Can I make it through ranger school without knowing how to swim?

No. The first phase of the training you have a water survival test. You need to know how to swim, considering you are wearing boots and have your basic gear/weapon on you. You do all sorts of things throughout the training where you will find yourself in water. Their is a water confidence course where you walk across a high beam (oh it's high lol) over water and end up dropping into water....you fly down a zip line into water...you might find yourself treading swamp water in Eglin (phase 3) during certain periods throughout the year. The good news is, you really don't need to be an excellent swimmer...you just need to know how to swim! So keep at it, as swimming is the absolute last thing I worried about throughout the course (I recycled twice, and spent a lovely 6 months there :( ) Also, you may want to check out the RTB Ranger School website @ https://www.infantry.army.mil/rtb/rtbmain.asp.

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How To Survive Ranger School

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not only will you not survive ranger school, i would think you wouldn't survive OCS or the Army version of TBS.

here is my take on it, As a former Marine infantryman there is no way in hell i would have any respect for a boot louy who could not swim. I'm willing to bet a Ranger would feel the same way. you MUST learn to swim.

You may make it through ranger school without knowing how to swim, but what if you get put into a situation that your life or one of your men's life depend on your ability to swim? It seems to me that you just want to eek by on this one, if you are going to be a ranger then you need to be able to overcome this fear and face it head on. I'll tell you this much, just jump in the deep-end your a soldier, self preservation will take over. You can do it! I beleive that if you are put into a situation that you have to you will. Good-luck soldier, and thanks in advance for the sacrifice you are about to make. I dont think you guys hear that enough, a lot of people might not understand, but I was reg army myself didn't make it far but I enlisted. And I know what you are about to go through. Go get it done and get yer butt back home. Hooah!

I was stationed in Alaska in 1977 when I put in for Ranger School. We had a PT test, and a swim test. They put us on the high dive with fatigue cap, web gear and plastic M-16, in duty uniform. They blind folded us and walked us out close to the end of the diving board, turned us around a few times clockwise, then counter clock wise, then told us to walk, holding our weapon over our heads. When we hit the water we were allowed to take the blind fold off, and we had to swim the length of the pool and back with all our gear. If you want it all, you have to give it your all. Good luck.

Unfortunately, you will not only have to know how to swim, but show some level of skill at it. My advice...lots of time in the pool! Keep working with a swim instructor, swim every day if possible, even just a few laps. Be sure to build up your arms if you haven't already and just keep trying.

Sorry.. Your going to have to learn to swim. During the water part of Ranger School they are going to test your ability to tread water wearing Uniform and Boots.

Best of luck.

Do you practice swimming? Hit the pool etc as much as you can. If you can't swim, you sink and that is never a good thing. Best of luck, hope you make it.