FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Pfc. Justin Williams, a Soldier in 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, "Catamounts," 2nd Brigade Combat Team, may look unassuming, but he has graduated one of the toughest schools the military has to offer: Ranger School.
The U.S. Army Ranger School is an extreme, 62-day combat leadership course focused on small-unit tactics.
The course typically starts with 4,000 candidates from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines, and only about 50 percent will graduate. Service members endure mental and psychological stress, fatigue and 19-hour training days through three different phases: Darby, mountain and swamp.
But that didn't stop Williams from rising to the challenge.
Williams had an interest in joining the military ever since he led his Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) as battalion commander at Bryan County High School in Pembroke, Ga.
"I wanted to be in a program that would teach me the leadership qualities and how to advance in the civilian and military workforce," he said.
After Williams graduated high school, he was faced with the choice of joining the civilian workforce or the military. He chose to follow a military path in the footsteps of his father, who had previously served in the Navy.
Williams described his choice as an easy one.
"I couldn't see myself doing anything else," he said.
Three months after graduation, Williams headed off to basic combat training and advanced individual training at Fort Sill, Okla., where he would learn to be a fire support specialist.
A fire support specialist embeds with infantry and tank units, identifies enemy targets and calls for close-air and indirect fire support in combat. The mission also entails leading, supervising or serving in intelligence activities such as target processing for artillery units and maneuver brigades.
After he completed training, Williams received orders to the 10th Mountain Division (LI) at Fort Drum.
"I'm from Georgia, and I've never seen the snow before in my life," he said. "But I like it now that I spent time up here."
After spending six months training with the Catamounts, Williams was deployed to Helmand, Afghanistan, for Operation Enduring Freedom.
During his time on deployment, Williams worked on a guardian angel team that provided security for high ranking officers while they conducted meetings with host nation forces and the local populace.
Williams also served as an integral part of base defense operations and provided security landing zones for incoming aircraft.
During down time between missions, the Catamounts offered a Pre-Ranger program that started training Soldiers on the fundamentals of Ranger School and physical conditioning.
After returning home from Afghanistan last June, Williams was ready to attend Pre-Ranger training at the Light Fighters School on Fort Drum.
Light Fighters School hosts a three-week Pre-Ranger program that physically and mentally tests every man and woman who wants to go to Ranger School.
Soldiers take a Ranger Physical Fitness Test (RPFT) the day they arrive at Pre-Ranger School to measure their physical aptitude and highlight any weakness they might have. Service members must meet a minimum requirement of 49 push-ups, 59 sit-ups and six chin-ups and complete a five-mile run in less than 40 minutes.
This program not only conditions Soldiers for the physical challenges they will face but also ensures they are proficient in map reading, patrolling techniques and preparing an operation order.
"If you don't go to a Pre-Ranger School, you have less than a 10-percent chance of success," said 1st Sgt. Michael Baker, commandant of the Light Fighters School. "But if you come here, you have over 50 percent chance of success."
While attending Pre-Ranger, Williams encountered a setback that 57 percent of Soldiers attending this school face: he failed.
But that didn't stop him from continuing to train and prepare every day for another shot at success during the next class.
Williams went on to pass the next Pre-Ranger course, and he was sent to Ranger School the following month at Fort Benning, Ga.
With a Pre-Ranger graduation certificate in hand, Williams started Ranger School. Shortly after, he met another road block: he failed land navigation. Williams was then sent back to Fort Drum to continue training for a second round of Ranger School.
"When I failed, I was really disappointed in myself, because I knew I could've made it," he said.
Many candidates would not attempt going back to Ranger School after failing, but not Williams. He had the help of his mentor, Staff Sgt. Daniel Ryan, pushing him along the way and keeping him motivated to go back to school.
"Staff Sgt. Ryan was there for me every time I got a little de-motivated," he said. "He told me there's never a good time to go, there is something that is always going to be in the way."
After his third go through Pre-Ranger, Williams was off to Ranger School for the second time.
"I've always been the one to say, that in anything I do, I give 110 percent of what I have," he said.
With that mentality, Williams would pass Ranger School on his second attempt. He did it without recycling any portion of the course, which many people would agree is a phenomenal accomplishment to any standard.
Ranger School is split into three phases.
The first and most difficult phase is at Fort Benning, Ga., where 36 percent of service members fail during the first four days due to the RPFT, land navigation and 12-mile ruck march with a 47-pound ruck sack.
To advance to the mountain phase of Ranger School, each student must demonstrate the ability to plan, prepare for, resource and execute a combat patrol as a squad leader or team leader.
The mountain phase is where service members will learn about knots, belays, anchor points, rope management, and the basic fundamentals of climbing and rappelling, mountaineering tasks and mobility training.
After service members pass this phase, they will move on to the third and final stage: swamp phase.
This phase, located at Camp Rudder, Fla., focuses on waterborne operations, small boat movements and stream crossings.
Candidates are evaluated on how they apply small-unit tactics, raids and movement to contact, execution of ambushes and an urban assault to accomplish their team's assigned mission during a 10-day field exercise.
Once they complete swamp phase, candidates are flown back to Fort Benning to out-process and await their graduation.
Waiting for Williams back at Fort Benning was his Family.
"I was overwhelmed with what my son has accomplished," said Wendy Williams. "He has always set goals and achieved them; I couldn't be more proud of him."
Williams had finally earned his Ranger tab. A year of hard work with failures and achievements behind him, his Family proudly pinned a Ranger tab on his left shoulder.
His graduation celebration was short and sweet. The Catamounts had authorized him for Airborne School.
Airborne School is a three-week course held on Fort Benning where service members from all branches of the military learn how to jump out of Boeing C-17 Globemaster III or Lockheed C-130 military transport / cargo plane, flying 1,200 feet above the ground at 150 miles per hour.
Service members must complete five jumps before pinning their airborne wings on their chest on graduation day.
Williams graduated Airborne School with no hesitation or setbacks.
With his training complete, Williams was ready to head back to the 10th Mountain Division and share what he had learned over the last few months with his fellow Catamounts.
Williams said it has been a long and hard journey since Afghanistan, from when he first started to train to become a Ranger, but his hard work paid off and he achieved his goal.
He encourages everyone, no matter what their rank, to take on new challenges. "Don't be afraid to achieve your goals."
Williams plans to continue his training to join a Ranger Regiment or Special Operations.
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