175 Days

For a long time, Ranger School was not a topic that I liked to discuss. I’ll cut to the chase: It is one of the most grueling courses in the military and it lasts 61 days. For a number of reasons, it took me around 175 days to complete the course. For those that know what I’m talking about: I did Darby twice; Mountains THREE times; and thanks-be-to-all-that-is-good-in-the-universe, I only did Florida once! I am a Winter Ranger, Summer Ranger, Best Ranger trash-pickup-crew Ranger, and everything in between.

I was technically and tactically proficient and physically prepared for the school. I was fresh out of West Point and had participated in the Sandhurst competition, been to Sapper School, and really geeked out on that stuff. I knew how to set up a patrol base and lay in an L-shaped ambush. I knew how to do it at 3 a.m. in the rain. What I did not know how to do was lead 30 Rangers through any of this when they hadn’t slept in 2 days, eaten in 3, and were carrying 100 pounds on their back.

You see, I’m a nice guy. I think that people are inherently good and want to do their best; my life experience, including that at Ranger School, has proven this to be mostly true. But leading on a perfect clear, blue, and 72-degree day is not what life is about. And THAT is what I had to learn at Ranger School. It’s been so long now that I don’t remember exact words, but my feedback from Ranger Instructors was something to the effect of, “Ranger Lozano, you clearly know what you’re doing technically and tactically, but I did not feel like you were IN CHARGE. You’re too nice, and it is not time to be nice. You need to grab an {expletive} by his {expletive} {expletive} {expletive} and get him to do exactly what you need him to do when you need him to do it if that’s what it takes!”

And he was right. I still do not subscribe to a hard-fisted leadership style; but on a scale of 1-10 -- with 1 being Mr. Rogers and 10 being some brutal dictator -- I was about a 2 or 3. I recycled (had to go back and redo portions of the course) and got the very, very painful chance to do those patrols again . . . in the middle of the night, on the top of Mount Yonah, until they saw what they needed to see in me to sign off that I should be called Ranger. For a long time I did not like to discuss this and saw it as a HUGE failure even though I graduated, became Ranger qualified, and achieved something that the vast majority of humanity will never even attempt. I have come to be forever grateful for this experience.

For those not familiar with the term, let’s discuss “reframing.” This is the process by which we challenge and then change our thoughts by viewing our situations differently. In this example, my initial frame of thought was, “I’m a super knuckle-dragging failure. It took me almost three times as long to pass something that others were

able to complete straight through.” Factually accurate, sure. It took me a long time (and a lot of coaching!) to reframe this perceived failure into what is truly one of my superpowers. I ENDURED pain, hunger, and cold for 2 to 3 times longer than the average Ranger student. Many quit without even hitting an evaluation period; they just didn’t want to be hungry and cold (or hot) anymore. Some faced an impending recycle as I did and just said, “Nope. I’m

good. Thanks. It’s been fun. Bye!” I had made up my mind that I was either going to succeed or die trying. And that is one of my superpowers - I do not quit! I now truly cherish this experience and wear it as a badge of honor. Would I have liked to have gone straight through the course? Sure, who wouldn’t! But think of the lessons I would not have learned.

Do you know what your superpowers are? It is possible that they are sitting just on the other side of one of your biggest upsets or hiding behind what you think is one of your biggest weaknesses. Sometimes we need a different set of eyes to help us reframe, as we are simply just too close to the experience. If you want to do this type of work, give me a call - I’d love to take the walk with you!

#lifecoach #lifecoaching #executivecoaching #leadershipcoaching #leadership #rltw #deoppressoliber #dol