Formation, getting ready to roll out.
Third and final phase, all I had to do was suck it up for 19 more days and I would earn my Ranger Tab. The only thing standing in my way were the swamps, rivers, heat, snakes, alligators, enemy, lack of sleep, lack of food, ocean, and lastly how much I had in me to continue.
Florida starts just like the previous stages, a few days of training then off to the field to put it all into practice. The training this time around was survival training, what plants to eat, how to recognize deadly snakes, how to get decent water from a swamp, navigate up a river, control a small boat with oars, infiltrate and conduct a raid on a house at night, movement in the ocean in small boats, and beach assaults.
All pretty cool and sexy stuff until you add the equipment and stress involved. But in the end the training was over, we learned how to cross a river 13 feet deep with just a single rope and some carabineers, (a 70 pound ruck sack if packed properly floats by the way) we learned how to navigate up and down rivers and control the boats with the current, and we learned what not to touch as far as wildlife goes.
Florida is the run phase of life. It is 10 straight days in the field always moving always planning mission on top of mission and each one effecting how the next one plays out. Three movements through the swamps each one getting progressively harder. The culmination mission is you load up boats out near Panama City Beach, and assault an old Army missile detector at night.
Air Assault into the objective.
Nothing is sexier then having 10 boats all hit the beach at the same time loaded down with 8 combat ready Rangers. Never forget that mission. But I am ahead of myself.
To kick off the whole patrolling aspect those of us that were Airborne Qualified loaded ourselves and our gear onto a C-130 and flew out over the swamps. Once we reached the landing zone we got the green light and out the door I went. I love combat jumps, and at night into Florida was the best. Out the door I went I felt my chute open and just drifted down until I was 100 meters above the ground at which time I released my ruck sack and made a good landing on the Florida sand. We assembled all of our men and equipment turned in our parachutes and started walking to the meeting point.
Not a fan of water during Ranger School.
Once there we met with the rest of our Ranger buddies that were not Airborne qualified and the 10 days began.
I don't remember a lot of those days but the swamp movements were horrible, as each movement was harder then the last. We started off the first one with water only to our ankles; to easy. Two days later the water was to our knees and it was a little more difficult moving around. Two days after that the water was to my belly button and it was at night and you could hear the alligators chirping all around you. This is the second time while at Ranger school the thought of quitting came into my head. I had to carry the M240B machine gun (28 pounds), plus the rope to cross a river, and ammo. All told I was back at around 80 pounds of gear. But then we got to the river and in the ordeal of crossing it the rope I was carrying got wet and went from a pain in the ass to back breaking.
Getting ready for the BBQ!
That's about when I started cussing up another storm and hating life yet again. As all things in life the pain eventually ended as we got to our staging area and began to prepare for the ambush. I started sleepwalking and falling all over the place and could not see straight. It was the worst night of Ranger School for me. I even had hallucinations from the sleep loss. By morning, I knew with only one more day to go that I would make it.
During the phase I received three leadership chances and again got a "GO" on all three so I knew I would get my Ranger Tab on May 6th and talk about being on cloud nine!
Our last mission on the last day was the beach assault across the ocean to a small island. I was the Platoon Leader and responsible for the mission that day and lucky for me I had several real world Special Forces soldiers as my squad leaders so I relied on them and the mission as put by the RI "was the best assault he had seen in three years teaching at Ranger School." I mean this thing went perfect we took down three buildings killed 8 bad guys and only took one casualty which was just a shoulder wound so he was able to walk out. Since Ranger School I have been in real combat but that mission is still the template I use today when we go and take down buildings and assault houses. It went perfect.
One of the best parts of the Florida phase is that upon completion of the 10 days of patrolling the Ranger students are allowed to go to the "Gator" it’s a small little shack and inside they sell beer and pizza and all kinds of goodies. As I got my two slices of pizza and three beers I sat down knowing I was going to get my Ranger Tab and enjoyed the simple taste of a Corona. I felt like they guys in Shawshank Redemption as they sat on the roof and felt free for a few minuets as they drank their beer. It was another memory that I will hold with me forever. I was free. Then I proceeded to get drunk with all my Ranger buddies and it was great, acted like total fools.
19 days after we got to Florida I loaded onto buses for the drive back to Ft Benning and Graduation. Not everyone that came to Florida got to leave but I was glad that I had made it straight through what most consider the hardest school in the Army. Rangers Lead the Way!
