The US Army Rangers are America's elite Rapid Deployment Force. They provide the American armed forces a cohesive fighting unit that can be moved to anywhere in the world in 18 hours. The Rangers are capable of infantry assaults as well as some special operations into varied terrain and climates. Training is arduous and specialized; officers train alongside the men and regularly work from the field with them.

History

Rangers have existed in America well before the United States of America came into being. During King George's War in 1746, changing alliances among Native American tribes led to the raising of forts that special ranging units would patrol between. The first American Ranger is considered to be Benjamin Church, who operated in the mid 1670's, but he was by no means the most famous. In 1756 a woodsman from New Hampshire, Robert Rogers, took command of four companies, creating the famous "Roger's Rangers". Roger's Rangers performed many long-range surveillance and attack missions, missions that very few units were capable of then; particularly in the rough terrain of the Americas.

Roger's Rangers operated under King George's Army against the French and their allies in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). Robert Rogers took command of a 50-man company as a new captain in 1755 and during the course of the war commanded as many as eight at once. By 1758 he had reached the rank of Major. Roger's Rangers were involved in many scouting and reconnaissance mission, acting as the eyes and ears for the English troops. They also ambushed convoys and took prisoners for questioning and were involved in the assault on Quebec.

In one case a force of twenty of Roger's men defeated 150 French soldiers in a combined canoe/shore battle. Trying to draw French canoes into battle, Rogers made it appear he was trying to flee. Taking the bait, the French closed in and were then decimated by specially mounted wall cannons Rogers had mounted on his canoes. At this time his ground forces came in contact with 100 French soldiers and began to move to their canoe on the lack shore. Paddling to their aid, Roger's two canoes fired into the French forces and drove them back into the forest. Roger's forces suffered one wounded in this action; not good for the soldier in question but excellent considering the forces they had fought against.

Respect for Rogers among English officers was high enough that a special Ranger school was created for English cadets (It has also been said that the English wanted more disciplined and "gentlemanly" rangers, something Roger's Rangers were not noted for around English officers). It was here, at the first Ranging School the world had ever seen, that Rogers created his Twenty-eight Principals for Rangers. It should be noted that the famous "Roger's Rangers Standing Orders" Are actually a creation of someone else at a later date (For more on this read the excellent "To Fight With Intrepidity" by Maj. John D. Lock). Cadets went through the school and would then spend some time with one of Roger's Companies, helping with actual missions.

Both American and English armies used ranger units during the War for Independence. Rogers actually fought on the side of the crown, but he never enjoyed the same amount of success he had in the earlier French and Indian War. This was partially because the aristocratic officer class took exception to his promoting black and Indian soldiers over white, even when they were more capable. Due to this, an English officer subsequently purged all "non-worthies." Rogers was so incensed he stepped down and went to Canada to try and raise another company. Unsuccessful, Rogers fled to England to evade creditors and died in London in 1795 at the age of 63.

The most famous of the American units was commanded by Francis Marion, who was better known as the Swamp Fox. Operating from dense forests and swamps, Marion's brigade held the eastern portion of South Carolina from the British with little aid for over a year. Marion's position was particularly difficult in that he was in command of a civilian militia who were prone to going home whenever the war against the British seemed to be going well.

The Swamp Fox used speed and cunning to destroy communication and supply trains as well as to capture English troops. In most cases his strategy involved hitting the British forces hard, destroying their forces and supplies, then fading into the woods or swamps before reinforcements could arrive. He was chased by English forces several times but never caught.

There was another Ranger company as well; known as Morgan's Rangers. A company of expert riflemen, they were not in the strictest sense rangers. They did, however, score an impressive victory against the British at the battle of Cowpens in 1781. Attacked by a 1,100 soldier force, Morgan's Rangers killed 110 and captured 830 with a loss of 12 soldiers killed and 63 wounded.

After the war the American military was reduced in size and all the ranger units disbanded. New ranger units were formed in 1812 to protect the western border towns against attacks by American Indians. In the 1830's the Texas Rangers were formed and established along the Texas border. Other than this there was very little in terms of official Ranger units until the Civil War.

Although there were many Ranger units in the Civil War (up to 428 named units, by some accounts), most were Rangers in name only. The Confederate forces commissioned Ranger units that would roam around terrorizing the countryside and taking booty as payment for their services. In effect pirates, these ranger units proved unpopular and hard to control. In some cases such units were as likely to attack friendly towns and forces as enemy ones. Although Mosby's Rangers operated with a good reputation for the Confederates, General Lee recommended that all such forces be disbanded and merged with conventional forces. By February of 1864 there were few Ranger units left in the Confederate Army.

The Union side had more luck with Ranger forces. Col Benjamin Grierson led a force of men on a raid into Mississippi to destroy as much as possible in the hopes of drawing forces away from General Grant's forces that were poised to assault Vicksburg. In the space of 16 days Grierson and his men destroyed over 50 miles of railroad, several supply camps, and caused the redeployment of some of the forces defending Vicksburg (although probably not as many as Grant would have liked).

