I recently had a conversation with a friend of mine who had just completed the Special Forces Qualification Course. The Special Forces Qualification Course is a beast of a course broken into five phases. Each harder than the next until you reach the culminating exercise “Robin Sage”. My friend had set a goal to be a Special Forces Soldier years ago. Now he was kind of lost and unsure where to put his energy. He confided in me that this kind of situation was uncomfortable and he didn’t know what to do. Many Soldiers find themselves in similar situations after they complete a difficult course like Ranger School or Sapper Leader Course.
I told him he needed to sit down and find out what his next goal would be. Having clearly defined goals at all times is something you absolutely must have to fulfill your potential as a human being. Goals enable you to do the work you want to do, to live where you want to live, to be with the people you enjoy, and to become the kind of person you want to become.
Setting goals for each facet of your life is a key part of living a fulfilled life. Whether your goals are to pass Ranger School or Sapper Leader Course, spend more time with your family, or start your own business, the only way to get there is by setting actionable goals you can work on every day. In this article we will explore what goals are, why they are important, and steps you can take to set them.
So what are goals? Though it sounds simple, the question, “what are goals?”, is a very important question to answer if you want to achieve your definition of success. The definition of goal is the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result. While most will assume they already know what goals are, it might surprise you to learn that less than 3 percent of Americans have written goals, and less than 1 percent review and rewrite their goals on a daily basis. Each day you wake up not having goals, you are like a pilot who takes off with no clear destination, so take time to create them, write them down, and review them each day.
“The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can't let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.” (Michael Jordan)
Setting goals is important for several reasons, including that they:
“What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.” (Zig Ziglar)
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” - Tony Robbins
The following are steps you can take when setting goals:
1. Accept responsibility for your life. In every study of successful people, the acceptance of personal responsibility seems to be the starting point. Before that, nothing happens. After you accept complete responsibility, your whole life begins to change. Knowing that you are in control of your life will also give you a sense of power.
2. Decide what your end goal is. A good way to set goals is to start with the end goal in mind. When doing this, imagine that there are no limitations on what you can have or do. Imagine that you have all the time and money, all the friends and contacts, all the education and experience that you need to accomplish any goal you can set for yourself. Where do you want to be in 5 or 10 years? What job do you want to have? What unit do you want to be in? What accomplishments do you want to achieve? Knowing your end goal will allow you to work backward to create smaller goals that allow you to ultimately reach your larger professional goals.
“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” (Pablo Picasso)
3. Write it down. Your goals must be in writing. They must be clear, specific, detailed and measurable. You must write out your goals as if you were placing an order for your goal to be manufactured in a factory at a great distance. Make your description clear and detailed in every sense. When your goals are written down you are unconsciously signing a contract with yourself and the universe. If you’re struggling, use the SMART goal method. The SMART goal method, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound, is a great tool to use when establishing goals. This method ensures your goals are both actionable, realistic, and able to be measured, all of which will keep you on track and motivated to reach your goal. Place this paper or document somewhere you can see it everyday. Remember, only 3% of people have written goals, and everyone else works for them.
4. Set a deadline. If you used the SMART goal method you already completed this step. If not, ensure your goals have deadlines. Your subconscious mind uses deadlines as “forcing systems” to drive you, consciously and unconsciously toward achieving your goal on schedule. If your goal is big enough, set sub-deadlines. If you want to achieve financial independence, you may set a 10 or 20-year goal, and then break it down, year by year, so that you know how much you have to save and invest each year. If you want to pass Ranger School or Sapper Leader Course, you shouldn’t set your deadline more than a year or two from today. Ensure that you can meet the standards published by the respective courses, but it is better to go those courses earlier in your career. If for some reason you don’t achieve your goal by the deadline, simply set a new deadline. There are no unreasonable goals, only unreasonable deadlines.
5. Break your larger goals into smaller tasks. The more you can break your goals up into bite-sized tasks, the more likely you are to continue pursuing that goal. Take each larger goal you set and break it down into tasks you can complete each day or week to work towards that goal. For example, if your goal is to pass Ranger School you need to get a slot, put together the Ranger School Packing List, be physically and mentally ready, know the Ranger 20 boards, read the Ranger Handbook, and complete pre-Ranger, before you even get to Camp Darby. Check off each task as you complete it to show you the progress you’re making.
“People with goals succeed because they know where they're going.” (Earl Nightingale)
6. Identify the obstacles that you will have to overcome. What is holding you back? What is an obstacle that you’ve seen other people struggle with who have done what you’re trying to achieve? Two ideas to keep in mind here are the Theory of Constraints and the Pareto Principle or the 80/20 Rule. The Theory of Constraints is a methodology for identifying the most important limiting factor (i.e., constraint) that stands in the way of achieving a goal and then systematically improving that constraint until it is no longer the limiting factor. This constraint is often referred to as a bottleneck. The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. In other words, a small percentage of causes have an outsized effect. This concept is important to understand because it can help you identify which initiatives to prioritize so you can make the most impact. When setting goals, 80% of what’s holding you back is inside you (fears, self doubt, lack of a certain skill or quality) and only 20% is outside you (external factors and forces outside your control). Always start with yourself
7. Identify the knowledge, information, and skills you will need to achieve your goal. Do you want to pass Ranger School? You better know how to set up an ambush and react to contact. Do you want to pass the Sapper Leader Course? You better know demo calculations and how to tie a bowline.
