question

[Exodus]

i am just finishing up my freshman year in college. considering army rotc at my college. what i was curios about was, can i get commissioned as a officer in the army and still be in the rangers? the reason i ask is, most of the time when u hear about special forces you hear about enlisted men. i was just curios that as a officer if i can still be apart of the rangers.

also curios about which route would be the smartest in terms of going into the rangers. should i wait to graduate college then enlist and get a contract? or go rotc then go in after commissioning?

my goal is to join a federal group in the end, JTTF or Secret Service. if i dont fall in love with military life first

appreciate any advice, answers, etc. thanks again

Exodus

[CFHSNJROTC]

Well yes you could go into special forces as an officer In operational detachment alpha.
.
Here are some of the mission type these guys perform .
Counter-Terrorism
Special Forces are often deployed to preclude, preempt and resolve terrorist incidents abroad. They prevent, deter and respond to terrorist activities and train other nations' military in the basics of fighting terrorism.

Direct Action
Direct Action missions are short duration strikes that are used when Special Forces want to seize, capture, recover or destroy enemy weapons and information or recover designated personnel or material.

Foreign Internal Defense
This mission is used to organize, assist and train the military and national defense forces of foreign governments to protect their citizens from aggressors.

Special Reconnaissance
These intelligence-gathering activities monitor as much about the enemy's movement and operations as possible.

Unconventional Warfare
Special Forces have long employed the use of Unconventional Warfare (UW), a.k.a. guerilla warfare, to train, equip, advise and assist forces in enemy-held or controlled territory.

[Covertness]

AAARRRGGGGHHHH!!! That makes two in two days...............

That's Ranger cheese dick. Show some respect.

Officers in a Ranger Bat are only there for a rotation. Around 3 years or so. Then they are off to another assignment. Officers in the Special Forces typically stay in Special Forces.

[Exodus]

hehe lucky number 3 come across yet?

from when i sign a contract if i enlisted what is the general timeline for a Ranger? like is it generally a 8 year active duty commitment? also i had heard from some source. not sure about its truthfullness they are talking about training reserve Rangers.


Exodus

[Covertness]

There are no Rangers in the Reserves or National Guard.

Pretty sure the minimum committment today is four years active duty and four years inactive reserve. Check a recruiter for sure. Thought you wanted to be an officer? Why in hell would you want to be a Ranger?

[CFHSNJROTC]

Covert I think hes confused and doesn't know what he wants .

[Bronco1986]

with ROTC there are two main ways to go and get contracted. Scholarship or Simultaneous Membership Program(join Army Reserves or Army National Guard and get contracted that way.) Best way to find out about those is talk to your recruiting/administration officer at you school's AROTC battalion.

As far as being a Ranger Officer? Its fairly common for combat arms officers(and occasional others) to go through Ranger School and get the Tab (all Infantry officers go through). I think the term used is "Paper Ranger." Covert can probably confirm that. Alot less common to actually serve in one of the Battalions. I dont know the details, but i do know you have to be one squared away LT. So yes, it is quite possible to go to Ranger School as an officer, alot less likely you will actually lead enlisted Rangers.

and every contract i have seen or heard about is like Covert said, 8 years.

also curios about which route would be the smartest in terms of going into the rangers. should i wait to graduate college then enlist and get a contract? or go rotc then go in after commissioning?

those are two different paths. to be an officer in your case you need to go through ROTC, if you want to enlist and take a shot after college on becoming a Ranger thats different. You need to decide for yourself what you want to be? An officer or enlisted? to different paths with different positives and negatives. I dont know enough about going enlisted to say anything, but if you want to go officer by way of AROTC, i'll write you a book.

[Exodus]

awesome! ty for the feedback. yeah i think in reality i really want to be a Ranger more so than an officer. the main reason is i want to be in law enforcement, which is what im working on in college right now, criminal justice. anyhow i am looking into going s.w.a.t. after some time in the police or going federal and looking at J.T.T.F. - join terrorist task force with the f.b.i.

looking at the facts i beleive Ranger training and the job would better suite me for the future. so the new question,

is it better to go reserve while im in college and take advantage of the tuition money or wait till i get out of college and attempt for a R.I.F. contract?

thanks again,

Exodus

[CadetFredendall]

Well the min. contract for 99% of MOS's across the board with the ARNG (not sure about Reserves) is a 3 active, 5 inactive split. They also do 4/4 and 6/2, so if you enlist while in college you'll either need to re-enlist while still in college (and have time left after college) or still have a few years left on a 4/4 or 6/2 contract. You also can be (will be if you're combat arms) deployed to the AOR, so keep that in mind in your college plans.

[Field_Sailor]

I don't understand the comment, "I want to be a Ranger more than an Officer." Why not be an Infantry Officer? If you get assigned to the Regiment great, if not, being an Infantry Officer is an awesome job. You are assigned as a leader of a combat entity. Not to dissuade you, but there are a lot of options. As an officer, you can go through selection an be an officer in SF.

[Bronco1986]

Exodus, your pretty much on the same page as me. I'm a criminal justice/sociology major aswell. Looking to go into one of the federal agencies after my time in the Army(if i dont stick around for a career). If you dont want to be an officer, if i were you i would wait to enlist and try and get a Ranger contract when i'm out of college. That way you could finish college with no interruptions(deployment) and enlist after graduation with a 4-year degree. Which would make you an E-4 Specialist when you graduate basic. Then go onto all that other hooah stuff. Taking it one step at a time on your way to becoming a Ranger. Thats what I would do, in fact if i had not got a ROTC scholarship, that would be my plan almost exactly. Do what you think is right.

[Exodus]

yeah i see how i phrased that. sorry bout that

when i get out of the Military i am looking into going tactical with Law Enforcement. I guess my gut feeling was that Special Forces, Rangers was the route that would best prepare me for what i would find out in the civilian crime world.

i truely beleive that i have the mental strength and mindset to make it in a Ranger Battalion. i just wonder if being an Officer limits me to mission work out in the feild "IF" i make it through Ranger school.

personally i want to be the guns on the ground and the man cutting the necks. not the one calling the shots behind a desk you could say. (not dogging on Officers. Just i always perceived enlisted to be the primary S.F. on the ground)

again i really do appreciate everyones input.


edit: u posted almost same time as me bronco. hehe. yeah i agree. i think waiting till after college and enlisted will be my best route. no point in chopping college into peices. might as well suck it up and get it done.