The Rangers were revived again in WWII, with six (Seven, if you count Merrill's Marauders) battalions ultimately formed. The 1st Ranger Battalion was formed in June of 1942 and immediately began training its new members. Leadership skills were stressed and all members were trained in scouting, weaponry, self-defense, mountaineering, and small boat handling. A buddy system was utilized; with each member having a team member they paired off with and always trained with.

In August of 1943 all six Ranger Battalions were renamed Ranger Infantry Battalions. Five Ranger Battalions operated in Europe, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th in the Mediterranean theater and the 2nd and 5th in France. The 6th operated in the pacific, as did Merrill's Marauders (a long-range penetration/assault unit the US agreed to form at the Quebec conference in 1943).

The Rangers operated heavily in WWII, scoring some impressive victories but also some tragic defeats that underlined the fact that Rangers were not conventional infantry and should not be treated or used as such. The worst disaster to befall the Rangers was during the Anzio landing, where they were tasked with taking and holding the town of Cistern Di Lattoria.

Previous engagements had drained Ranger manpower and although they had received replacements, there had not been enough time to properly train the new men in Ranger operations. As a result, the 3rd RIB became lost and separated from the 1st RIB that it was operating with. When they came in heavy contact with German forces the 4th was supposed to reinforce them but they had become bogged down in their assault and could not break free.

Of the 767 men that had been tasked with taking and holding the town, only SIX made it back to American lines; the rest had been captured or killed. Some Rangers had been spared and formed into a human shield that the Germans advanced on other American forces behind. Those that had been wounded too seriously to take part in this shield had been shot and killed. As a bittersweet note, the Rangers had managed to cause 5,500 German casualties, necessitating the calling up of German reserves and pushing back a counterattack by two days.

The Anzio landing was the worst loss, however. Actions in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe Cemented the Ranger reputation and tradition. During Operation Torch (the invasion of North Africa) The Rangers captured the port town on Arzew in Algeria and destroyed its defenses before securing the nearby beach head. Had they not been successful or available, naval gunfire would have been used in a costly, long bombardment to reduce the defenses (and probably most of the town).

There were many operations in Tunisia (Including the disaster at Kasserine Pass) that the rangers took part in. In one instance, Rangers were ordered to infiltrate enemy lines and attack enemy defenses at Djel Jel Ank Pass from the rear while the 26th Infantry division moved in from the front. The best route was a long and winding 10 mile trip through rocky mountains to an unmanned plateau overlooking the enemy position. The rangers overran the positions just as the 26th Infantry division was entering the valley and stayed after to mop up as they moved on.

Rangers operated in Sicily from the first invasion wave on, with members of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th capturing the town of Gela and destroying the coastal defenses there while holding off a counter attack. The creator and leader of the WWII Ranger Battalions, Col WIlliam Darby, was awarded a distinguished service cross after Gela for destroying one tank with an anti-tank gun and then leaping atop a second tank and attempting to kill the crew with a hand grenade.

After securing the Town the Rangers moved to the high ground surrounding it and moved on. Another group landed with the 3rd Infantry Division at Green Beach where they seized and held strategic ground until relieved by other forces. After these actions the Rangers operated as armed reconnaissance in actions approaching and assaulting the cities of Porto Empedocle and Messina.

The initial operations in Italy set up the Rangers for the later debacle at the Anzio landing. They originally landed west of the town of Salerno and took the town from the rear through the Chiunzi pass. By midmorning the coastal defenses had been destroyed and their mission had been completed. Afterwards, local commanders began using them in a conventional role, one for which they were not well suited. More than 70 Rangers were killed or wounded in such actions before a stalemate developed and it was decided to assault farther up the coast at Anzio.

After Anzio, surviving members of the Ranger Infantry Battalions were transferred back to the United States to serve as instructors or in a new unit known as the First Special Services Force; a Ranger-like unit made up of Americans and Canadians. The FSSF saw action in the Pacific at Kiska Island in the Aleutians as well as Italy. The 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions were no longer battle capable units and they were disbanded in August of 1944. Col. William Darby, the energetic and highly effective commander of these early WWII Rangers, was killed in action in April of the next year while serving as Assistant Division Commander of the 10th Mountain Division.

Rangers did not see action again until Operation Overlord (The invasion of Europe for those historically challenged out there) on June 6, 1944. There were two battalions involved; the 2nd and 5th. The Rangers were to assault the cliffs at Pointe du Hoe, four miles west of Omaha beach. To help them in their assault on the steep cliffs just off the beach the Rangers used some special new tools. Special rocket-propelled grappling hooks with 3/4" rope attached to them could be fired from their landing craft to aid in assaulting the sheer cliffsides. Extension ladders armed with Lewis machine guns were also carried.

Added armor on the landing ships slowed them down and also made them lower to the water. Because of this, heavy seas sank one boat and pushed the rest of the Rangers off course and drenched their gear. Realizing they were in the wrong area at the last minute, the 2nd Ranger Battalion changed course but had to delay their attack. Because the preinvasion bombardment stopped at a set time some of the German soldiers were up and in their positions by the time the Rangers arrived at the correct spot. Another problem was that the beach was very narrow and offered no protection from enemy fire.

