VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. — When the ramp lowered on the CH-47 Chinook helicopter, through noise and organized chaos, a team of trainees pushed forward. Trusting each teammate to do their part, the team ran out the back of the helicopter to set a security perimeter during a low-level insertion exercise.
One of the trainees was 1st Lt. Adama Mbaye, a 71st Security Forces Squadron logistics officer from Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma. He was attending the U.S. Army’s Ranger School at Fort Moore, Georgia.
“Ranger School is a premier leadership academy for the United States military,” said Senior Master Sgt. Brandon Geeslin, the senior enlisted leader at the 71st SFS. “Knowing Mbaye’s passion and drive, Ranger School was clearly the next challenge in his career.”
The school is a 62-day training course that works on building a strong foundation of leadership skills.
“The best thing about Ranger School is that it teaches you about yourself,” Mbaye said. “You never know how you’re going to react to a stressful situation until you’re put in that situation multiple times.”
“You have to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Geeslin said. “You have to control your mind, because your mind will tell you to quit. Your mind will tell you that this is too hard. And as soon as you shut that off and figure out it’s not, you will be fine.”
Ranger School teaches more than leadership. It pushes students to their limits both mentally and physically, ultimately teaching resiliency.
“When you’re downrange, it’s not just five days and I get to go home,” Mbaye said. “You need to worry about accomplishing the mission with the team that you have.”
During Mbaye’s graded exercises he learned the value of cooperation within the team.
“I was leading people who were doing the work, freeing me to make a better plan,” Mbaye said. “To think about it from a strategic perspective.”
Mbaye reflected on the value of being able to trust his team. “Trying to micromanage a team detracts from the time you should be focusing on the enemy,” he said.
Learning how to work together had its rewards. “We got to do some really fun, interesting stuff that I think only happened because we learned to work as a team,” said Mbaye.
When it was time for Mbaye to graduate, Geeslin traveled to Fort Moore to be a part of the big day. “I couldn’t have been more proud,” Geeslin said.
A sign posted at Camp Rogers, where the first phase of Ranger training takes place, reads “Not for the weak or fainthearted.” A clear reminder of the conviction required of students who complete the training.
- Published
- By 2nd Lt. Lydia Stanford
- 71st Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
