Teamwork

I would say that one particular thing was
just the emphasis that we put on the team, the team aspect that you yourself are not
going to get a “go” at Ranger School. It is everyone else around you that is going
to get that “go” for you. So in life, how you take that back to the
unit is how do we get mission success real world by incorporating the whole team using
every individual to their maximum potential to accomplish this mission. So building teams which is a function of being
a leader, you should know and be intimately familiar with who you are working with. Put them in the right jobs and use that. I have only been back at my unit for a short
time and I’ll be moving on, but I can see already even being back that I paid more attention
to where that person was from and what motivated them to do what they needed to do because
now I can use that and I can use their motivation to motivate them and get them to move forward
and do the job that they are required to do and be part of that team working towards the
mission. So honestly, the team building aspect of it,
learning what it is to motivate others to reach a common goal was only made better by going to a school like that where you are put in that environment. I think you have to, you have to fit in in
the sense that you have to find where you fit in. So you can’t be the sandbag, you can’t be
the tired guy, initially. You have to go in there with a fire and
you have to realize that every day initially you’re being judged and sized up with everyone
around you. So you have to prove your worth. I think that that is a good thing. I should want as a professional to show people
that I am worthy of being here. I want to be a leader. I want to challenge myself. I want to challenge you and I want us all
to come to the same goal and conclusion which is getting our tab together. So from RAP (Ranger Assessment Phase) week
is where it starts in showing up. I think everyone is apprehensive because you
don’t know. I mean I was the female and I was looking
at all the guys like I really hope I get that guy
he is big he can carry stuff. You know everyone’s thinking about these things. And what they were thinking about me I don’t
know, but what I do know is that after RAP week and the squad
that I was a part of was pretty darn happy to have me because I was going to be just
as beneficial just as helpful as anyone else. That I wasn’t going to be the weakest link
and RAP week allowed me to prove that. That I wasn’t going to be the least competent
because I was trained prior to going. As in taking full advantage of the institution
I came from, West Point. By committing myself to being a professional
whether it is tactically and technically proficient. And showing that I was worth my weight as
an officer and that I could use this and move forward and be a benefit to the team. So it didn’t take long and every phase it
even gets better. You get closer, you get to know each other
and you really learn how to rely on each other. Not everybody has a good day every day. You are going to have a bad day and I ended
up having mine too, but my squad was then there willing to take a little bit of extra
slack from me because they knew that that wasn’t the norm. That they could rely on me and that today
was just a bad day and I did the same for them. You know I remember the second time that I
went through Darby there was this one batboy Biggs who, you know we took a casualty and he took the casualty’s ruck sack because you got to carry that too right. So you get four guys on a litter carrying
the one guy but somebody has to carry the ruck so he put it on his front and he was
about six foot three and he just walked pretty much the rest of the patrol. And all of us where just so relieved because
it was like thank God he’s got it. And he looked like he was having no problem. And then I had this moment, and then he got
a “go” on that patrol too. Or he got a “go” I think the next patrol
and I think he had showed everybody including the RIs (Ranger Instructors) that
he was there for the team and he was going to do anything it took to help us. And so then my third time through Darby I
had this like moment where we took a casualty – AG ruck sack was there and it was like
the heaviest ruck sack. Its got all the extra ammo the tripod and I was just like I am doing this
I am getting out of here. So I threw it on and I just walked with it
for as long as I could. Which ended up being probably close to two
clicks. By the time I got back to the camp people
where like we heard you carried the ruck for six clicks and I was like no that didn’t happen. But you know the RIs (Ranger Instructors)
were impressed by it. Everybody on the team was happy that I was
able to do that because it just means less of a burden for you, you know? And it motivates you too you know you are
like ok next time I will get the next one guys. So I was happy I was able to do that. I think that really made a difference for
me. I’m a fairly independent person. I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished and
what I’ve done. And what I learned through Ranger School is the work I put in as an individual
doesn’t matter, life is a team sport. And no matter how strong or weak I am I’m
not going to succeed without the team. And Ranger School really
brings that point home. Not because of the missions. And not because of what I did while I was
at that school, but it was getting a 37 year old body
ready for Ranger School. That was, you know work with a nutritionist. Talk to a physical therapist. Work with a coach at the gym. Talk to people who have been recent Ranger
School graduates and find out what’s going on. This isn’t something that you can just do
on your own. And it also demonstrated what a big team I’ve
always had. And even some of the, what
people would call the naysayers were part critical parts of that team. Because they forced me
to validate my reason for going. The people who asked me,
“Hey how can you leave your kids and abandon your family for nine plus weeks?” Those were the ones that made me sit down
and say, “Well I can because of this…” And when it got to my second mountain phase
and I was missing my son’s birthday and I just wanted to lay in the prone and cry. I remembered the answers I gave those people
six seven months earlier. And I knew why I was there. And I knew it was the right decision to miss
my son’s seventh birthday. Didn’t feel good then, but it was what I needed to be able to push through some
of those longer more difficult days. So I guess the biggest lesson I took away
from it is life is truly a team sport.

Written by Raul Dinwiddie