Chip Rankin is an educator and a soldier in the Army National Guard. During his career as an educator and a soldier he’s mentored students and soldiers who were struggling with various issues. Unfortunately, some of those students and soldiers were lost to suicide.
One of the things Chip has found to help those who are struggling has been the individual’s resiliency and not getting caught up in what he calls “mind traps”.
Chip talks about the resiliency training that the Army offers, which helps soldiers shift towards a more resilient mindset. Chip encourages others to “hunt the good” no matter how small that good might be.
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Scott DeLuzio: 00:00 Hey everybody, this is the Drive On Podcast where we talk about issues affecting veterans after they get out of the military. I’m your host, Scott DeLuzio, and now let’s get on with the show.
Scott DeLuzio: Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to the Drive On Podcast today. My guest is Chip Rankin. Chip served 27 years in the U.S. Army and has worked as an educator for about 21 years. Over the course of his career, Chip has lost several students and also soldiers to suicide. He’s found some commonalities with all of these individuals in which I’m hoping to dig into a little bit with this episode. So, Chip, welcome to the show. And why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Chip Rankin: 00:43 Well, first of all, thanks for having me today. And a little bit about myself. I grew up in central Minnesota. I got an undergrad at the University of Minnesota and I was a teacher for roughly eight years. I joined the guard, the Army National Guard, when I was a college student to help pay college debt and deployed in 2005 to 2007 to Iraq. When I returned, I entered the education administration world as an assistant principal and then a principal later on. Subsequently, I got deployed again from 2011 to 2012 to Afghanistan. And when I got home, I dabbled into becoming a superintendent. I’m entering my third year as a superintendent and approaching my 27th year in the Army and have a pending deployment coming up in the Spring of 2020 to the Horn of Africa. So, it’s me in a nutshell, married and four kids.
Scott DeLuzio: 01:47 Oh, wow. Okay. Interesting. That’s a long career in the both in the military and in education. So, thank you for all of that public service because that’s all great stuff. And now, stepping into the superintendent role, I have to mention, it’s probably a big change of pace for you, as well.
Chip Rankin: Yeah, it’s interesting.
Scott DeLuzio: Earlier when we were talking offline, going back and forth with some emails you had mentioned to me that you seem to have found a common issue amongst the soldiers and the students that you’ve lost to suicide. That issue that you mentioned was resiliency. Would you mind going into that topic a little bit more?
Chip Rankin: 02:38 You know one of the things the military has done since I’ve come home from Iraq and Afghanistan, especially in the last 5 to 7 years, we lose the lives of 22 service members a day to suicide as they’ve really stressed resiliency training. I have resiliency trainers in my organization. Currently, I serve as a commander for second battalion, 135th Infantry out of Mankato, Minnesota. We have just shy of about a thousand soldiers. There are requirements annually to complete a certain number of hours in resiliency training. And rightfully so, the military is deeply concerned about the number of suicides in our organization. In the parallel life being a principal, we always talk about what are the barriers to student achievement and student success and why don’t 100% of kids graduate high school? And why do we see issues of suicide, depression, and chem...
