Photo By Ronald Wolf | 1st Lt. Rachel Bohnemann (a Medical Service Corps 70 Bravo) now has Ranger as well as...... read more read more
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Excellence does not come easy. Ranger School is one of the toughest training courses for which a Soldier can volunteer. Recently, two Medical Service Corps personnel completed Ranger training and earned the Ranger tab: Capt. Leyla Kosakowski (a 72 Delta, environmental science and engineering officer) and 1st Lt. Rachel Bohnemann (a 70 Bravo, health services administrator).
Army Rangers are expected to conduct difficult missions, and to do this, they need rigorous training. For more than two months, Ranger students train to exhaustion, pushing the limits of their minds and bodies.
“You don’t know what you can put your body through, said Kosakowski. “You can push it to further limits than you thought possible. That is part of the goal of Ranger School — not only pushing yourself to the limit and beyond, but (pushing) the squad and platoon as a leader. It prepares you.”
In addition, the Army's Ranger course prepares officers and enlisted personnel in combat arms-related skills. The Rangers' primary mission is to engage in close combat and direct-fire battles.
Leadership skills are honed as well. Kosakowski said the hardest part is “getting people to do what you wanted them to do. You are tired, hungry, already pushed to your limits.”
Bohnemann said the length of the training was the most difficult element. “It is constantly uncomfortable. You are always outside of your comfort zone, and you have to get used to being exhausted and hungry and in some sort of pain.”
Ranger training expands where you may deploy as a medical services officer and expands career potential as well, said Kosakowski.
There aren’t that many Medical Service officers who are ranger qualified, said Bohnemann. Her husband is also Ranger qualified, so it increases the potential for assignment to the same or close-by duty station.
Reasons for pursuing the Ranger tab vary. Kosakowski, who has been a Soldier for more than 9 years, was influenced by mentors during ROTC training.
It was a goal of mine when I joined the Army, said Bohnemann, who has been a Soldier for less than 3 years. My husband went through Ranger school, and he encouraged me. “It seemed like an unachievable goal at first. The first female graduated Ranger school about a year after I joined ROTC. I wanted to challenge myself. So I decided to go for it.”
The Ranger course has changed little since its inception. Until recently, it was an eight-week course divided into three phases: "crawl," "walk," and "run." The course is now 61 days and is divided into three phases: "benning," "mountain," and "florida."
The benning phase of Ranger School is designed to assess a Soldier's physical stamina, mental toughness, and establishes the tactical fundamentals required for follow-on phases of Ranger School.
During the mountain phase, students receive instruction on military mountaineering tasks, mobility training, as well as techniques for using a platoon for continuous combat patrol operations in a mountainous environment.
The florida phase focuses on the continued development of the Ranger student's combat arms functional skills. Students receive instruction on waterborne operations, small boat movements, and stream crossings upon arrival.
Bohnemann said the length of the training was the most difficult element. “It is constantly uncomfortable. You are always outside of your comfort zone, and you have to get used to being exhausted and hungry and in some sort of pain.”
But it is not without rewards outside of gaining military skills and resilience, Bohnemann said. She made a lot of really good friends. She liked working with people she wouldn’t typically work with. It was good to talk to Special Forces personnel, for example, and learn what they do.
As for other medical corps service officers, Bohnemann said, “it is a great training experience. You get a lot out of it from leadership and resiliency perspectives.”
| Date Taken: | 07.22.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2022 15:30 |
| Story ID: | 425600 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 1,390 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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