8. Identify the people whose help and cooperation you will require to achieve your goal. Make a list of every person in your life that you will have to work with or work around to achieve your goal. No one has ever achieved anything great by themselves. Also, no one has ever passed Ranger School and Sapper Leader Course by themselves. Start with people you know who have completed Ranger School or Sapper Leader Course, your family members, and friends. List your boss, coworkers and subordinates. Once you have identified the key people whose help you will require, ask yourself this question, “What’s in it for them?” To achieve big goals you will have to have the help and support of lots of people. One key person at a certain time and place in your life will make all the difference. The most successful people are those who build and maintain the largest networks of other people whom they can help and who can help them in return.
“Stay focused, go after your dreams and keep moving toward your goals.” (LL Cool J)
9. Make a list of everything you will have to do. Combine the obstacles that you will have to overcome, the knowledge and skills you will have to develop, and the people whose cooperation you will require. List every single step that you can think of that you will have to follow to ultimately achieve your goal. If you think of new items add them to your list until it is complete.
10. Organize your list into a plan. Remember, no plan survives first contact so be prepared to adjust when your initial plan doesn’t work. You only fail if you stop trying. Organize this list by arranging the steps that you have identified by sequence and priority. Planning is very important. Time spent putting together a plan to achieve your goal will save you loads of time and effort to achieve your goal.
11. Make a plan. Organize your list into a series of steps from the beginning all the way through to the completion of your goal. When you have a goal with a plan, you increase the likelihood of achieving your goals immensely. Plan each day, week and month in advance. Plan each month at the beginning of the month. Plan each week the weekend before. Plan each day the evening before. The reason you do this is to stay on track and organized. If you’re not organized you’ll get distracted and lose sight of the goal. If you’re struggling with this just ask yourself, “If I could only do one thing on this list, which one activity is most important?” You should always be thinking multiple steps ahead.
“The primary reason for failure is that people do not develop new plans to replace those plans that didn’t work.” (Napoleon Hill)
12. Further develop the habit of self-discipline. Following your plan will take discipline, but it's something that everyone who has ever attended Ranger School and Sapper Leader Course has had to do. Once you have decided on your most important next task, resolve to concentrate single-mindedly on that one task until it is 100% complete. Your ability to select your most important task and then to work on it single-mindedly, without diversion or distraction, will double and triple the quality and quantity of your output and your productivity. Multi-tasking is a myth. It just means you do two things poorly instead of one well. Focusing on one task is one of the most powerful of all time management techniques. This means that when you start with the task, you avoid all distractions and stay with that task until it is done.
13. Practice visualization of your goals. Take time each day to see your goal as though it were already achieved. Imagine yourself enjoying the accomplishment of this goal. Visualize that Ranger Tab or Sapper Tab on your shoulder, see yourself with that Green Beret on, feel that sense of accomplishment. This image should be vivid and powerful. In visualizing, take a few moments to create the emotions that would accompany the successful achievement of your goal. A mental picture combined with an emotion has an enormous impact on your subconscious mind.
14. Regularly review your progress. It’s easy to lose sight of goals, especially if a goal you’re working on is more long-term. That’s why it’s important to regularly check in with yourself and review your progress. Realizing that you are making progress towards each goal will keep you motivated and also ensure you’re still on the right path to achieving each aspiration.
So there you have it. A complete list of why and how you should set your goals. I truly hope you take time to actually implement this material and see success in your life. With that I’d like to leave you with a quote from the entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker Jim Rohn.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” (Jim Rohn)
Get after it.
Sapper Leader Course Packing List
]]>Recently, I had the opportunity to interview a Ranger School graduate. It's always a pleasure to hear from the proverbial horse's mouth what goes on behind the curtain. This soldier graduated from Ranger Class 07-21, and although he wasn’t the honor graduate, he did make it straight through without recycling, which is no small feat. He asked to remain anonymous as he enjoys his privacy like any other red-blooded American. When I asked him to speak generally about how someone passes Ranger School he explained,
“In my opinion, there are two ways to pass Ranger School. The first is to train-up correctly, show up prepared (physically and mentally), and respect and constantly help your squad. With this approach, you will leave Ranger School having made lifelong friendships and obtained new knowledge about yourself and leadership.
The other way to get through is less enjoyable. With the second approach, you show up unprepared and get abused by the course until you figure it out. An example of this is dudes recycling every phase twice and spending 180-days in the course. They did not show up prepared.”
