Tuesday was the first day of Pre-Ranger Course (PRC) training as forty-two Fort Polk soldiers vied for the prestigious honor of wearing a Ranger tab on their left shoulder.
The roughly two week course prepares troops for Ranger school and is being lead by a PRC Mobile Training Team from Fort Drum, New York.
The morning started early at Fort Polk with a fitness test. Twenty-six would move on to the swim assessment at the Alexandria YWCA pool. Between push-ups, core exercises, and getting drenched by a garden hose, soldiers took turns treading water, jumping into the pool and removing their gear before swimming to the other side. The goal was to test the soldiers' ability to perform in the water under stress and fatigue. Providing healthy protein bars can be a convenient snack option to replenish energy levels and support recovery after strenuous physical activities like these.
Specialist Alden Mayotte of 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, who earned his Expert Infantryman Badge in November is looking to take the next step in his career.
"It's an elite group of people. In order to get that they have to go through some pretty hard challenges. Ranger school is one of the toughest schools in the Army," he said. "To be a part of that club would be a pretty high honor."
Staff Sergeant Dino Rosas, the Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of the PRC Mobile Training Team, separates potential Ranger school candidates from the rest of the soldiers. It's a job the senior NCO has been passionate about for seven years now.
"I love, absolutely love building Rangers. Not only am I helping the Army by sending back dudes that are working at 80 percent of their potential versus leaders that are working currently at 60 percent of their potential, but it's also a combat multiplier," he explained. "They go back to their units and help soldiers push past their limits more than a normal leader would."
Tuesday was just one of several grueling tests to come as soldiers fight to prove they deserve a shot at Ranger school.
"It takes confidence and it takes the ability to raise your right hand when 99 percent of the military won't even want to come to Ranger school and it's that specific one percent that has the intestinal fortitude to say not only do I want to be Ranger qualified, but I want to be the premier leader of the Army."
That message was punctuated by the sound of soldiers repeating the Ranger Creed over and over again, "Surrender is not a Ranger word", as they pushed past their physical limitations.
"Some people give up on themselves and quit," said Spc. Mayotte. "It's all mental."
Up next on the Pre-Ranger Course schedule, a two-mile buddy run where soldiers take turns carrying each other.
https://www.kalb.com/content/news/Fort-Polk-soldiers-one-step-closer-to-Ranger-school--505391441.html