· United States Army Rangers are elite members of the United States Army. Rangers have served in recognized U.S. Army Ranger units or have graduated from the U.S. Army's Ranger School.[1] The term "Ranger" was first used in North America in the early 17th century; however, the first ranger company was not officially commissioned until King Philip's War (1676) and then they were used in the four French and Indian Wars. Rangers also fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War.
The six battalions of the modern Rangers have been deployed in wars in Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and saw action in several conflicts, such as those in Panama and Grenada. Of the current active Ranger battalions, two—the 1st and the 2nd—have been in service since reactivation in 1974.[2] The 3rd Ranger Battalion and the headquarters of the 75th Ranger Regiment were reactivated in 1984.
The 75th Ranger Regiment is now a Light Infantry combat formation within the U.S. Army Special Operation Command (USASOC). The Ranger Regiment traces its lineage to three of six battalions raised in WWII, and to the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional)—known as “Merrill's Marauders,” and then reflagged as the 475th Infantry, then later as the 75th Infantry.
The Ranger Training Brigade (RTB)—headquartered at Fort Benning, GA—is an organization under the U.S. Army's Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and is separate from the 75th Ranger Regiment. It has been in service under various names and Army departments since World War II. The Ranger Training Brigade administrates Ranger School. Successful completion of this 61-day course is required to become Ranger qualified and to wear the Ranger Tab.
Rangers in North America served in the 17th and 18th-century wars between colonists and Native American tribes. The British regulars were not accustomed to frontier warfare and so Ranger companies were developed. Rangers were full-time soldiers employed by colonial governments to patrol between fixed frontier fortifications in reconnaissance providing early warning of raids. In offensive operations, they were scouts and guides, locating villages and other targets for task forces drawn from the militia or other colonial troops.
In North America, "The earliest mention of Ranger operations comes from Capt. John Smith," who wrote in 1622, "When I had ten men able to go abroad, our common wealth was very strong: with such a number I ranged that unknown country 14 weeks."[3] Robert Black also stated that,
In 1622, after the Berkeley Plantation Massacre...grim-faced men went forth to search out the Indian enemy. They were militia—citizen soldiers—but they were learning to blend the methods of Indian and European warfare...As they went in search of the enemy, the words range, ranging and Ranger were frequently used...The American Ranger had been born.[4]
The father of American ranging is Colonel Benjamin Church (c. 1639–1718).[5] He was the captain of the first Ranger force in America (1676).[6] Church was commissioned by the Governor of the Plymouth Colony Josiah Winslow to form the first ranger company for King Philip's War. He later employed the company to raid Acadia during King William's War and Queen Anne's War.
Benjamin Church designed his force primarily to emulate Native American patterns of war. Toward this end, Church endeavored to learn to fight like Native Americans from Native Americans.[5] Americans became rangers exclusively under the tutelage of the Indian allies. (Until the end of the colonial period, rangers depended on Indians as both allies and teachers.)[7]
Church developed a special full-time unit mixing white colonists selected for frontier skills with friendly Native Americans to carry out offensive strikes against hostile Native Americans in terrain where normal militia units were ineffective. His memoirs "Entertaining Passages relating to Philip's War" is considered the first American military manual (published 1716).
Under Church served the father and grandfather of two famous rangers of the eighteenth century: John Lovewell and John Gorham respectively.[8] John Lovewell served during Dummer's War (also known as Lovewell's War). He lived in present-day Nashua, New Hampshire. He fought in Dummer's War as a militia captain, leading three expeditions against the Abenaki Indians. John Lovewell became the most famous Ranger of the eighteenth century.[9]
During King George's War, John Gorham established "Gorham's Rangers". Gorham's company fought on the frontier at Acadia and Nova Scotia. Gorham was commissioned a captain in the regular British Army in recognition of his outstanding service. He was the first of three prominent American rangers – himself, his younger brother Joseph Gorham and Robert Rogers – to earn such commissions in the British Army. (Many others, such as George Washington, were unsuccessful in their attempts to achieve a British rank.)[10]
Rogers' Rangers was established in 1751[11] by Major Robert Rogers, who organized nine Ranger companies in the American colonies. These early American light infantry units, organized during the French and Indian War, were actively called "Rangers" and are often considered to be the spiritual birthplace of the modern Army Rangers. Major Rogers is credited with, among other things, drafting the first set of standard orders for rangers. These rules, Robert Rogers' 28 "Rules of Ranging", are still provided to all new Army Rangers upon graduation from training, and served as one of the first modern manuals for asymmetric warfare.
When the American Revolution began, Major Robert Rogers allegedly offered his services to General George Washington. Fearing that Rogers was a spy, Washington refused. An incensed Rogers instead joined forces with the Loyalists and fought for the crown. Not all of Rogers' Rangers went with him, however, including such notable figures as Israel Putnam.).
Later on during the war, General Washington ordered Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Knowlton to select an elite group of men for reconnaissance missions. This unit was known as Knowlton's Rangers, and is credited as the first official Ranger unit (by name) for the United States. This unit, however, carried out intelligence functions rather than combat functions in most cases, and as such are not generally considered the historical parent of the modern day Army Rangers. Instead, Knowlton's Rangers gave rise to the modern Military Intelligence branch (although it was not a distinct branch until the 20th century).
