got the book, read it...#1, the goddam thing was written 30 years to late for me...i would advise any prospective SF soldier to read Brad Handy's comments on the back cover...there are a lot of guys who went before without this book, without SOPC, without a screening process before enlistment...the odds were not good for a guy to go from High School to SF, but there are many among our numbers who did...thus, if you prepare yourself, if you avail yourself of the programs and training opportunities available, success is within your grasp...WM beats that point in quite effectively...
#2 when i was in SFQC, we basically free-based tincture benzoin...i never had a blister...but i hardly ever have blisters, anyway...it is a forbidden item on the packing list...i guess after some research, someone figured the benefits were greatly oversold...i won't argue the point, so read chapters 7 and 8 often...read them until you are qualified...by then, the lessons in those chapters should be old hat...
#3 i guess you need to bone up on the Ranger Creed...if an instructor mentions something more than once, it's going to be very important...WM recommends a paragraph a night, then recommends daily recitation once initial mastery is achieved...i don't know if he picked that up in Harmony Church (the only place i did that much reading of the Ranger Creed), but he's on to something (i just don't know what it is)...
my analysis...the book is a tool...tools kept in the shed do no work...if the damn book ain't wore out when you show up for SFAS, you've probably screwed the pooch...if the book is worn out, but your boots aren't broken in, shame on you...if the book is in tatters but you are not in shape...the bus for the 82nd will take you there...
i don't know why, but don't ask WM why a calf stretch prevents shin splints...he says he doesn't know...(i think he's holding out on you guys...
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well done...it takes quite a bit of effort to synthesize that much information into something a guy can read in a short time, yet still provide enough information to get someone through the intial selection process...once again, from where i sit, it's a good job...