This was something that I was in complete agreement with because when I attended Ranger School in 2019 I saw the same thing. Despite how trivial or obvious it sounds, the soldiers that show up prepared are the ones who adjust to the situations better.
There are always people who complain that they weren’t “properly” prepared for Ranger School because they got their slot a couple days prior to leaving. I have always believed this to be a valid point. The bureaucracy of our nation’s military can cause information and opportunities to move slowly.
When I asked my interviewee how much time he had between getting his slot and leaving for Ranger School, he told me that he had five days, but that he had been trying for years to get a slot. He had done Pre-Ranger Course (PRC) without an actual slot for Ranger School and had made his Ranger train-up program his daily training program. This meant that he did the daily grind of a Ranger train-up program without ever knowing if he would get a slot.
That is when it clicked for me. He knew that the opportunity would eventually present itself, so he kept asking different people. He also knew that he needed to be ready at a moment's notice when the opportunity did arise. He went on to say,
“I think holding yourself to a higher standard is key. Getting ready for Ranger School was not as difficult as I thought it would be because keeping yourself in good shape allows you to just tailor your workouts towards what you’ll be doing in school. Really the key was the small daily disciplines which led to my eventual success. Ranger School is more a selection than an actual "school". Sure you learn some useful things, like how you operate with little to no sleep and food, set up a patrol base and conduct an ambush but not many people can list the tangible things you learn there that you couldn’t learn at your unit. You go to get your tab so that you can separate yourself from your peers. Ranger School and other extremely difficult courses in the military simply try to separate the “special” from the “not so special” or at least the persistent from the weak minded. So while you are getting prepared, take an honest look at yourself and ask yourself, based on what you’re doing, which of those two groups do you fall into.”
I asked him to discuss the Pre-Ranger Course (PRC) and how well they prepared him for Ranger School. He said they prepared him well for what he would have to deal with in Darby Phase, but had no clue what he was getting into in Mountains and Florida Phase.
“Most PRC’s focus on Darby because that is where Ranger School sees the highest attrition. Also, Darby represents the basics of Ranger School and these can be applied throughout the other phases.”
What trips a lot of people up during Ranger School is the pressure that is put on you while you are in a leadership position. Once you pass RAP week, all you need to do is be successful in a leadership position or a “leadership looks” over fifty percent of the time and you will pass the course. When I asked him what was the key to passing those leadership looks he said,
“The biggest thing I saw that contributed to the success of my looks was confidence and building bonds with your squad. In Darby they did not provide much feedback so it was hard to specifically say what made those looks a “go,” but they grade by the book so if you follow the steps they teach you to a tee you’ll be successful. My first go in Mountains was as Security SL with a solid react to contact. The enemy started maneuvering and I was able to keep my squad in the fight by providing effective commands. By being close with your squad you can trust in them to execute your commands. For Florida, during my PSG look I had a rough time controlling the platoon because everyone was dead tired. We had several accountability issues and hit our objective with about 30 seconds to spare for the time hack. However, once the objective was clear, we had a casualty, and I executed a spot-on MEDEVAC for the wounded soldiers, and I was given a go.”
With that being said, his biggest challenge at Ranger School was,
“People. Motivating people to work with you when they are dead tired, it’s not their look, they are having a bad day, etc. This is where building those friendships in the squad is so important so that even when people are struggling, they still work for you because they know you will do the exact same thing for them.”
So if the biggest challenge is getting people who are dead tired to work for you and the key to overcoming that challenge is building strong bonds within your squad, what helped build your team/squad so that you stuck together when it got tough?
“Being open and honest with each other, airing grievances, and working on fixes for them. Finding common interests and talking to each other about them. Basically, building the friendships and team cohesins found across the military. I was fairly close with most people in my squad and very close with a few. I befriended an 18C, a few IBOLC Lieutenants, and a couple of Batt Boys. I still talk to some of them currently, which is a testament for how close we became. The school does a decent job of splitting squads through phases, but the ones that stuck with me through the school we became close. Something about going through tough times really brings people together."
Ranger School isn’t just about being physically ready or knowing the material you're going to use at the course. You need to have your mind straight and be prepared to endure. When you are thrown into an environment, like Ranger School, where you are malnourished, sleep deprived, and physically depleted, your mind will start to play tricks on you. If you know this in advance, you will be better prepared for when it happens. With this knowledge, I asked him what was the biggest thing he did to prepare himself mentally. He stated quite plainly that the advice he received prior to Ranger School was
“It’s only 62 days and once you’re done, you never have to do it again. It is a simplistic way to look at it but taking it one day at a time and splitting up the events throughout the day helped me to work through it. Eventually you find yourself at the end of each phase.”
There’s always room for improvement and with hindsight being 20/20 I wanted to know what’s one thing he wishes he would’ve done to better prepare himself. His response caught me off guard. The one thing he wished he would’ve done to better prepare himself was to do a five mile run or ruck march after being smoked.
