Bearing the Tab

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristoffer Kaubisch
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  He stands looking out at his friends and family sitting in the bleachers. His eyes lock on his newborn daughter for the first time in his life. It feels like a weight is lifted off of his shoulders, and quite literally, as the ruck is off his shoulders at that point. Emotion surges through him.

That is how Senior Airman Franklin Sloat, 791st Missile Security Forces Squadron response force leader, felt as he was standing at Ranger school graduation after completing a 90 grueling days of training.

"It was surreal," Sloat said. "It was crazy to see my child that I hadn't been able to hold yet. The first time I was able to hold her, I was very emotional."

The training usually lasts 60 days and Sloat was hoping to graduate on time because his wife was due with their daughter.  Unfortunately, he ended up getting recycled, something almost every Ranger trainee does, and he was stuck in training during the birth of his daughter. 

"I was only able to see a few photos of my daughter that were sent from my mother and my wife," Sloat said.

The journey started when Sloat joined the United States Air Force-he felt like it was his calling, he said. He had always wanted to serve his country.

"I initially came into the Air Force in a special operations field, but it didn't work out," Sloat said.

That didn't stop him from pursuing his dream to get into the special operations field. When he first got to Minot Air Force Base, he had the opportunity to join the convoy response force and it's what he has been doing for a little over two years now.

"I wanted to join the tactical response force, but I had to put one year in the missile field first. I put my year in and was offered another opportunity for CRF and I went with that," Sloat said.

While in CRF, Sloat's supervisor at the time, who was Ranger-certified, had pushed Sloat to go to Ranger school. He saw the potential in Sloat.

"He put it in my head that I had the capability to become Ranger-certified," Sloat said. "I went and tried out for the Ranger assessment course at Minot Air Force Base, and I was selected to go to the actual Air Force Ranger Assessment Course."

At the Air Force Ranger Assessment Course, three people are selected to actually go to the official Army Ranger School. Twenty-two individuals started the assessment course, 16 graduated and Sloat was one of three selected for the school.

"From there, I had to wait for a slot to open up," Sloat said. "The Army only gives the slots to the Air Force when they can't fill them. It took me almost a year to get a slot."

Throughout that year of anxiously waiting, Sloat was constantly training, studying academically and staying physically fit.

"Training-wise, I would study land navigation and patrols, which is a main part of graduating Ranger school and to be able to conduct patrols," Sloat said. "I would also do cardio and strength training two times a day."

Unfortunately during field training for CRF, Sloat sprained his knee and was limited to crutches for a little over a month. He had a just a short time before he was intended to go to Ranger school.

"First thing on my mind after my sprain was Ranger school and if I was going to be ready or be able to go at all," Sloat said. "Fortunately the people down at physical training got me squared away and back on my feet."

As the date neared, Sloat prepared himself even more, physically and mentally.

"I couldn't really prepare myself mentally because I didn't know what to expect coming from the Air Force," Sloat said. "I just told myself that I'm going to go out there and do whatever it takes to complete the course."

The first week of Ranger school starts at Fort Benning, Georgia, with the Ranger assessment phase, which includes a ruck march, obstacle course and the physical fitness test. From these, the instructors are able see who has what it takes to move forward into phase one of the course. Ninety-one trainees entered RAP week, only 40 advanced-Sloat being one of them.

Over the next several weeks, the training consisted of different phases in different terrains. They started in squad movements with around 15 people in the mountains of Georgia, where they learned basic survival techniques.

"The mountain phase was challenging for me," Sloat said. "I carried a ruck sack which weighed over 100 pounds, hiking up mountains which were pretty steep. Not only was I carrying my ruck, but all of my squad equipment and weapons systems. Most of the time, I would end up carrying the M240 machine gun, just because they liked to give the Air Force guy the 240. I didn't complain about it, I just did it."

The training ended in the swamps of Florida, where the remaining trainees banded together as a platoon and were evaluated on everything they had learned.

"You have to be able to complete the mission, no matter what the circumstances, and that's the phase the instructors see who has what it takes to graduate and become a leader," Sloat said.

Apart from the training itself being difficult, there were other factors that played into passing the course. Throughout the weeks, trainees would get little to no sleep, making each day more exhausting than the last.

"Most of the time we would get about 45 minutes to sleep, then we were up all day long conducting a patrol, moving to our objective, whether it be an ambush, a raid or recon," Sloat said. "When that's done, you move to your patrol base. Once you conduct your patrol base operations, you eat, sleep for about 45 minutes, then eat again when you wake up and start all over again."

For Sloat, one of the biggest challenges was him being different, being an Airman at Army Ranger School can be challenging and some Airmen will go down wearing Army Combat Uniforms to blend in a little bit. However, for this Minot Airman, this was not the case.

"I got a little extra attention. I went down there wearing my Air Force Airman Battle Uniform," Sloat said. "What was the point of blending in, I was there to stand out and be a leader."

In the end, Sloat showed how great of a leader he could be, graduating as one of less than 300 Airman who have graduated from Ranger school giving him a great sense of pride, he said.

Even though it may seem like the hard work is over for Sloat, he says this is just the beginning, as being Ranger certified will help open the doors for his career in the special operations field.

"I think the big thing about being a Ranger is earning the Ranger tab, but that's not the hardest part," Sloat said. "The hardest part is bearing the tab, actually being the symbol of a Ranger and being a leader that the tab portrays."