This is Chris V. Like MAJ B said on Monday, I just finished up Ranger School on Thursday. Somehow, they decided that I should get the COL Tex Turner Officer Leader Award. I really don't feel like I did anything special and I definintely was not one of the guys trying to spotlight myself or show off for the RI's. I didn't even think that the RI's knew my name. Either way, my tab looks the same as the 96 other tabs issued out last week and the thousands of others already earned by others in the Army.
I posted a quick message last Thursday night about some of the prep that I did. If you want me to go into the details, email me at chris.a.villarreal at gmail.com or get my phone number from Matt Feiden, Matt Romanowski, or MAJ Richards.
You will get plenty of work on the distance running in IBOLC. Because of the timing, IBOLC is filled with studs during the summer, so the running pace can get pretty quick. You will probably take at least 4-5 practice RPFT's before you take the real one on Day 1. (Don't believe the rumors about it either. General concensus was that our Day 1 RPFT was the most fairly graded test we had taken. Just do everything to standard and you are good to go.) You will also be pretty good at rucking by the time IBOLC finishes up.
I had a month and a half break between IBOLC and Ranger to prepare. Some guys had about two weeks over Christmas and the class that finishes at the end of this month had about ten days. Looking back, I wish I would have tried harder to get into the earlier class instead of waiting around the extra month. I don't really think that I made any drastic physical improvements during that time.
Make sure you give yourself a good taper going into the course. I tried to put on about ten pounds before I started. I'm glad I did b/c lost it all and then some during Darby. Just make sure you can still do all the RPFT events with the extra weight if you decide to go that route.
Don't wait to start on the packing list and don't be surprised by the cost. I would say that the average cost was about $800-1000. Some spent more, some spent less depending on if they needed boots and ACU's or if they wanted all the high speed gear or just the basics. But, make sure you have at least two, preferably three good sets of broken in summer boots and one set of winter boots, along with plenty of socks.
The best advice that I got before starting Ranger was, "When you're in charge, take charge. And when you're a Joe, be the best damn Joe you can be." Follow that and most importantly, refuse to quit and you'll do great.
Oh yeah, just bc you don't go infantry doesn't mean you won't go. There were a bunch of armor and FA guys out there this year.
18:48(PR), which was a 1:21 improvement over last time. I think the big difference was that I didn't stop during any of the OHSs this time, which really speeded me up. Don't give up on the OHSs...they take a while to really figure out.
Squats have always been my goat. I made a lot of improvements on my squat technique this morning, but I still have a ton to go. Thanks MAJ Richards for all the help.
7 comments:
B&G,
This is Chris V. Like MAJ B said on Monday, I just finished up Ranger School on Thursday. Somehow, they decided that I should get the COL Tex Turner Officer Leader Award. I really don't feel like I did anything special and I definintely was not one of the guys trying to spotlight myself or show off for the RI's. I didn't even think that the RI's knew my name. Either way, my tab looks the same as the 96 other tabs issued out last week and the thousands of others already earned by others in the Army.
I posted a quick message last Thursday night about some of the prep that I did. If you want me to go into the details, email me at chris.a.villarreal at gmail.com or get my phone number from Matt Feiden, Matt Romanowski, or MAJ Richards.
You will get plenty of work on the distance running in IBOLC. Because of the timing, IBOLC is filled with studs during the summer, so the running pace can get pretty quick. You will probably take at least 4-5 practice RPFT's before you take the real one on Day 1. (Don't believe the rumors about it either. General concensus was that our Day 1 RPFT was the most fairly graded test we had taken. Just do everything to standard and you are good to go.) You will also be pretty good at rucking by the time IBOLC finishes up.
I had a month and a half break between IBOLC and Ranger to prepare. Some guys had about two weeks over Christmas and the class that finishes at the end of this month had about ten days. Looking back, I wish I would have tried harder to get into the earlier class instead of waiting around the extra month. I don't really think that I made any drastic physical improvements during that time.
Make sure you give yourself a good taper going into the course. I tried to put on about ten pounds before I started. I'm glad I did b/c lost it all and then some during Darby. Just make sure you can still do all the RPFT events with the extra weight if you decide to go that route.
Don't wait to start on the packing list and don't be surprised by the cost. I would say that the average cost was about $800-1000. Some spent more, some spent less depending on if they needed boots and ACU's or if they wanted all the high speed gear or just the basics. But, make sure you have at least two, preferably three good sets of broken in summer boots and one set of winter boots, along with plenty of socks.
The best advice that I got before starting Ranger was, "When you're in charge, take charge. And when you're a Joe, be the best damn Joe you can be." Follow that and most importantly, refuse to quit and you'll do great.
Oh yeah, just bc you don't go infantry doesn't mean you won't go. There were a bunch of armor and FA guys out there this year.
Let me know if I can help out in any way.
Chris V.
18:48(PR), which was a 1:21 improvement over last time. I think the big difference was that I didn't stop during any of the OHSs this time, which really speeded me up. Don't give up on the OHSs...they take a while to really figure out.
RLTW, CV! Great job.
Nancy
20:45
My first meeting with Nancy, and I think I finally had the OHSs down by round 5. My wrist and shoulder strength sucks.
...and i forgot to say, I scaled to 65# for this one.
Squats have always been my goat. I made a lot of improvements on my squat technique this morning, but I still have a ton to go. Thanks MAJ Richards for all the help.
Nancy- Scaled OHS to 65#...15:29.
Nancy: 16:37
Long time follower, first time poster. Day behind because of yesterday's APFT.
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