“I was initially in Bravo Company for RAP Week, which has notoriously brutal smoke sessions. They messed me up pretty good on the first day and before the five mile run and twelve mile ruck. These smoke sessions reflected in my performance at these events. I added three minutes to my five mile run and finished the ruck march in two hours and fifty five minutes.”
He suggested doing one hundred burpees or two hundred lunges before you do a diagnostic five mile run or twelve mile ruck. This is going to give you a better idea of where you will be at when you complete these milestones at the course.
Since this website focuses on providing soldiers with packing list items, I had to ask what he thought was the most important packing list item. He said without a doubt that it was the two extra pairs of Hot Weather Uniforms.
“Going during the summer it gets ridiculously hot, and the 2 pairs of Hot Weathers Uniforms that are allowed were worn constantly. I may have worn a regular uniform twice.”
When I asked him if he had any final words of advice for future people going through the course, he said,
“For a long time, I put off going because I thought I would not make it through. Don’t get me wrong, the course is difficult but by finding the inner strength and being a team player, you will do just fine. If you have ever wanted to go, GO! It is a very doable course. Accept right now that you are going to suffer, but make the choice that you will not quit. Accept that there is no easy way through Ranger School. The thought of quitting may call to you when you're suffering during your train-up, but ignore it. Your goal is bigger than the present pain.”
Note: If you need help getting your packing list together check out what we have to offer. Link below.
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At Ranger/Sapper School, you will “Prep MWE” before you leave the objective rally point (ORP) and make your final movement to the objective (OBJ). It is your last chance to make sure everything is ready before you go to complete your mission. It’s important to have a process that you can follow every time so that you don’t skip steps and miss something. Similar to conducting magazine changes, by running through this process the same way you will build muscle memory.
Before any of this can happen though the Squad Leader (SL) must issue tasks, conditions, and standards for preparing men, weapons, and equipment to their Team Leaders (TL). Then the TL goes to their soldiers and passes this order. At this point, the squad prepares men, weapons, and equipment for the OBJ. No man leaves the ORP and moves to the OBJ until he is fully prepared for conducting the actions on the OBJ. Priority for preparation goes to any recon elements (mission dependent). After the TL preps his men, he moves to the SL’s position. The TL and the SL prep and inspect each other. Men who are preparing or undergoing inspections pull 3-5 meters off the line and maintain noise and light discipline. After men are prepared and inspected, the SL spot checks the men.
MEN
During inspection or spot checks, the TL and SL start with the head and work down. Each man camouflages their helmet by placing foliage inside their camo band. This helps break up the outline of the helmet. However, the foliage should not extend higher than six inches from the top of the helmet. Men must camouflage all exposed skin, including the neck and ears. Unless the man wears gloves, he camouflages his hands as well. Any man who wears gloves must keep them on the entire time.
Each man must conceal all metal parts on his FLC. A soldier does this by using a camo stick or black tape to cover anything shiny. Men must also ensure their equipment on their FLC does not make noise. If the magazines make noise when a soldier shakes the ammo pouch, the soldier puts tape on them or places MRE cardboard or pieces of foliage between them to help silence them. The TL and SL check the magazines inside the ammo pouch and ensure they are full (I will explain how to do this later). Each man must top off his hydration pack and check his 1-quart canteens to ensure they’re full. If a man’s canteen is not full, the man fills it up from his 2-quart on his rucksack. Each man must have two full one quart canteens and his hydration pack with him for actions on the objective. Then, each man ensures that he has fresh foliage placed in his FLC to break up the outline of the body.
ACUs must be serviceable. If they are not, soldiers repair them using their sewing kit or tape. If they cannot repair their ACUs, he uses a camouflage stick to cover any exposed skin. Boots must be serviceable.
WEAPONS
When preparing weapons, ensure the weapon is on safe and properly tied off from the front sight to the non-firing shoulder of the FIGHTING LOAD CARRIER (FLC). Also, ensure that the tie down does not hinder the operation of the weapon.
M4: Check all parts and ensure they are tied down in accordance with unit SOP. If there are any shiny parts on the weapon use a camouflage stick, black tape or black marker to subdue them. Check the hand guards to ensure they don’t rattle. If they do, tape them to help silence them. Remember when taping be sure the tape does not interfere with the aiming or function of the weapon. Next check the magazine to see that it is full and the chamber to see if there is a round present. To do this, silently press the magazine release-button, and remove the magazine from the weapon. With your index finger, press down on the rounds. If the magazine is full your finger should not push down past the first joint of your finger. If the magazine is not full replace it with a full one or load additional rounds into it. To check the chamber, place your hand under the magazine well and let your fingers cover the ejection port cover. This does two things, first it will keep the cover from slapping the side of the weapon, and second, it will keep the round from falling on the ground in the event that you pull the charging handle too far to the rear. Next, with your other hand, pull the charging handle to the rear just far enough to observe a round in the chamber. Then, slowly ease the charging handle back forward and silently tap the forward assist ensuring that the round is fully seated in the chamber. Also, while you are checking to see if there is a round in the chamber you should also check to make sure that the weapon is properly lubricated. Place the magazine back into the weapon and insure it is seated properly by pushing the forward assist three times. Then make sure the weapon is still safe.