The heavy surf had soaked the ropes, making them too heavy for the rocket propelled grappels to lift. The pre-landing bombardment had stirrred up the dirt on the cliffs and the few ropes that made it up became slick with mud. The seas were so heavy that only one of the special assault ladders was raised and it had to brought back down when it threatened to capsize the DUKW () it was mounted on. Without much close in fire to deter them, German defenders lobbed grenades down the cliffs and riddled the beach with machine gun and mortar fire. Fifteen Rangers became casualties on the beach.

The 5th Ranger Battalion was tasked to help the 2nd. When the 5th was not able to brodcast the taking of their objective (they were a half hour late and sea water had destroyed their radios) the 5th went in with the 26th Infantry to try and gain that objective over land.

The 6th Ranger Battalion participated in the Philippine Island Invasion during the preinvasion landings on several strategic islands near Leyte gulf. During their actions they destroyed several radio facilities and other military equipment. In addition, they were tasked with and freed prisoners at Cabanatuan that the high command was worried would be moved during the invasion. The action required infiltration into highly active Japanese-held territory and a night time river crossing. After freeing the prisoners the Rangers escorted them back to US lines.

Korea...
Vietnam....
Desert One....
Grenada...
Panama....
Desert Storm.....
Somolia....

Training

Rangers are trained and selected during Ranger training held at three different bases. Rangers start training with the 4th RTB (Ranger Training Battalion) at Fort Benning, Georgia, then move to the 5th RTB in Dahlonega GA for mountain, and finish off with the 6th RTB at Eglin AFB in Florida for jungle/swamp training. Of those that start, only about 35% will pass and earn the Ranger Tab and the average soldier will lose 30 lbs.

Ranger training at Fort Benning, Georgia, began in September of 1950 with the formation and training of 17 Airborne Ranger companies during the Korean War by the Ranger Training Command. In October, 1951, the Commandant of the United States Army Infantry School established the Ranger Department and extended Ranger training to all combat units in the Army. The first Ranger class for individual candidates graduated on 1 March, 1952. On 1 November, 1987, the Ranger Department reorganized into the Ranger Training Brigade, and established four Ranger Training Battalions.

The Ranger Training Brigade's mission is to conduct the Ranger, Long Range Surveillance Leader and Infantry Leader courses and to develop the leadership skills, confidence and competence of students by requiring them to perform effectively as small unit leaders in tactically realistic environments. The scope of the Ranger Training Brigade's mission extends not only to U. S. Army personnel but also to other services, international soldiers and to government agencies involved in counter-narcotics operations such as the Drug Enforcement Agency, Department of Interior, U. S. Customs Service and others.

The Ranger course is designed to further develop leaders who are physically and mentally tough and self-disciplined and challenges them to think, act and react effectively in stress approaching that found in combat. The course is over nine weeks in duration and divided into four phases: Benning phase, Fort Benning, Georgia; Desert phase, Fort Bliss, Texas (closed); Mountain phase, Dahlonega, Georgia; and Swamp phase, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Infantry Leader Course is designed to prepare company level infantry leaders to lead and train their units in critical skills and selected mission essential task list tasks. The Long Range Surveillance Leader course is designed to train long range surveillance leaders to better prepare them for the training and tactical leadership of their units/teams.

The recruits do not wear ranks in order to add team cohesion during training. In addition, no Ranger recruit is allowed to go from one obstacle on a course to the next unless his buddy has completed the same task. Training is made as realistic as possible. There are long forced marches and highly complex planning throughout with little sleep for all involved. Leadership is rotated so that all can learn and grow into a leadership role. If the instructors notice a recruit exhibiting fear of an obstacle or panic in leadership roles, they will give the recruit more to get him over his fear or get him out of the Rangers. Ranger Stakes

In order to ensure that all potential candidates are well versed in US Weapons (nearly 20% of the personnel going through Ranger training are from foreign countries), the Ranger Stakes were developed. Candidates must demonstrate skills in eleven tasks. Those who fail a test are immediately retrained and retested on the spot. Those that fail a second time are rolled back. The Eleven tasks are:

Test 1 Disassemble and reassemble a M-60.
Test 2 Loading an M-60.
Test 3 Preparing a range card for the M-60.
Test 4 Employing an M181A1 Claymore mine.
Test 5 Sending a radio message.
Test 6 Encode and decode a message.
Test 7 Maintaining an M-16 rifle.
Test 8 Correct malfunctions of the M-16.
Test 8 Functionally check the M-16 rifle.
Test 10 Use of a hand grenade.
Test 11 Maintain a M-203 grenade launcher.

Missions

The Rangers have many different missions. Although they are an Army unit, they fall under the JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) umbrella as well. They can be deployed by themselves or as part of a larger composite force (such as Operation Eagleclaw), working with different units throughout the armed forces. They train constantly and keep up to speed on mountain, urban, amphibious, and extreme cold operations. A rotation is kept with each battalion becoming the Ranger Ready Force, able to deploy anywhere within 18 hours, for a month.