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Subject: US Army Rangers or Green Berets
GOP    8/1/2005 1:52:37 PM
Although the Rangers are considered a SOF group, they are basically highly trained light infantry (some consider them the best light infantry in the world). Green Berets are considered a more elite and more highly trained group, designed for DA, SR, and the training of foreign militaries/insurgent groups. I have two questions: 1) The US Army Rangers have, from what I have read, tougher training then the Green Berets. Is this true, and if so, how are the Green Berets more elite? 2) If your goal is to be in Delta force, which of the two organizations would be the better choice to get to Delta? The Rangers work with Delta force alot as a blocking/security force, and the Green Berets are more of a classical special ops group.
 
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GOP    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - EW3   9/25/2005 11:58:42 PM
2 questions about SERE training... 1) What kind of beatings did they give you (did they hit you in the face with a baseball bat, for example? Are they allowed to hurt you?) 2) What is water boarding?
 
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EW3    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - EW3   9/26/2005 12:28:46 AM
1) No the beatings were in my mind not that bad. We would get interogated and if the interogator was not happy with the answer he'd throw you against the wall or over his desk. He'd also take shots at you abs and ribs and do other stuff like that. 2) The waterboard was the worse. There are a lot of ways to do it but what I went through was being tied down on a board, a wet T-shirt was put over my face, and then water was poured onto the T-shirt. At the same time a couple guys kicked my ribs and stomach to force air out of me. Choice was to talk or pass out. Very, very few people pass out. And if they do, they just do it over again. And again. And again. It's a very traumatic experience and would not wish it on my worse enemy.
 
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Horsesoldier    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - EW3   9/26/2005 12:27:41 PM
>>My college is already payed for and money is not an issue, so I will probably go to the University of Alabama and go in the Army ROTC program<< University of Alabama? You don't happen to be from Alabama (or Mississippi or Florida) by chance, are you? If so you might want to look into being involved with the National Guard while you're finishing high school and doing college -- 20th Special Forces Group has a number of units in that chunk of the country. Might give you some exposure to the SF community, a chance to talk to some team guys and support people, see what SF officers do (well, what they do in the National Guard, anyway) and such. Once you get to college you could look into the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) which is where you are enrolled in college ROTC but also a member of a National Guard unit and function as a sort of an officer trainee. If you could get on as an SMP with some element of 20th Group, especially the line units (there's part of an SF company in Decatur and a whole company in Auburn, both of which are a couple of hours from Tuscaloosa) you'd likely get a very good introduction to SF training and operations. Or you could look at joining Group as an Rep 63 NQP -- you'd be assigned to either Alpha Company in Auburn or Det 1, Bravo Company in Decatur and either unit would get you thoroughly trained up and conditioned for selection. You could start college, take some time off for the Q Course, finish college, and then be a 23 or 24 year old E-6 with an SF tab and a whole lot of options.
 
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GOP    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - Horse Soldier   9/26/2005 1:57:13 PM
I am from Alabama, and have lived here my whole life. I have college paid for through PACT program, so I will definitely have a oppurtunity to go to college. Alabama is definitely my choice, because I am a huge football fan (season ticket holder) and my Family supports the university. I have heard about the SF reservist, but didn't know much about them. >" so you might want to look into being involved with the National Guard while you're finishing high school and doing college -- 20th Special Forces Group has a number of units in that chunk of the country. Might give you some exposure to the SF community, a chance to talk to some team guys and support people, see what SF officers do (well, what they do in the National Guard, anyway) and such. Once you get to college you could look into the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP) which is where you are enrolled in college ROTC but also a member of a National Guard unit and function as a sort of an officer trainee. If you could get on as an SMP with some element of 20th Group, especially the line units (there's part of an SF company in Decatur and a whole company in Auburn, both of which are a couple of hours from Tuscaloosa) you'd likely get a very good introduction to SF training and operations. Or you could look at joining Group as an Rep 63 NQP -- you'd be assigned to either Alpha Company in Auburn or Det 1, Bravo Company in Decatur and either unit would get you thoroughly trained up and conditioned for selection. You could start college, take some time off for the Q Course, finish college, and then be a 23 or 24 year old E-6 with an SF tab and a whole lot of options."< I like these options alot, but what kind of commitment do you have to make to be in the reserves? If I did this, got the SF tab, and was still in the reserve unit after college, how could I go to being active duty SF?
 
