I've had a lot of time to reflect on ranger school lately.  I certainly didn't appreciate the full value of the experience while I was in it which is very understandable--while you are there all you want to do is get out of there.

Getting the tab is important for career reasons because it's considered very important in the infantry.  People  judge you for it.  That's not the important part though.  There are some great people that don't have the tab and some terrible people that do.  Anyone that has the tab will have a basic level of toughness and discipline though.

What's really important about the experience is the growth I got from it.  You really get perspective on what is required of you as a soldier in difficult circumstances.  Doing the right thing--the things that will make your unit an effective fighting force--is completely counter-intuitive in those circumstances.  The stress on you is such you just want to shut down.  The monkey chatter in your head--the endless stream of thoughts on nothing in particular that keeps you from being present in the moment--is constantly going on and on reminding you about how tired and hungry you are.  Eventually though you realize the monkey chatter is not who you are.  There's a deeper part that is much stronger than that, and learning not to listen to the monkey chatter is so important not just in Ranger school but life.

 


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