Over the years I have listened, read, and engaged in great debates over what Ranger School is. It is the military’s premier leadership school, a small unit tactics school (advanced infantry school), a worthless waste of time, a smoke fest, and the list goes on. While I was in the military, I took a more pessimistic view. I did a lot to avoid going even though I knew I would have to at some point if I wanted to stay in Ranger Regiment. To me, it was a colossal waste of time that took me away from training and/or deploying with my men. The school had nothing to offer me that I did not already know. It was an antiquated right of passage to stay in Regiment. My thoughts were only reinforced when both my First Sergeant and Sergeant Major’s speeches were basically, “Ranger School is worthless, you will not learn anything, but you have to go, so just go and get it over with and come back to the real shit.”
Prior to Ranger School, Regiment guys go to SURT (Small Unit Ranger Tactics, aka “pre-ranger”). Basically, the instructors (Regiment guys) tell us they are going to teach us how to do shit in Ranger School because Regiment is much different. The School way was addressed with many derogatory terms by instructors and students alike
While attending Ranger School I hated my life. I felt like everything Ranger School had to offer I had already been taught but better. I was two Ranger deployments deep during GWOT. I had trained for and seen combat. I had led other men and been taught by some of the greatest legends and leaders. I toughed it out and left feeling like I had wasted months of my life. I was also out of shape on the precipice of another deployment. I always hated sending guys to School, especially if they came back with a permanent injury (broken leg, knee, ACL, etc) because it took them away from quality training and they returned out of shape.
As the years have passed, I have repeatedly looked back at my military stint. I have reflected upon what I learned, good, bad, and everything in between. What I have come to realize is there was only one school I ever attended that was absolutely hands down a complete waste of time (I still get pissed just writing these words), the Warrior Leadership Course. My experience was nothing more than punching a clock and checking boxes. For those few weeks, I listened to a lot of angry music, cussed a lot, and was quite frankly the angriest I have ever been (I hate wasting time).
I can say that I did not learn much in Ranger School that pertained to my military pursuits. Everything School had to offer I had already done or would not do again. I would still say that lower enlisted and butter bars stand to learn a lot from School. It really does force people to do things like make tough decisions (tactical and otherwise), motivate others, and build trust under austere conditions. Having spoken to a lot of fellow veterans and service members, I also think it pertains much more to the greater military experience. For these reasons and others, I would still say Ranger School truly is a leadership and advanced infantry school (though I see room for improvement in leadership training).
What I have found, however, is that Ranger School taught me a lot about leadership in the civilian world. In Regiment, I was among highly motivated individuals who would get Released For Standards (RFS) for just about any violation or reason. You were constantly having to prove your value from beginning to end. We continuously received tons of training on all sorts of topics and constantly deployed. In Ranger School, there were special operations guys, members of other branches, butter bars fresh out of OCS, and all sorts of personalities. I agree with Viktor Frankl (Holocaust survivor and psychologist) when he says people’s true personalities come out under extreme conditions. When people are exhausted and starving, who they really are comes out. I experienced this firsthand in Ranger School.
In the civilian world, you do not get highly motivated individuals who have to constantly prove themselves or risk getting RFSed. What you often get is an eclectic group of personalities and standards that seem like only suggested guidelines. More and more I think back to my Ranger School experiences on having to lead some people that were, quite honestly, worthless cheats and lazy freeloaders (stole food from others, slept on duty, argued with everything, most of us know the types). I think back to wanting those same people to be their best because our team was only as strong as our weakest person. I learned a lot about both resenting someone and giving them everything I could to help them succeed and change for the better, if only for the success of the team. A great team could sink because of one bad member.
As a police officer, I have encountered many, quite honestly, worthless cheating, and lazy freeloading officers. Despite my deep distain for these officers, I think back to Ranger School. I think back on how to motivate them and provide whatever I can to help them, if only for the success of the team. More and more I have shifted my leadership style away from the high-performing Regiment style to the Ranger School style.
In Regiment, there were fundamental understandings and trust among one another. There were some things never questioned and always proven. The leadership commanded with very few words. Each and every Ranger almost knew when and what to do at every moment. Like a professional football team, they only needed to know which play they were running, and the rest had been systematically rehearsed into automation.
The Ranger School style is built on the foundation of weak links. It requires constant checks and rechecks. Each and every movement needs a detailed explanation and parroted response to ensure comprehension. The Ranger School style fits into the reality that most standards are not enforced, and people are hardly fired in the civilian world, especially in government work. Unfortunately, in the civilian world, Ranger School might have thought me much more than I ever knew.
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Jake Smith is a law enforcement officer and former Army Ranger with four deployments to Afghanistan.
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