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Horsesoldier    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - Horse Soldier   9/26/2005 4:41:09 PM
>>I am from Alabama, and have lived here my whole life. I have college paid for through PACT program, so I will definitely have a oppurtunity to go to college. Alabama is definitely my choice, because I am a huge football fan (season ticket holder) and my Family supports the university. I have heard about the SF reservist, but didn't know much about them.<< Currently there's 19th and 20th Groups in the National Guard, with 20th Group generally located in the SE USA (+/- a couple of companies up north). In Alabama there are units in Birmingham, Huntsville, Decatur, Auburn, and Mobile. >>I like these options alot, but what kind of commitment do you have to make to be in the reserves? If I did this, got the SF tab, and was still in the reserve unit after college, how could I go to being active duty SF? << If you were an SMP, going active would depend on your performance on the ROTC side of things and if you were offered active duty, as I understand it. ROTC is not guaranteed to provide active duty military service (you may end up commissioned in a reserve component), but if things remain more or less like they are today that would be the safe way to bet in general (and safer still if you've got good grades, PT scores, and positive leadership evals and such while doing ROTC). If you went Rep 63 and completed the Q Course and such you could, from there, go active duty, though that might be a bit of a touchy subject (National Guard SF units, like the active duty side of the house, are always looking for team guys, especially in the commo and medical specialties). It can be done (and has been) done, though. Once you have an SF tab (especially medical and commo, again) you become something of a hot commodity, even more so if you can get some additional specialized training on your resume.
 
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EW3    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - GOP some SEAL humor   9/28/2005 4:46:06 PM
Two things Navy SEALS are always taught... Two things Navy SEALS are always taught: 1. Keep your priorities in order 2. Know when to act without hesitation A college professor, and devoted atheist, and active in the ACLU, was teaching his class. He shocked several of his students when he flatly stated that once and for all he was going to prove there was no God. Addressing the ceiling he shouted: "GOD, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes!!!!! The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by. " I'm waiting God, if you're real knock me off this platform!!!!" Again after 4 minutes, the professor taunted God saying, "Here I am, God!!! I'm still waiting!!!" His count down got down to the last couple of minutes when a SEAL, just released from the Navy after serving in Afghanistan and Iraq and newly registered in the class, walked up to the Professor. The SEAL hit him full force in the face, and sent the professor tumbling from his lofty platform. The Professor was out cold!! The students were stunned and shocked. They began to babble in confusion. The SEAL nonchalantly took his seat in the front row and sat silent. The class looked at him and fell silent...waiting. Eventually, the professor came to and was noticeably shaken. He looked at the SEAL in the front row. When the professor regained his senses and could speak he asked: "What the hell is the matter with you, why did you do that? "God was really busy, protecting America's soldiers, who are protecting your right to say stupid sh** and act like an a**hole...so he sent me!!" from: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1493086/posts
 
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GOP    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - GOP some SEAL humor -LOL   9/28/2005 7:19:02 PM
LOL
 
