Letters from Patrick

Hello, everyone!  Yesterday, I received a bundle of letters from Patrick!  He likes to write throughout the day and then rip those pages out of his notebook, so they end up reading more like journal entries.  I thought I would share some excerpts from them with you, so you could hear how he's doing in his own words. 

Darby phase ends tomorrow for him, so I am going in the morning to pick him up.  If he meets me at the car, then he passed and progresses onto Mountains phase.  If he does not, then he will be dropped from Ranger School for the time being and come home for good.  If this happens, he will be given another opportunity to complete Ranger School after his first deployment.  I will let you know how it goes.  Now, on to the fun stuff:  Patrick's letters!

September 15, 2012I’m feeling A LOT more confident in myself and the material.  Please continue to pray that it will continue to grow.  I’m in what seems to be a pretty good squad, but we’ll see how things turn our after a couple of days at Darby.  It’s hard to believe that it was a week ago that I was on pass.  Only 13 days til the next one through, and it will be a good one because I’ll be going to Mountains.  There are so many things that happen here that I wish I could take pictures of.  I think it would help people understand what goes on here.  There’s a lot of things that are really funny and then there’s a lot of things that are only funny because you’re in Ranger School.

I’m pretty hungry right now.  I think my stomach expanded during pass and my time in Vaughn’s platoon [that’s where Patrick was in between his first and second attempt at Darby Phase].  I’ve actually been pretty hungry the past couple of days.  I guess there’s nothing to do but to drive on. 


September 16, 2012
Today we’ve had a pretty relaxed day, at least for the inserts.  We got about four hours of sleep last night, and I got a major plus!  In the back of my mind I always remember that the Lord knows what I need before I ask, but He’s really shown our so far.  I’ve been able to learn a lot more, and I pray that I’ll be able to retain it all.  This is due to the fact that I’m not already sleep deprived and broken down from RAP week.  However, the down side is that we are constantly hungry!  There is a constant gnawing in my stomach.  Time creeps by as I chew the same piece of gum for 2 hours. 

I’ve got some good guys in my squad that help me stay motivated and positive. I’m finally getting a little excited about the school and career possibilities afterward... I guess we just train up, have faith and drive on.  Whatever happens, I pray that the Lord will give me the desires of my heart as I trust in Him and bring glory to Him by my life.

September 17, 2012I’m sitting in a Troop Leading Procedures class (TLP) trying to stay awake.   With hot chow you have to get creative in order to get more calories.  For example, I put six packets of sugar in my small serving of grits.  Or grabbing extra syrup packets and drinking them while eating bread with jelly.  The creamsicle flavored gum has been pretty good, though.  However, the strawberry shortcake gum is probably the best.  Eventually the hours turn to days and the days into weeks, and I know that nothing but Heaven and Hell lasts forever.  I want to be more bold in my faith.  I really want a Ranger tab, but it’s not worth mine or anybody’s soul. 

September 19, 2012The past couple of days have been alright.  I got to be the actions on squad leader for yesterday’s ambush patrol.  I shocked myself with how much of the information I had retained.  Did a practice patrol base last night.  It went alright.  The conditions really sucked though.  We were all shivering, trying to finish our priorities of work so that we could eat and sleep.  Had a decent MRE, the Veggie Lasagna.  Only got 20 minutes of sleep though.  It rained pretty much all day on Monday, so Hollis Creek was waist deep when I decided to fall into it today with my weapon on my back.  Oh well.  I laughed it off. What can you do? 

Knee pads were a good idea this time.  So far, I’ve been wearing the same ACUs for over a week [that is his own choice].  It’s probably time to change, especially now that we’re going to start graded patrols tomorrow.  I’m kind of excited and kind of dreading it at the same time.  I’ll do my best and leave the rest up to the Lord.  I’ve become more confident in myself and my leadership abilities the past week.  I hope and pray that this only continues.  I’ve noticed that I’ve become a better soldier too.  It’s the small things that make a big difference.  I’m learning SO MUCH!  A lot about myself and the human body, the spirit of a warrior, and just life in general.  I hope I can make it through this school and pass on the wisdom I learned here to help people grow in their faith and lead better lives.

September 22, 2012The squad is starting to work together and guys are starting to understand how things go around here.  I wonder who Alabama is beating today.  I wish I could have had the opportunity to go to a game this season.  Who knows, maybe I can, but probably not.  I’ve become the admin leader of my squad. 

We’ve got another patrol base tonight, which means none of us will sleep, especially me because I’m the RTO.  I’m kind of disappointed because I have the Southwest Beef and Beans MRE for dinner, and I wanted to be able to enjoy it.  Now I’ll have to eat it really fast.  I finally changed uniforms yesterday.  11 days in the same uniform is a new personal record that I do not intend on breaking any time soon, or maybe even ever.  I’m glad everybody had been praying for me.  I can feel the power of their prayers in my day to day life.  I look forward to seeing everyone again and telling them all about this pace and how their support is going to continue to be part of my success here.

I’ve got an ambush to be a part of right now, so I’ve got to cut this journal session a little shorter than I wanted.  Night vision, face paint, and vegetation wait to be placed on my body.  Gnats and ants stand by to have a feast on my flesh as I lay here in the prone monitoring the radio while watching a beautiful sunset.  I  guess “Rangers lead the way” has to mean something, huh?