Ranger School 101 for Loved Ones

My soldier reported to Ranger School in early January and it has been a whirlwind of unknowns ever since. I have spent countless hours searching the internet, reading blogs, and watching videos trying to learn more about what he might be doing. We (the loved ones supporting our ranger students) know it’s hard, we know it’s intense but specific details are really not shared… at all. So here I am, writing “Ranger School 101 for Loved Ones”.

First things first: the basics. Ranger School is considered the most elite combat training school in the world. Soldiers selected to attend are among the most top that the Army has to offer so even being selected to attend Ranger School is a BIG DEAL! The school itself is 61+ days of intense physical and mental training throughout three unique phases: Darby Phase (which includes RAP (Ranger Assessment Program) Week), Mountain Phase, and Swamp Phase.

Ranger School begins with RAP Week, during which ranger students are sleep and food deprived and required to complete a series of test. Testing during RAP Week includes the PFRT Test (Physical Assessment of Push-ups, Sit ups and a timed 5 mile run), Combat Water Survival Assessment, Land Navigation, and a timed 12 mile ruck march. If a student does not pass a test or quits at any point during this week, they are dropped and sent home. You will know your ranger has been dropped if you hear from them, no news is good news! Once ranger students pass RAP Week, they are officially welcomed to Darby phase, assigned a company and given a roster number. Throughout Darby, keep telling yourself that no news is good news! If you are one of the lucky ones, you might get a letter but more often than not, you won’t hear anything.

Photo of the Combat Water Survival Assessment during RAP Week

Photo of Ranger Instructors (in the Black Shirts) watching ranger studnets perform physical tasks to drain their energy during Darby Phase.

After Darby phase is complete every ranger student will get an 8 hour pass to eat, sleep, and most importantly, get all the gear they will need in the future. The results from Darby phase will determine what day each ranger has his or her pass. Sometimes ranger students will be able to call home starting late Thursday evening to tell you if they passed (sometimes a list with roster numbers is published too for the same purpose). There are three things that can happen coming out of Darby: The ranger student receives a GO and advances to Mountain phase, the ranger student recycles and must repeat the Darby Phase, or the ranger student is dropped and must go home. The Darby pass will be the last time you will see your soldier before their ranger school graduation so many loved ones travel from across the country to be there for it.

The ranger students who received GOs then move onto the Mountain phase. Again, when the phase is complete they will either receive a GO, get recycled, or are dropped. The ranger students receive care packages from loved ones as Mountain phase comes to an end.

Photo of ranger students recieveing a mountaineering lesson during the Mountain Pase

The final phase is Swamps. Statistically, when a ranger student makes it to Swamps they will graduate, the question is just a matter of when.

Photo of ranger students navigating through the 10 day FTX (Field Training eXercise) in Swamp Pase

So now that you are up to speed on what Ranger School is like, I want to share some personal observations that I feel can be summarized with one word: Prepare.

Prepare to see your ranger student in rough shape. I flew out to spend my husband’s 8 hour pass with him and was astonished with him much is physical appearance had changed in just 20 days… gaunt is the best word I can use. His eyes were sunken in and darker, his cheek bones were more prominent and his body overall seemed bonier – my guess estimation is that he has lost at least ten pounds (ten pounds he didn’t really have to loose).

Prepare to be filled with anxiety and uncertainty. I heard 11 hours before I was supposed to pick him up if my husband had passed Darby phase or not. In Mountains they often don’t get to call so they use ATM withdrawals as code (get the logins to their bank account and watch their ATM transactions, $20 withdrawal is a GO, $40+ withdrawal is a recycle).

Prepare to take your cell phone EVERYWHERE! I never thought I would be the kind of Army wife to never be away from my phone but I can honestly say that I never let my phone leave my side (especially during RAP Week) and even laid it just outside the shower in case he called. I was determined that I would NOT miss a call from him, EVER! I get it, that’s a bit extreme, but throughout ranger school all I wanted to do was hear my ranger’s voice and see how he was.

Prepare to make friends with other loved ones supporting ranger students across the country (and even world). I have made wonderful friends with two other ranger student wives and a ranger student mom, all who live thousands of miles away. I can honestly say that my Ranger School experience would be so much more difficult without these women. They understand my situation and lift me up; we vent through the hard stuff, laugh through the stresses, and celebrate through the successes!

Prepare to miss your ranger like crazy. Throughout our relationship, my husband has been gone and out of communication for months at a time. Don’t get me wrong, I missed him during those times... but nothing compares to the stress and anxiety of Ranger School and for some reason, it makes you miss your soldier more than you ever thought possible.

Prepare to drop everything to help your ranger in any way that you can, whenever and whatever they need. Once again, I never thought I would be “that girl” but when my husband’s hands were swollen from beginning stages of frostbite and he asked me for better gloves, I paid 7 times what I paid for the gloves themselves to overnight them to him. Bye moneys, be free!

Prepare to surrender to the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 say “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I have always had a difficult time with the idea of praying continually (I am a busy lady and am not great at multitasking, so how does that even work?!) and giving thanks in ALL circumstances but sometimes you just need an extreme situation to help you discern God’s will. The more I learned about my soldier's sleep and food deprivation there more I thought about him, prayed for him, and held him close in my heart. The more I found myself coming before the Lord asking him to protect my soldier and praising God for giving us this opportunity and for providing for my husband’s needs.

Prepare to be filled with pride for everything that your loved one has accomplished so far. Prepare to multiply that by 100 when you see how hard they work to get their Ranger Tab.

Prepare for it to all be worth it! As crazy as Ranger School is for everyone, it is so worth it (or at least that’s what I keep telling myself). After all, you are helping your loved one achieve one of their dreams and there isn’t anything better than that!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these photos, nor do I present them as my own work.

#MILITARY #RESOURCES