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EW3    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - GOP Marine Recon are tough   10/11/2005 9:10:32 PM
MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va(Aug. 22, 2005) -- Throughout the annals of Marine Corps history, inspired quotations have framed the heroics of great Marines, transforming passing moments into epic legends to be forever retold and celebrated by the generations of warriors who follow. Never to be forgotten is the rallying cry of Gunnery Sgt. Dan Daly at the Battle of Belleau Wood, France, on June 4, 1918: “Come on you son’s of bitches! Do you want to live forever?” Eternally remembered is the retort of Capt. Lloyd Williams three days earlier to a French officer at the suggestion that the Marines withdraw from an entrenched fighting position north of Lucy-le-Bocage, France: “Retreat? Hell! We just got here!” And renown among all Leathernecks are the words of perhaps the most celebrated Marine, Lt. Gen Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, at the Chosin Reservoir, Korea, in the Winter of 1950. Puller, then a colonel, learned Chinese forces had completely surrounded his 1st Marine Division, and reportedly told a journalist, “Now we can fire in any direction. The bastards won’t get away this time!” So too will a contemporary Marine be remembered, not only for his extraordinary act of courage and composure under fire, but for a few plainly spoken words that captured the hearts of citizens and generals alike: “Sir, I couldn’t pass out. I was in charge.” Spoken by then Cpl. James Wright, these simple words epitomized the fighting spirit of the Marine NCO. Wright, now a sergeant, was retelling the harrowing experience of how he lost both hands and suffered wounds to a leg in an insurgent ambush in Iraq from his hospital bed at Bethesda National Naval Medical Center. Sitting at his bedside was Major Gen. Thomas S. Jones, Training and Education Command commanding general, who was visiting wounded veterans at the hospital that day. Jones listened to the young reconnaissance Marine explain how he continued to lead his Marines in returning fire and eventually out of the kill zone. Amazed, the general asked how he managed to keep from going into shock and passing out. Wright replied, “Sir, I couldn’t pass out. I was in charge.” As a corporal, Wright was the assistant team leader with Company B, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, when his patrol came under intense small arms, mortar and rocket propelled grenade fire in an insurgent ambush. Wright immediately took action, returning fire with his M-249 Squad Automatic Weapon, until an RPG hit his humvee. The blast severed both of Wright’s hands and severely wounded his left leg. Incredibly, Wright maintained his composure, instructing his Marines to use a radio to call for help and to apply tourniquets to his wounds. Wright also directed his Marines to concentrate fire on enemy machine gun positions, assisting in the demise of 26 enemy fighters. For his actions, Wright was later presented the Bronze Star Medal with combat distinguishing device for valor. Now facing a medical board that will likely end his career, Wright refuses to sit idly by. The Marine was offered, and eagerly accepted, a job as a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor at the Martial Arts Center of Excellence here for at least the next several months until he is medically retired from the Marine Corps. Wright said he was grateful for the chance to return a sense of normalcy to his life. “As active as I was as a Marine, it wasn’t in my nature to be sitting around (the hospital) doing nothing,” said Wright. “For me to have the opportunity to come back to work has reintroduced me to my life and my passion to be a Marine. I’m grateful for them giving me a chance to come down here. They didn’t know what to expect, so it was a big step on their part.” Lieutenant Col. Joseph Shusko, MCMAP director, said Wright is an excellent addition to the instructor cadre at the MACE. “His character is such that we want him to stay here because he is doing so much for the Corps,” said Shusko. “When he sits and talks to the Marines about exactly what happened to him and he doesn’t pull any punches, that’s all character. It’s beautiful to see and it’s coming from his heart.” Master Gunnery Sgt. Shane Franklin, MCMAP staff noncommissioned officer-in-charge, said Wright’s contributions to the instructor staff aren’t limited to teaching classes on values and ethics. “He has an obvious limitation with dual hooks, but he can execute all the hand techniques and grappling techniques with modifications,” said Franklin. “Everyone has treated him like any other Marine sergeant. He gets his fair share of knocks in the mat room, but you would never know he was any different than anyone else here.” Jack Hoban, MCMAP subject matter expert, said Wright’s character makes him an excellent choice to instruct other Marines. “The common perception of martial arts is that it’s a bunch of techniques. So your first thought i
 
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GOP    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - GOP Marine Recon are tough   10/12/2005 12:19:45 AM
Marines just seem to be a different breed. I always get chills when I read about the qoute by 'Chesty'. Marines just seem to be warriors. I am reading the book Fortune favors the Brave that talks about Force Recon (1st Force Recon battalion), and I am starting to think that they are as good as the other branch's SOF. The USMC is definitely my favorite branch, because of people like Cpl. James Wright. >"makes me sick that Kerry has a Silver star and 3 purple hearts."< Me too. We have people like Cpl. James Wright who have recieved no medal for their injuries and bravery, but Kerry has 3 for minor injuries
 
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EW3    RE:US Army Rangers or Green Berets - GOP Marine Recon are tough   10/12/2005 12:51:09 AM
The USMC refused for several years to contribute to SOFCOM(?). Their view was, and is all Marines are equals. Even pilots have to go through USMC bootcamp and then spend a year with a ground unit before flight school. There are no finer people then Marines (and I'm Navy!). They don't need to be associated with elite units, they are Marines.
 
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