Travis Airmen earns title of Air Forces Ranger

  • Published
  • By Nick DeCicco
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
The goal of United States Army Rangers training is to mold troops into some of the best combat soldiers in the world.

Primarily, the experience is reserved for members of the Army, although not exclusively.

When Staff Sgt. William Kelly, a Raven Team Leader with 60th Security Forces Squadron, arrived for the first day of training, he was already an outcast. Standing in his Air Force physical training gear, it was incredibly easy to spot the one man in a class of 560 who was not a member of the Army.

To some, he was nameless. After showing some mettle and persisting while others quit or left for medical reasons, some called him by the name of the branch he represented -- "Hey, Air Force! You're still here?"

Sergeant Kelly proved any doubters wrong July 25 when he graduated and was "tabbed" as an Air Force Ranger.

Witnessing the graduation was Tech. Sgt. Enrico Catubo, the deputy Raven program manager for the 60 SFS, his supervisor and mentor.

Sergeant Catubo, who once attempted to become a Ranger but was dismissed for medical reasons, said Sergeant Kelly's path to graduation began early one morning. While both were deployed, Sergeant Catubo received a phone call waking him up in the middle of the night from an eager Sergeant Kelly, who announced he wanted to attend Ranger school.

"My first reply was, 'Are you serious?,'" Sergeant Catubo said with a laugh. "My next question was, 'Did you talk to your wife about this?' Because training is intense. The school is 60-plus days."

Training consisted of a grueling physical pace which included work in the pool, running, push ups, sit-ups, five-mile runs, ruck marches as well as squadron physical training too.
Sergeant Catubo said in addition to readying himself physically, Sergeant Kelly worked on being prepared mentally.

"You can be physically ready, but if you're not mentally prepared, it's not worth going further," he said.

The two began training upon their return to the U.S. Sergeant Kelly, who Sergeant Catubo described as "an ambitious, hard-charger who is motivated no matter what," followed the 75th Ranger Training brigade's schedule, waking at 4:30 a.m. to work out and even training on weekends.

The first step for Sergeant Kelly was attending Pre-Ranger School at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, N.M. Sergeant Kelly said the standards for Pre-Ranger training -- which is largely Air Force members hoping to make it to the next level -- are higher than the training itself because the Air Force wants to send the best caliber Airmen possible.

"The standards are tougher so you won't be an embarassment to the Air Force," he said.
The 19-day course at Kirtland included completing a five-mile run in 35 minutes, a 12-mile ruck march with 70 to 75 pounds of gear, nearly 60 push ups and 70 sit ups, as well as other Security Forces/infantry-related tasks such as radio communication and land navigation. Adding to the challenge was the combination of food and sleep deprivation -- Sergeant Kelly said most days consisted of a solitary meal and one or two hours of sleep per night.

One of the instructors favorite tools were "smoke sessions," rousing troops in the middle of their sleeping hours for a mid-night, low crawl done in nothing more than boxer shorts, he said.
After finishing second among the 20 class participants, Sergeant Kelly advanced to Ranger School.

But first, he had to gain weight. Sergeant Kelly dropped a pound a day during his time at Pre-Ranger school, slimming from 180 to 161 pounds. While continuing to train for Ranger School, the staff sergeant gobbled up massive amounts of carbohydrates, dining frequently on fast food to pack on the pounds.

He needed to add the weight because he knew he would lose it all over again at Ranger School, which is divided into a trio of three-week training phases.

The first is the Fort Benning (near Columbus, Ga.) phase, which Sergeant Kelly described as an "indoctrination phase." More smoke sessions, constant PT and a grueling physical pace kept trainees hungry, sleepy and strung out. The period began with "rip week," a seven-day torrent of wear and tear on the mind and body to weed out trainees who couldn't physically or mentally handle the challenge.

Next came the mountain phase, through the Appalachian Mountains in Georgia. Here, patrolling training is paramount.

This is where Sergeant Kelly struggled and was forced to repeat the phase. His body took a battering, as cellulitis, a skin infection, developed on his knees. He said the fatigue sets in at this point, as well as hallucinations due to the food and sleep deprivation.

The training is demanding, but necessary, pushing troops to the extreme in case they're ever faced with such a dire situation in the field.

After completing the mountain phase, it was onto the swamp warfare stage, held at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. As the trainees "basically live in water for three weeks," Sergeant Kelly said, he suffered pneumonia and bronchitis during this period. While interviewed for this story nearly two months later, Sergeant Kelly had a throaty, sickly cough, a lingering reminder of his training.
Ultimately, he returned July 25 to Fort Benning for graduation, completing Ranger School in 91 days. At a trim 156 pounds, he shed 24 pounds in just more than 90 days.

How did he survive the brutal, harsh training?

"I just laughed at everything," he said with a smile. "You look at your ranger buddy and your eyes are bugging and his eyes are bugging out and you know it's crazy."

"It is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. ... I'd do it again in a heartbeat, with the feeling of self-accomplishment that comes with it."

"Having a Ranger in your unit is extremely rare," said Senior Master Sgt. William Dunlap, 60th Security Forces Squadron, security forces manager and the senior-most enlisted security forces member on Travis. "Rangers are security forces studs on steroids! They have been traditionally the most respected security forces leaders in our career field."

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Ben Harper held the distinction of Ranger. "He was perhaps our most infamous Security Forces member," said Sergeant Dunlap. "He was all that we epitomized. I was lucky enough to have been instructed by him in various career field objectives and he was the most motivating, gung-ho, awe-inspiring security forces leader I've ever met in my 25 years."

"Any security forces member that has been in for the last decade or so knows of him, even though they may have never experienced him in person," said Sergeant Dunlap. "His name precedes him."

Ranger Harper, along with Col. Rocky Lane and then Maj. Lyle Cary were responsible for setting-up the Raven Program back in the mid-1990s. The very first Raven section was established at Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. Ranger Harper and Colonel Lane were also the architects of the Warfare Center at Fort Dix, N.J., having transferred the curriculum from the original Volant Scorpion Air Base Ground Defense Training Center at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark.

"I've only known about five [Rangers] in my 25 years, so to have one in the same unit is awesome," said Sergeant Dunlap. "I'm sure Ranger Kelly will do us as proud as the Rangers that have gone before him have. It's great having someone of his mettle at such an early stage of his career in our unit."

Anyone interested in training to become a Ranger, should contact Sergeant Catubo at 424-4605.