RANGER SCHOOL BRB LOL

Well, hopefully not back any time soon.  It's been fun, guys!  I might add on to this once I'm done, to give tips for LTs going to Ranger School, but I don't plan on making a journal about it - there are plenty of other ones out there, who have done a much better job than I would have.

Wrapping Things Up - Weeks 15 and 16

Well after Leader Forge, there wasn't much else to do in the course.  The week after the FTX was spent cleaning weapons and equipment, turning in platoon gear, getting counseled by the Cadre, and wrapping up any administrative paperwork.  national Guard guys turned in CIF, and closed out with Fort Benning, so they had quite a few trips to complete.  The last week, we started off with a diagnostic RPFT - it wasn't quite like Ranger School, where you're done after you complete teh required number of repetitions, but no one kept track of your score - if you didn't make the required number, you simply were pulled off to the side for retesting.  Rehearsals for the Blue Cord Ceremony and the Graduation Ceremony ate up most of our time this week.  Go ahead and get your blue cord and have your button sewn on well before this week, so you're not scrambling.  It's also a good time to call your brigade S1 and check in with them.  The Assistant S1 is an LT like you, so there's not pressure.  I didn't get a whole lot of information from them, just my battalion assignment, what the first few days at my post would encompass, and the reminder to complete Ranger School, else they would send me right back to Benning until I did.  It was a very relaxed two weeks for us, but readers beware - our class was unique in that we have more than 3 weeks before we need to report for Ranger School; many classes get far less than that.  The class before us got all of three days, so I am sure their timeline for Ranger School was much more compressed than ours.  Friday of the last week, we reported in to HHC, got a brief on what the next few weeks would be like, and dates for the record RPFT, packing list layout, and practice Land Nav event.

Well folks, that's it.  Done and done (for now).  Since there are no more week-by-week breakdowns to complete anymore, I will be writing on selected subjects regarding IBOLC, to better help incoming guys out.  Thanks for reading, and as always, comment if you have any questions.