mail him with questions at jamie.newman@us .army.mil
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