M320: Check all parts and ensure they are tied down in accordance with unit SOP. The M4 portion of the M320 will be prepared in the same manner that I have just previously described; in addition, you will also inspect the breech tube. To check the breach tube, place your hand over the left side of the tube. This will prevent the tube from swinging open loudly and potentially ejecting the 40mm round. Next, with your other hand, press up on the barrel release latch and slowly control the opening of the barrel, ensuring that the 40mm round does not fall out. Pull the round out and make sure you have the proper round loaded. Also inspect the inside of the tube to ensure there are no cracks or obstructions. Quietly slide the round back into the chamber and lock the tube back into position while making sure the weapon is on safe.
M249 SAW: Check all parts and ensure they are tied down in accordance with unit SOP. Check the M249 SAW for shiny areas and correct the deficiencies using a camouflage stick, black tape or black marker. If there are any pieces rattling you can tape it down or, in the case of a heat shield, remove it and place it in your rucksack to ensure it is tied down. Next ensure the bolt is locked to the rear and the weapon is on “SAFE”. Then place your left hand on the belt of ammo to control the rounds, raise the feed tray cover and remove the rounds from the feed tray. Then raise the feed tray and inspect the inside of the chamber and receiver for any brass, links or debris. Also ensure that the feeder paws in the feed tray cover are moving freely. Make sure the M249 is properly lubricated as well. Check the rounds to make sure that they are clean and free from dirt, rust or debris. Ensure that a full drum is loaded onto the weapon and that the rounds have been seated properly to the rear of the feed tray. Once this is done, then tilt the weapon to the right and slowly close the feed tray cover until the feed tray cover locks into place; again check that the weapon is on safe. The additional SAW drums should be in bandoleers or in the SAW pouches. Ensure that the lead team automatic rifleman takes his full combat load onto the OBJ.
M240B MG: Check the M240B for any shiny objects or loose parts and correct the deficiencies the same way as with the M249 SAW. Check all parts and ensure they are tied down in accordance with unit SOP. Place your left hand on the belt of ammo to control the rounds, raise the feed tray cover and remove the rounds from the feed tray. Raise the feed tray and inspect the inside of the chamber and receiver for any brass, links or debris. Also ensure that the feeder paws in the feed tray cover are moving freely. Make sure the M240B is properly lubricated as well. Ensure that the rounds are properly seated to the rear of the feed tray, and that a 100 round starter belt is loaded. Once this is done tilt the weapon to the right, slowly close the feed tray cover until the feed tray cover locks into place. Again check that the weapon is on “SAFE”. In addition to the 100 round starter belt, the AG will also have 500 rounds linked together for use in the ORP.
AT-4: will be inspected for serviceability prior to leaving the ORP. Inspect the fiberglass tube, sights, transport safety pin and firing mechanism for damage. Leave the sight covers open slightly for rapid deployment in the event it has to be used.
M18A1 Claymore mines: will be inspected for serviceability and accountability. Check all parts and ensure they are tied down in accordance with unit SOP. Also ensure the claymore wire is properly wound up around the spool.
EQUIPMENT
Special Equipment: A good technique is to use the acronym RTBNS, which stands for Radios, Tripod, Binos, NVGs, and Special equipment. A way to remember this acronym is “Ranger Training Battalion’s Never Soft”
Radios: For both the PRC-119 and other FM radios, the RTO needs to ensure that each radio has an extra battery and the radio and antenna are tied down properly. Prior to leaving the ORP, each soldier carrying a radio adjusts the volume knob and conducts a radio check so the squad knows that all radios are working and are on the right frequency. The RTO keeps the PRC-119.
Tripod: The assistant gunner fully extends the tripod with the T & E and pintle assembly already attached to the tripod and tied down.
Binos: Inspect the binos for serviceability then place the lanyard around the neck and ensure it is tied off to the non-firing shoulder of the FIGHTING LOAD CARRIER (FLC). You will also check the objective lens to make sure that they are taped in such a manner as to reduce the chance of glare that could give away your position. Make sure there is not too much tape and that it will still allow enough light to enter the objective lens to work properly.
NVGs: Each soldier attaches the PVS-14s to their helmet mounts and adjusts them. Then, each man places their hand over the objective lens (in order not to burn out the reticule) and turns the NVG on to ensure there is a green glow and that the device works. Each man should rotate the “ON” switch to IR and see the IR indicator light illuminate. Then place the NVG lanyard around their necks and tie them down to the non-firing shoulder of the FLC. Tie downs must not hamper the focusing of the NVGs. Then, each man places the NVGs around their neck utilizing the neck cord and places the NVGs inside of their ACU top. The M240B MG team should mount the PEQ-15/A on the M240B. The team ties the PEQ-15/A to the mount, ensures that it is serviceable, and confirms the team has an extra set of batteries for the PEQ-15A. Every man with NVGs has a set of extra batteries.
