I was commissioned in 2002 out of Western Michigan, and I’m an infantry officer by trade. I was a platoon leader with the 82nd, and I was a mortar platoon leader with the same unit. So I was a platoon leader for about 30 months. So I kind of got over and didn’t do a traditional year of platoon time, year of staff time or executive officer, and then you go to some other staff job where you pay your penance or your dues for being a platoon leader or whatever. So I was a platoon leader the entire time I was a Lieutenant.

I went to school again, the Infantry Captains Career Course, and then I was a Ranger instructor for two years, and then I walked right into command for two years with the third infantry division, right there at Fort Benning.

I have two deployments. I have a short tour to Iraq in 2004 with the 82nd.  And I had a traditional one-year tour to Iraq again in a separate province in 2009-2010 as a company commander. Then I had a break of service for about a year after I left active duty. And then I went into the National Guard in SC, so I’ve been in the guards for about three years now.

What was going through Ranger School like?

Well I took the long route. Some people go once and they’re satisfied with that. But I decided to mess it up a couple of times, so I went to Ranger School three times. You typically go to Ranger school as an infantry lieutenant right after your done with your basic course- like you don’t have a choice. You show up, go to basic course, your airborne and Ranger school- not necessarily in that order. And then they ship you off to your unit. Well I showed up to my unit without a (Ranger) tab. So off the bat I had a big target, or lack of a target, on my left shoulder by not having it.

So I did a deployment, came back and went to pre-Ranger with the 82nd, and went to school and finally graduated.

Was Ranger School the hardest thing you ever did in the military?

I would say that it was one of the most awful things I’ve ever done. You’re just miserable. And in retrospect it’s the longevity of the course, the constant going that’s so miserable. You’re pretty much uncomfortable the entire time- you get tired, you get hungry. But the last time that I went I had a real different outlook on the school. Because when you’re a brand new lieutenant, or a civilian you think- “Oh Ranger school” you see people walking around without enough water and all this other stuff, and then there’s the whole thing where you go on active duty where if you don’t have it as an infantry officer, your basically worthless. So I was in this weird spot, where I was thinking “why is this school so important?” And all the guys I grew up with in the military were like- “yeah it sucks” but then later on in their career they’re like “Oh- that’s where I learned that from.” And I had a different perspective, and I wondered- what is this school really about? I didn’t want to do it because I needed to do it. I went through basically challenging the school in a sense. And the school is very retrospective and introspective, as opposed to a traditional school environment- it’s very past tense.   You look back and say” okay this is what I learned out of it”. It really is the premier leadership school because you are just slammed into a horrible situation with people that you don’t know and are expected to operate right away. And it just sucks. And with these group of guys you don’t know, you have to work together immediately and progressively build on things and try to figure out more efficient ways to do them. So it’s like showing up to your new unit and training with them for a year and developing together through these massive training exercises- well in Ranger school you’re doing this in a matter of weeks. But I got a lot out of it- I really did. There’s some people that might say they didn’t get a lot out of it. The older service members- they’ll tell you that they did get something out of it, but that just comes with maturity.

And I loved being an instructor, because I graduated Ranger school in December 2004. And by June of 06’, I was reporting as an instructor and I started to go through my certification process. But 18-19 months after I graduated school, I got the black shirt on and I’m screaming at students.

And what was that role-reversal like?

It was wild. And I’ll tell you what. Being a Ranger School instructor was probably the smartest move that I ever made as an officer. Because you have that boots on the ground, hands on, instructor time, one on one with your skill level- like simple stuff. Land navigation, weapons functions, basic level planning- but you do it to such great detail with this stuff. And you have to pitch (teach) these classes. The first class you teach is just the simplest thing, but it takes you three hours to teach it. And you’re just like “Oh my god this is so much detail.” And you have to memorize it. So when I showed up to my unit as a company commander, I knew planning inside and out. I didn’t even have to think about it, it was second nature.

I could go out there and instruct my guys, and watch someone and within 30 minutes I would know how a guy thought, what he would do in a stressful environment, if he stopped during a tactical movement, I knew three or four things he was possible going to do. So it builds in this amazing foresight. Anytime you teach, you get a lot more out of it.