BohemianDreamer13

Sgt. Alessandro Leonard Plutino, 28, was killed August 8. 2011 by enemy forces during a heavy firefight while conducting combat operations in Paktiya Province, Afghanistan.

Here's my full mantra...the words I follow through life.

THE FAMOUS RANGER CREED


R Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger Regiment.
A Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.
N Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some.
G Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier. My courtesy to superior officers, neatness of dress and care of equipment shall set the example for others to follow.
E Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I    ever embarrass my country.
R Readily will I display the intestinal fortitude required to fight on to the Ranger objective and complete the mission though I be the lone survivor.
—Ranger Handbook SH 21-76[1]

People have noted me asking about my service. I spent nine years in, only leaving when they made me. I gave a right leg and a bit of blood, not for my country-mom-apple pie or any of that sillyness...one of my team mates was once asked by a french journalist what we were fighting for. He replied 'for the ranger to my left, for the Ranger to my right, and the little piece of mud i'm standing on,. That pretty much say it all...

Here's a quick history;
The 75th Ranger Regiment Airborne, also known as Rangers, is a Special Operations light infantry unit of the United States Army. The Regiment is headquartered in Fort Benning, Georgia with battalions in Fort Benning, Hunter Army Airfield and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. It operates as a special operations force of the United States Army Special Operations Command USASOC.

The Regiment is composed of one Special Troops Battalion and three, organizationally identical, rapidly-deployable light infantry special operations battalions(there are others that are only activated for the wars, they will be deactivated afterwards)  with specialized skills that enable them to perform a variety of special operations missions. These missions include but are not limited to airborne, air assault, and direct action operations, raids, infiltration and exfiltration by air, land or sea in addition to airfield seizure, recovery of personnel and special equipment, and support of general purpose forces GPF. Each of the Regiment's three line battalions rotates as the Ranger Ready Force. This battalion is at a constant readiness to deploy and is expected to be able to respond anywhere in the world within 18 hours.


The 75th Ranger Regiment has been credited with numerous campaigns from World War II onwards. In World War II, they participated in 16 major campaigns, spearheading the campaigns in Morocco, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio and Leyte. During the Vietnam War, they received campaign participation streamers for every campaign in the war. The regiment received streamers with arrowheads (denoting conflicts they spearheaded) for Grenada and Panama. To date, the Rangers have earned six Presidential Unit Citations, nine Valorous Unit Awards, and four Meritorious Unit Commendation, the most recent of which were earned in Vietnam and Haditha, Iraq, respectively.

Sua Sponte, Latin for Of their own accord is the 75th Ranger Regiment's regimental motto. Contemporary Rangers are three-time volunteers: for the U.S. Army, for Airborne School, and for service in the 75th Ranger Regiment.

The motto "Rangers lead the way" dates from 6 June 1944, during the Normandy Landings on Dog White sector of Omaha Beach. ThenBrigadier General Norman Cota (assistant CO of the 29th ID) calmly walked towards Maj. Max Schneider (CO of the 5th Ranger Battalion) while under heavy machine gun fire and asked "What outfit is this?" Someone yelled " Rangers!" To this, Cota replied "Well then Goddammit, Rangers, lead the way!"

There you have it...

A Feng-shui master will normally recommend that people feature paintings of fish in their home of office decor to bring prosperity and good luck to the family of business. This is because the Chinese word for fish "yu" sounds very similar to the Chinese word for plenty, "yue". Chinese people eat fish to celebrate the New Year- served whole on a platter with the head pointed carefully toward the guest of honor or the family matriarch or patriarch- and also give fish as gifts to pass along the blessing of abundant wealth. Keeping a bowl of goldfish is also a way to help attract luck. If you want to "Feng-shui" your skin, think about a round design with water and three goldfish or carp, two the traditional golden colour and one black for protection.
Another favorite fish for the tank is the Golden Dragon Fish, a freshwater fish that people think looks like a Chinese dragon, the symbol for good luck and prosperity. Golden Dragons come in green, gold, and red colours. The golden-coloured Golden is also popular but the green fish is tricky-it can sometimes bring bad luck. Regular old goldfish and multi-coloured kois are also kept for good luck.
But the ultimate good luck fish is the Carp. Often shown jumping waves or swimming upsream, the carp represents success against all odds. A carp that succeeds in swimming through the upper rapids of the Yangtze River will be immediatly transformed into a dragon. This why pet koi or carps are often fondly referred to as baby dragons.