[Cypress Knee]

I went through Ranger School back in 1981. I am sure that some things have evolved since then.

Even though you are asking about RASP earning that Ranger tab will be one of his longer term goals.

It was physically demanding, but not so much that the tasks were beyond the reach of a reasonably athletic person. Injuries and illnesses can be a factor, but they are also something that can be subject to luck. Physically I started at 180 lbs of muscle and 58 days later I graduated at 145 lbs of skin and bones. Humping an eighty pound rucksack through the mountains and swamps while living on C-Rations will do that to you.

Two factors that have to be dealt with and in a sense they are inter-related. First of all, sleep deprivation is a huge issue. Even though they told us we were supposed to get four hours of sleep it never worked out that way. Somebody had to pull guard duty. If the unit did not complete its mission on time for whatever reason, then that cut into sleep time. Plus, those four hours were when we were supposed to take care of personal maintenance, laundry, cleaning our weapons, and other chores.

The most important factor was this - how does a soldier relate to his fellow Rangers after weeks of exhausting physical endeavor and lack of adequate sleep? It is quite a mental test.

My class started with about 120 and graduated 58. About a third of the graduating class had been re-cycled after failing out of previous classes.

If he can live up to Line 3 of the Ranger Creed he should be fine:
"Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some."