I hope that I live long enough to read the women's stories about how they completed Ranger training. David Stockwell, completing Ranger training at the "advanced" age of 28 describes some of his observations in the chapter "Rangers are Instinctual."
"At the beginning, I questioned the balance between youth and its physical strength and age and its maturity. I believe now that mental strength is more important than the physical strength...the big chiseled guys, the football player type guys...were usually the guys who did not make it. A big reason for their failure was their habitual reliance on their physical strength and not their mental strength."
"Our mental strength was tested almost from the beginning...it was all a matter of "Who's too stupid to know when to quit?"
"The reduced force rehearsal is still the standard I take to the field...'Rehearsal is the key to success" is a quote that I became very fond of teaching my subordinates."
"What I learned, though, was that if you are Ranger qualified you don't simply wear the tab; you bear the tab. And if you are worth your salt, then you must earn it every day."
"When you are Ranger qualified, the younger troops look up to you and expect you to be better."
"Ranger School gave me a place I could go mentally to draw strength and a knowledge that I had been pushed before, and I could gain confidence that I could do it again."
Author Brace Barber sums up Stockwell's experience: "your accountability in your attitude, work ethic, integrity, and work product definitely affect your team. Your example is followed.
Coaches and players are models. We define ourselves and our teams by how we go about our business, our preparation and actions. As Aristotle said, "Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
