Ranger Loadout: Mental Toughness

Throughout my entire Military carer I was challenged both physically, and mentally. However, it was always my mental toughness that saw me through whatever hardship I was facing. I watched PT (physical training) studs wash-out of various attrition schools because they lacked mental toughness.

I wasn’t the best Ranger, nor was I the worst. I wasn’t the strongest, or fastest, but there wasn’t anything you could do to make me quit, or to break me. I wanted to be a Ranger more than I had wanted anything in my life, and I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to get it. That being said, there were obstacles I had to overcome, probably similar to any other man who made it to Ranger Regiment.

I always wondered why they put us through so much sh#t during training, couldn’t they already figure out who really wanted to be there? Or, who they thought would be a good fit? The realization of the why, came to me during Operation Red Wings. Made famous by Lone Survivor, during Operation Red Wings my platoon (1st Plt Cco 2/75 RGR RGT) was tasked with roping down to secure the crash site (of the QRF force), and subsequently searching for any survivors of the missing SEAL team. We were the first to reach the crash site.

Read More- Loadout Room

Image courtesy of wunc.org