FORT POLK, La. — When Spc. Jaired Brooks graduated from high school in Floyd Country, Virginia, the then 17-year knew what he wanted to do. In fact, he had known what he wanted to do since the age of 12.
“I lied to my mother and told her I wanted to be an architect when I was in the 10th grade, but I knew college wasn’t for me,” Brooks said. “I wanted to be a Soldier.”
Brooks, who played football and was in the band and 4-H Club, said what influenced his decision the most was the time he spent as a Boy Scout.
“I liked their commitment to serving others,” Brooks said. “It seemed the Army was a good place to do that.”
While most youngsters might gravitate to a combat arms specialty when choosing a career field, Brooks would not be able to do so.
“Since I was only 17, my parents had to sign so I could join,” he said. “They wouldn’t sign for a combat arms MOS.”
Brooks turned to another relative for advice.
“I had a step-uncle who was an infantryman in the Army and he said I should sign up for MOS 12N,” Brooks said. “When I asked what that was, he said it was basically a bulldozer operator; he said they got to do all the fun stuff and he was jealous because they got to ride around in air conditioning while the infantry had to walk everywhere.”
Brooks said he did a little “investigating” about MOS 12N and learned there was a $25,000 bonus for signing up.
“That was good enough for me,” he said.
Jump ahead a little more than a year and Brooks, now stationed at Fort Polk with the 687th Heavy Construction Company, 46th Engineer Battalion, said he started looking at the possibility of attending sapper school. Sappers are basically combat engineers.
“When I looked into the selection process, I was too young,” Brooks said. “My first sergeant suggested I try the 10th Mountain Division Pre-Ranger Course that was going to be held on Fort Polk. He said if I did well it would show battalion leadership I was serious about sapper school.”
To Brooks surprise, he did so well in the Pre-Ranger Course that 10th Mtn Div gave him a slot for Ranger School.
“Not only did I find my way around the combat arms issue my folks had put me under, but I also found a way to attend one of the most prestigious Army schools out there,” he said.
Ranger School would not be an easy task for Brooks. He began his crucible Feb. 5 with his arrival at Fort Benning, Georgia. Although he started well enough, tackling the Ranger PT test and combat water survival assessment, he hit his first stumbling block with Ranger Training Tasks.
“I didn’t understand what Ranger tasks were all about because it was things I had not done before,” Brooks said. “I failed RTTs the first time , but came back in April and aced them.
The next hurdle for Brooks was a demanding obstacle course, which he passed. He then was faced with a 12-mile run that had to be completed in less than 3 minutes, which he accomplished despite his ruck sack falling apart the first mile. With that task complete, Brooks had passed Ranger Assessment Phase.
That left three more phases to become a Ranger. They included combat operations in North Georgia, mountain training in Virginia, and a trip through Florida’s swamps. At each step, Brooks faced a recycle, yet never gave up. Finally, 187 days after starting Ranger School, Brooks had earned the coveted Ranger Tab.
“There were times I never thought I’d graduate Ranger School,” Brooks said. “When I did, it was biggest load lifted off of my shoulders. It was a relief. I wasn’t coming back a loser — I had my tab.”
While Brooks was quick to thank his military leaders for their support in preparing him for the challenge of Ranger School, he said his No. 1 supporters are his parents.
“It was awesome to be able to tell them they could come down to Fort Benning because I was graduating,” Brooks said.
“My dad said my graduation from Ranger School was proof that he and mom had done a good job raising me.”
Next up for Brooks, is Basic Leadership Class, then — hopefully — Sapper School. He also takes seriously his role as the second Ranger engineer in his unit, offering advice to younger Soldiers who want to undertake Ranger School.
“The one thing I tell everybody who asks me how to get through Ranger School is you cannot quit,” he said.
“If you want that tab, you have to go after it. Be prepared to take a lot of blows — it’s a fight to earn that Ranger tab. You have to be malleable. You have to be able to mold yourself.”
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2018 12:42 |
| Story ID: | 300261 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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