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Thread
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What secrets lurk in the filecards?
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05-31-2009, 10:34 AM
zuludelta
EQ-Viper
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 4,343
It's been stressed over and over again in this thread about how important Ranger School is for an Army officer's career advancement, the assumption being that graduation from Ranger School re-affirms an officer's ability to lead . Here's a slightly more cynical take on the process by retired officer John T. Reed (West Point class of 1968; Ranger School Class 3-68; served as a platoon leader with the 82d Airborne in the Vietnam War), excerpted from his humourous but nonetheless insightful essay entitled
"The 'U.S. military’s marathon, 30-year, single-elimination, suck-up tournament' OR 'How America selects generals'"
:
Quote:
Not having a Ranger tab on your left shoulder as an Army officer is sort of like the Scarlet Letter. It is a badge of shame, or the lack of the tab is a “badge” of shame. I was awarded the tab, but chose not to wear it in a sort of protest against the whole silly idea of decorating yourself with stuff like that. It reminded me of the cub scouts. When one of my West Point classmates and Ranger School Class 3-68 fellow graduates learned of my not wearing it, he adopted the same policy. It occasionally triggered some fun like a Ranger exaggerating how tough the school was (hard to do) or someone who knew you were a West Point graduate putting you down for flunking Ranger School on the assumption that anyone who passed would certainly wear the tab—on his pajamas and everything else.
Am I really saying that a young man who after spending four years busting his ass to graduate from West Point will have his career ended as far as making multi-star general is concerned, within a few months of graduating from West Point, solely because he randomly flunked some weird, two-month, roam-around-the-woods course?
That’s exactly what I’m saying.
But that’s not fair, you protest. It’s stupid.
Ah, yes. But who said life is fair? And even if any sane person did say that, did they also say that the U.S. Army is fair? I doubt it. And have you not heard the acronym SNAFU? It stands for “Situation Normal All Fouled Up” and it has long been used to accurately describe the U.S. military.
Read the title of this article again. It’s a single-elimination tournament. If you lose at any time in the tournament, you’re finished. One strike and you’re out. It’s Old Testament because of the numbers. Many are lieutenants but few are chosen to be generals.
You typically go to more schools before your first assignment. I went to five. But you get the idea. Most of the other schools are more objective in their grading than Ranger School.
__________________
Last edited by zuludelta; 05-31-2009 at
10:54 AM
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