Ranger Challenge

This upcoming fall I will be attending the University of Minnesota and will be a part of Army ROTC. Within minutes of research I was determined to be a part of the Ranger Challenge Team. What does it take to make this team and how can I prepare?

Any feedback on the Ranger Challenge is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

RC

As with just about all manners AROTC I think you will find a great deal of variance from battalion to battalion. One constant I think is that there will not be many MSI's on the team. And for good reason. RC takes a great deal of extra time, and if you're a freshman, you'll have other fish to fry. Get good grades. Max out PT. Get your feet wet in college, then consider RC.

I know for my DS' battalion you are not considered for RC unless you max out the PT test first.

There may not be many MSIs on the team, but by regulation there has to be at least one. A good PT score (preferably max) on day one will go a long way toward helping you get on the team.

I highly recommend it for any one who is interested - if it's anything like my DS's team, you will learn a ton and have a blast in the process.

There is no regulation regarding the makeup of the RC teams...each Brigade comes up with their own way of running the competition each year. You might want to contact your future Battalion and ask how they choose their team. If I were to get such a question from one of my incoming freshmen I would put them in contact with the Captain of the team for this fall. Our team starts training from day one of the semester (in fact the upper classmen come a week early). As nofodad said though, make sure you are taking care of business before you pour a ton of time into something that will mean nothing the day you graduate. It sounds sexy, but Ranger Challenge isn't something you are every going to put on your resume.

Clarkson is partially correct. While 7th Bde requires every team have an MSI and a female, yours might be different. Regardless, if it's something you're interested in, by all means put in the work and do your best to get on the team. I don't know anyone who does RC for their resume'. Most do it for the additional knowledge and PT, the competition, and the camaraderie of being on a team.

Joining Ranger Challenge as an MS2 had an undeniably positive effect on Cadet Delahanty's resume, though it was indirect. By participating in the team' s more rigorous physical training, he was able to markedly improve his APFT score. This boosted his OML standing within the battalion, which in turn made him eligible for choice summer training such as Airborne, as well as (the less competitive) CULP.

Among other benefits, it gave him exposure to an elite, highly-motivated core of the battalion and brought him to the attention of the cadre.

clarksonarmy said:

As nofodad said though, make sure you are taking care of business before you pour a ton of time into something that will mean nothing the day you graduate.

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+1

Just be careful freshman year, trying to take on everything thinking you can handle it. Believe, it happened to me.

I took on an extra class, which coming in to college, I thought wouldn't be a big deal. ... how wrong was I. And because of it, it tanked my GPA a bit. That's another thing; it's much harder to dig yourself out of a hole, than to dig it.

It's hard to be able to understand this until you get to college in the fall. Trust me, it's nothing like high school. Now you have to focus on getting the good grades that will get you your job (Army or civilian), maintaining your fitness, etc. And then there's the social life: parties, opposite gender, campus activities, and anything and everything else in between.

Don't put all your money into one pot. Basically, don't just tunnel vision on RC. That's great that you want to do it, but remember you can only do RC if you have good grades. And that goes to for applying for an on-campus scholarship. If you don't have the grades, you're not getting a scholarship.

You're about to start Army during a time of downsizing. That means less funding, less funding = less scholarships. There's another thread on here that discusses cutting pay for CULP deployment. And who knows what will take a hit next, could very well be stipend money for all we know.

Grades play a significant role for your Battalion ranking (called the Order of Merit List, OML). It's weighted (at least up to last year) at 40% of your OML.

So if you don't have the grades, say good bye to Airborne, Air Assault, and all the other gee-whiz summer training opportunities out there.

But hey, good luck at Minnesota this fall. You're going to love ROTC, regardless if you do RC. Show up with a smile on your face, motivation, and willingness to learn and you'll do great.