Special equipment: For a recon, the only special equipment is note taking materials. The SL, lead team TL, and lead team automatic rifleman have note taking materials so they can make a military sketch of the PIR on the OBJ. This note taking material needs to be weather-proofed so that rain cannot destroy the information. Special equipment for the trail TL includes a range card and note taking material. The range card is used to depict the sector of fire for the MG; the note taking material is used to create a copy of the range card and to create the squad sector sketch. The trail TL must be sure to note the locations of all weapons on his perimeter in the sector sketch (AT-4, Claymore mine, M320, etc). For an ambush, the different special teams should ensure they have the required equipment. EPW/Search: Ensure that you have enough gags, flex-cuffs, and blindfolds to secure at a minimum of 4 men each. Also you will have a flashlight or headlamp, in the event your NVGs become inoperable. Aid/Litter: Aid and litter teams will have a SKEDCO or Pole-less litter along with a CLS Bag and be familiar where the different items of equipment in the CLS bag are stored. Demo: Demo team will ensure that the charge and initiation system are carried, tied down in separate demo bags. You will not connect them with the British junction until the SL tells the Demo Team to do so on the OBJ, when we are preparing to withdraw.
This was a summary of how to properly prep M.W.E. at Ranger/Sapper School.
For more classes on squad tactics for Ranger/Sapper School visit our blog.
METT-TC is a mnemonic used by the military to help soldiers remember and prioritize what mission variables to analyze during the planning phase of any operation. METT-TC stands for Mission, Enemy, Terrain/Weather, Troops and Support Available, Time Available, and Civilian Considerations. This post will take you through all six factors of METT-TC, and discuss them in detail.
Mission
After receiving an order from your cadre, either in a warning order (WARNO) or in an operations order (OPORD), the leaders will begin to analyze the mission. They view all of the mission variables in terms of their impact on mission accomplishment. The mission is the task, together with the purpose, that clearly indicates the action needed and the reason for the action. It is always the first variable leaders consider during decision-making. A mission statement contains the, who, what, when, where, and why of the operation. Questions the leader should ask themselves:
Enemy
The second variable to consider is the enemy dispositions (including organization, strength, location, and tactical mobility), doctrine, equipment, capabilities, vulnerabilities, and probable courses of action. This information will come from paragraph one of the OPORD you receive from the Cadre. Leaders will take this information, decide how it applies to their mission and unit, and build their own paragraph one. Questions leaders should ask themselves are:
Terrain and Weather
Terrain and weather analysis are inseparable and directly influence each other’s impact on military operations. Terrain includes natural features (such as rivers and mountains) and man-made features (such as cities, airfields, and bridges). Leaders analyze terrain using the five military aspects of terrain, observation and fields of fire, avenues of approach, key and decisive terrain, obstacles, cover and concealment (OAKOC). The military aspects of weather include visibility, wind, precipitation, cloud cover, temperature, and humidity. Leaders delegate a subordinate to conduct this analysis while at Ranger or Sapper School. A good rule of thumb is to have a young officer do this because they usually cover terrain and weather analysis extensively in Basic Officer Leader Course or BOLC.
Troops and Support Available
This variable includes the number, type, capabilities, and condition of available friendly troops and support. Leaders get this information from paragraph one. Do not forget to take into account attachments and detachments. Questions leaders should ask themselves are:
Time Available
Leaders assess the time available for planning, preparing, and executing tasks and operations. This includes the time required to assemble, deploy, and maneuver units in relationship to the enemy and conditions. The leader’s analysis of the time available for an operation begins with the “one-third/two-thirds” rule of planning and preparation. This principle allows the leader to use one-third of planning and preparation time, then to allocate the remaining two-third to subordinates. At Ranger and Sapper School, your whole squad will work as a team to plan and prepare. As the leader, you will be responsible for ensuring that everyone is properly using the time available. Questions leaders should ask themselves are:
Civilian Considerations
Civil considerations are the influence of manmade infrastructure, civilian institutions, and activities of the civilian leaders, populations, and organizations within an area of operation on the conduct of military operations. Civil considerations comprise six characteristics, expressed as ASCOPE: areas, structures, capabilities, organizations, people, and events. The only time you may need to consider this is in Mountain Phase because from time to time a patrol runs into a hiker.
Here is an example of METT-TC from ATP 3-21.8 page 7-5
Then he said something that kind of pissed me off. Not at him, but at the people this promising soldier chose to hang around. He wasn't nervous because of how hard the training was going to be. He wasn't afraid to move with an 80 pound ruck up and down the mountains of Dahlonega, Georgia for ten days with little food or sleep. This young soldier was afraid of what people would say if he failed. He was worried about the judgement that he would receive from his peers.
