FORT BENNING, Ga. -- Sgt. 1st Class Moises Arreola was all smiles on graduation day here. As one of 171 graduates in Ranger course class 05-15, he was one of 75 with the distinction of completing the course in 62 days.
"It was tough. It was mentally and physically challenging, and I learned a lot about myself," said Arreola, who is assigned to 1st Battalion, 306th Infantry Regiment, 188th Infantry Brigade, Division East, First Army.
Arreola said his battalion command team and his brigade command sergeant major provided the encouragement he needed to get through the grueling course. Having completed Ranger school, he said his next stop is Pathfinder school.
Arreola joins a brotherhood of Rangers whose lineage pre-dates the Revolutionary War to the mid-1700s, when Maj. Robert Rogers formed Ranger units to fight in the French and Indian War.
Since then, the Ranger units have been deactivated, reactivated and reorganized. The Ranger battalions with which most Americans are familiar today were formed because Gen. Creighton Abrams, Chief of Staff of the Army from 1972 to 1974, wanted an elite group of leaders to set the standard for the Army.
"As Rangers, your units are going to look at you different; they expect you to lead by example on and off the objective in everything you do, from kicking in doors to counseling," said retired Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Smith, former command sergeant major of the Ranger Training Brigade and guest speaker during the April 24 Ranger graduation ceremony.
"You have what many want but aren't good enough to get, mainly because they are too scared or did not have what it takes to pass the Ranger standards," Smith said.
The 62-day Ranger course is broken down into three phases -- Benning, mountain and Florida -- which tested the resiliency of Arreola and his fellow graduates and challenged their physical, spiritual, emotional and mental well-being. Though the candidates had plenty of moral support from their leadership, friends and Family, the motivation and drive to complete the course ultimately had to come from within.
"I made it all the way through. I did recycle one phase, and that was very humbling. It let me know that I'm not perfect, but I didn't give up, just kept driving on, and now I am here on graduation day," said Capt. James Wilburn III, of 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade, in Vicenza, Italy. He is a third-generation Soldier, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who both retired from the Army.
Resiliency is a must to get through the Ranger course, Wilburn said.
"I would call this master resiliency training, because no matter what you do, you are constantly tested," he said. "You have to keep performing; as soon as you stop, that's when you run into trouble and that's when you feel like quitting. But, you can't, you have to stay resilient."
Wilburn said his unit's leadership, who are also Ranger-qualified, had his back "100 percent."
"My top leadership, they are the ones who took a risk on me, who pushed me to do more," he said. "Chain-of-command support is the best thing."
An adjutant general officer serving as 2-503rd's battalion personnel officer, Wilburn said he saw the Ranger course as a challenge and wanted to complete it after an assignment with the 3rd Special Forces Group.
"After that, I just wanted more; it made me not want to settle," he said. "[The adjutant general branch] and Ranger are definitely not something you instinctively put together. It's two extremes, but one thing I learned about Ranger school is that it's not about the [military occupational specialty], it's more along the lines of leadership and being an elite leader."
Guiding these newly graduated elite leaders is the Ranger Creed, which was written by the 1st Ranger Battalion's first command sergeant major, and which was recited by the new Rangers at the end of their graduation ceremony.
Several Ranger veterans attending the ceremony said they take part in as many graduations as they can to share in the esprit de corps and welcome the new Rangers.
Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Gilbert, who graduated from the Ranger course in 1958, served as a command sergeant major in 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia. He said he attends the graduations because it's a family affair.
"I like to give back and support whenever I can," he said. "They are our future leaders."
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