First thing I said was that I was grateful that he came to me with his worry. I then told him that anytime you try to move from being ordinary to being exceptional, some people aren't going to like that. They will try to bring you down because when you strive to be great or do things that are challenging it makes them feel like shit. It shines light on all their inadequacies. This applies to everything in life.
Most may not even say it to your face. They'll go online and post about you behind your back like cowards. Don't let cowards bring you down. The best thing you can do is to ignore them. If they aren't willing to support you as you try to better yourself, then they are not worth your time.
The poet Rumi said, "Seek those who fan your flames." The translation for that is surround yourself with people who motivate and inspire you to be your best self. It is said that you become the combination of the five people who you hang around the most. I had him look through his phone and see who the last five people he talk too. I asked him, "are those people fanning your flames or are they pissing on them?"
The reason I'm sharing this story is because it is a perfect example of what it's like to fight mediocrity. Not everyone you know wants you to succeed. I don't mean to sound depressing, but it's true. It is your job to identify who wants what’s best for you and it’s your job to only allow those people around you.
For more blogs about physically and mentally preparing for Ranger School or Sapper Leader Course click the links below.
How I Passed Ranger, Sapper and SFAS
How to Motivate Yourself Each Morning
Formations and Order of Movement (FOOM)
If you need help getting your packing list together check out what we have to offer. Link below.
If you are looking for some rad civilian clothes check out our Civvies section
]]>If I were to give you a choice of a single penny that doubles everyday for 31 days or a million dollars in cash right now, which would you choose? Before you answer this seemingly odd question, let me ask and answer another question.
What is the fundamental factor to all the results in your life? If we were to boil everything down to the most core controlling element to all the results in your life, what would it be? The truth is that your life is controlled by one factor. There’s only one thing that will determine whether at the end of your life you end up living your dream or whether you end up living a monotonous existence. There’s one thing that determines whether you end up a hard mother fucker with a sleeve full of tabs or you end up someone who makes excuses of why you got screwed in life. Your whole life comes down to one thing. What’s the one thing?
It all comes down to choices. Your whole life is nothing but the accumulated compound effect of the choices you’ve made up to this moment. Right now, your waistline is nothing but the accumulated compound effect of the choices you’ve made up to this moment. The success in your career, the size of your bank account, the intimacy of the relationships in your life are all just an outcome of the compounded choices you’ve made up to this point.
Success in life or in a military course like Ranger School, Sapper Leader Course or Special Forces Assessment & Selection is not the result of some heroic feats. Nobody who has graduated the courses mentioned above did anything heroic to achieve those milestones. It is not some super human, grand act of bravery.
Success is a result of small, seemingly insignificant, moment-to-moment choices. The only thing that separates them from you is that accumulated compound effect of those little choices that created dramatic differences in results. These small choices add up to big gargantuan differences in results.
So let me ask the original question again. If I were to give you a choice of a single penny that doubles everyday for 31 days or a million dollars in cash right now, which would you choose? Before you answer I will sweeten the deal, a penny that doubles everyday for 31 days or 3 million dollars in cash right now, right here today. What would you do? Would you take the 3 million dollars?
Well let's say you were paying attention while you read the four paragraphs between the original question and when I sweetened the deal and you said, “Small things add up to big results. There’s a clue there. I better pick the small thing.” So you pick the penny, but your neighbor, the people who lives next door to you, picked the 3 million dollars in cash. So now, we’re going to proceed in life.
Five days from now, your choice of the compounding penny is totalling 16 cents, while your neighbor has 3 million dollars in cash and you can hear the parties going on. When you get ten days from now your penny is worth five dollars and twelve cents. It’s not until we get to day 31 that we see the dramatic outcome of the compounding penny, where your penny has turned into $10,737,000 compared to our neighbors measly $3 million.
Compound choices are the key to your success at military schools, but more importantly life. The choice you make between Day 1 and Day 2 is exactly the same simple, small, easy choice you make between Day 30 and Day 31, but the outcome of those choices are dramatically different.
Don’t look for the quick fix for success, happiness, and wealth. There’s no shortcut to greatness. There’s no quick fix for health. And there’s no freaking secret to passing Ranger School, Sapper School and Selection. You’re going to walk through a minefield of pain and disappointment day in and day out. Because success in life is earned one day at a time.
Everyday you lift your head off the pillow, you’re going to decide whether that day you are a success or you are a failure. In life, you’re either moving forward or you’re falling behind. One step at a time, in every choice you make, you are either going in the direction of success or you are going in the direction of failure. It is one decision at a time.
Don’t get me wrong, I know this is hard, because at the moment you’re making a choice, the consequences, the outcomes, and the results aren’t evident. So you can get faked out. The truth is that every single choice you make has somewhat of a “butterfly effect” This means that one little, itty, bitty choice now that is repeated daily can result in a tsunami in your life 10, 15 years later, either positive or negative.
Let’s take a step back, what’s the first choice you should make? The very first choice you should make is to have patience. Take a long term, big picture approach to life. Even though you don’t see the results in the moment, know that your daily discipline has ignited the compound effect and every choice you make towards your goal fuels it. This pattern will continue and in a year or two you won’t even recognize the person you were when you started.
This is the approach I took to preparing for Ranger, Sapper, and Selection. I always kept the big picture in mind, my end goal, but I focused on the day to day. On the choices I made, ensuring that they were going to keep me moving in the right direction. In land nav, you shoot your azimuth before you start counting pace. Your azimuth is the big picture mindset moving you to your long term goal. Your pace count is your daily discipline.
When I first enlisted in the military I couldn’t even pass the APFT and I managed to complete some of the Army’s hardest courses. You can accomplish anything if you maintain your daily discipline, and at the same time not lose sight of your end goal. Now go out and get after it.
For more blogs about physically and mentally preparing for Ranger School or Sapper Leader Course click the links below.
How to Motivate Yourself Each Morning
What it's Like to Fight Mediocrity
Formations and Order of Movement (FOOM)
If you need help getting your packing list together check out what we have to offer. Link below.
Sapper Leader Course Packing List
Thanks for talking the time to read this.
]]>In those days, I was not a naturally motivated person, but I had a goal. I wanted more than anything in the world to be a Sapper Qualified officer and show up to my unit with a tab. So I researched Sapper School, read about nutrition and did everything in my power to ensure that when the sun set I was one step closer to wearing that coveted tab.
One of the smallest and easiest things I did was listen to a motivation speech each morning. Below is the manuscript of that speech, which is called, "Rise & Shine - Welcome to the Grind."
"Rise and shine.
It's 6 a.m. (it was usually 4 or 5 when I woke up) and your hand can't make it to the alarm clock before the voices in your head start telling you that it's too early, too dark, and too cold to get out of bed.
Aching muscles lie still in rebellion, pretending not to hear your brain commanding them to move. A legion of voices are shouting their unanimous permission for you to hit the snooze button and go back to dreamland, but you didn't ask their permission.
The voice you've chosen to listen to is one of defiance. A voice that says, there was a reason you set that alarm in the first place, so sit up, put your feet on the floor and don't look back, because we've got work to do.
Welcome to the grind.
For what is each day, but a series of conflicts between the right way and the easy way. Ten thousand streams fan out like a river delta before you, each one promising the path of least resistance. The thing is, you’re headed upstream. When you make that choice and you decide to turn your back on what’s comfortable, what’s safe, and what some might call common sense.
Well that’s day one. From there it only gets tougher so just make sure this is something you want, because the easy way out will always be there ready to wash you away. All you have to do is pick up your feet.
But you aren’t going to quit. With each step comes the decision to take another. You’re on your way now, but this is no time to dwell on how far you’ve come. You’re in a fight against an opponent you can’t see, but you can feel them on your heels—can’t you? You can feel them breathing down your neck.
You know what that is? That’s you. Your fears, your doubts and insecurities all lined up like a firing squad ready to shoot you out of the sky, but don’t lose heart. While they’re not easily defeated they are far from invisible.
Remember this is the GRIND. The battle royale between you and your mind and body and the devil on your shoulder that’s telling you that, “this is just a game, this is just a waste of time, your opponents are stronger than you.”
Drown out the voice of uncertainty with the sound of your own heart beat. Burn away your self-doubt with the fire lit beneath you. Remember what you’re fighting for, and never forget that momentum is a cruel mistress. She can turn on a dime or with the smallest mistake. She is ever searching for the weakness in your armor. That one tiny place you forgot to prepare for.
So as long as the devil is hiding in the details the question remains, “is that all you got? Are you sure?” When the answer is yes. When you’ve done all you can to prepare yourself for battle. Then it’s time to go forth and boldly face your enemy, the enemy within.
Only now you must take that fight into the open, into hostile territory. You’re a lion in a field of lions all hunting the same elusive prey with a desperate starvation that says, “victory is the only thing that can keep you alive.”
So believe that voice that says, “you can run a little bit faster, you can throw a little harder, and for you the laws of physics are merely a suggestion.”
Luck is the last dying wish of those who want to believe that winning can happen by accident. Sweat on the other hand is for those who know it’s a choice. So decide now, because destiny waits for no man.
When your time comes and a different thousand voices are trying to tell you that you’re not ready for it. Listen instead to that lone voice of dissent, the one that says, “You are ready. You are prepared. It’s all up to you now, so rise and shine.”
After listening to this speech, I would roll out of bed and drink a glass of water that I had set out the night before. Then I went on my way. Once I completed Sapper and earned the tab this speech didn't quite motivate me like it did before, but I continued to use this technique as I moved on to bigger and better things. Never get complacent. Stay hard and go out and get after it.
Note: If you need help getting your packing list together check out what we have to offer. Link below.
Thanks for taking time to read this.
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