In January 1812 the United States authorised six companies of United States Rangers who were mounted infantry with the function of protecting the Western frontier. Five of these companies were raised in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.[12] By December 1813 the Army Register listed officers of 12 companies of Rangers[13]
During the Black Hawk War the United States Mounted Ranger Battalion was created out of frontiersmen who enlisted for one year and provided their own rifles and horses. The battalion was organised into six companies of 100 men each that was led by Henry Dodge. After their enlistment's expired there was no creation of a second battalion.[14]
The most famous Rangers of the American Civil War fought for the Confederate States Army. In January 1863, John S. Mosby was given command of the 43rd Battalion, Partisan Ranger. Mosby's Rangers became infamous among Union soldiers due to their frequent raids on supply trains and couriers. Their reputation was heightened considerably when they performed a raid deep into Union territory and captured three high-ranking officers, including Brigadier General Edwin H. Stoughton. Weeks after the surrender of the Confederate Army Mosby disbanded his unit rather than formally surrender.
Also a famous Confederate commander, Turner Ashby led a cavalry company known as the Mountain Rangers, who became known for their ability to harass Union soldiers.
The most successful attacks against Mosby's Rangers were carried out by the Union Army's Mean's Rangers. Mean's Rangers became famous when they successfully captured General James Longstreet's ammunition train. They later fought and captured a portion of Mosby's force.
In May 1942, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sanctioned, recruited, and began training in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. Of 500 volunteers who first formed the Rangers at Carrickfergus, only 87 were alive by the end of the war. [15] 80 percent of the original Rangers came from the 34th Infantry Division. Together with the ensuing 3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions they fought in North Africa and Italy commanded by Colonel Darby until the Battle of Cisterna (29 January 1944) when most of the Rangers of the 1st and 3rd Battalions were captured. The remaining Rangers were absorbed into the Canadian-American First Special Service Force under Brigadier General Robert T. Frederick. They were then instrumental in operations in and around the Anzio beachhead.[16]
Before the 5th Ranger Battalion landing on Dog White sector on Omaha Beach, during the Invasion of Normandy, the 2nd Ranger Battalion scaled the 150-foot (46 m) cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, a few miles to the west, to destroy a six-gun battery of captured French Canon de 155 mm GPF guns.[17] Under constant fire during the climb, they encountered only a small company of Germans on the cliffs and the artillery withdrawn some 500 meters. The guns were later found and destroyed, and the Rangers cut and held the main road for two days before being relieved.[18]
Meanwhile two separate Ranger units fought the war in the Pacific Theater. The 98th Field Artillery Battalion was formed on 16 December 1940 and activated at Fort Lewis on January 1941. On 26 September 1944, they were converted from field artillery to light infantry and became 6th Ranger Battalion. 6th Ranger Battalion led the invasion of the Philippines and performed the daring Raid at Cabanatuan. They played an important role until they were deactivated on 30 December 1945, in Japan.
After the first Quebec Conference, the 5307th Composite Unit (provisional) was formed with Frank Merrill as the commander, leading them to be nicknamed Merrill's Marauders. They began training in India on 31 October 1943. Composed of the famous six color-coded combat teams that would become part of modern Ranger heraldry, they fought against the Japanese during the Burma Campaign. In February 1944, the Marauders began a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) march over the Himalayan mountain range and through the Burmese jungle to strike behind the Japanese lines. By March, they had managed to cut off Japanese forces in Maingkwan and cut their supply lines in the Hukawng Valley. On 17 May, the Marauders and Chinese forces captured the Myitkyina airfield, the only all-weather airfield in Burma. The Marauders proved themselves a truly exceptional unit and have the very rare distinction of having every member of the unit receive the Bronze Star.
On 6 June 1944, during the assault landing on Dog White sector of Omaha Beach as part of the invasion of Normandy, General Norman Cota (assistant CO of the 29th ID) approached Maj. Max Schneider, CO of the 5th Ranger Battalion and asked “What outfit is this?”, Schneider answered "5th Rangers, sir!" To this, Cota replied “Well, goddammit, if you're Rangers, lead the way!” From this, the Ranger motto—"Rangers lead the way!"—was born.[19]
At the outbreak of the Korean War, a unique Ranger unit was formed. Headed by Second Lieutenant Ralph Puckett, the Eighth Army Ranger Company was created in August 1950. It would serve as the role model for the rest of the Ranger units to be formed. Instead of being organized into self-contained battalions, the Ranger units of the Korean and Vietnam eras would be organized into companies and then attached to larger units, to serve as organic special operations units.
In total, sixteen additional Ranger companies were formed in the next seven months: Eighth Army Raider Company and First through Fifteenth Ranger Company. The Army Chief of Staff assigned the Ranger training program at Fort Benning to Colonel John Gibson Van Houten. The program would eventually be split to include a training program located in Korea. 3rd Ranger Company and the 7th Ranger Company were tasked to train new Rangers.
28 October 1950 would see the next four Ranger companies formed. Soldiers from the 505th Airborne Regiment and the 82nd Airborne's 80th Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion volunteered and, after initially being designated the 4th Ranger Company, became the 2nd Ranger Company—the only all-black Ranger unit in United States history. After the four companies had begun their training, they were joined by the 5th–8th Ranger companies on 20 November 1950.
During the course of the war, the Rangers patrolled and probed, scouted and destroyed, attacked and ambushed the Communist Chinese and North Korean enemy. The 1st Rangers destroyed the 12th North Korean Division headquarters in a daring night raid. The 2nd and 4th Rangers made a combat airborne assault near Munsan where Life Magazine reported that Allied troops were now patrolling north of the 38th Parallel. Crucially, the 2nd Rangers plugged the gap made by the retreating Allied forces, the 5th Ranger Company helped stop the Chinese 5th Phase Offensive. As in World War II, after the Korean War, the Rangers were disbanded.
Ranger Training began in September 1950 at Fort Benning Georgia "with the formation and training of 17 Airborne Companies by the Ranger Training Command".[20] The first class graduated from Ranger training in November 1950."[21] The United States Army's Infantry School officially established the Ranger Department in December 1951. Under the Ranger Department, the first Ranger School Class was conducted in January–March 1952, with a graduation date of 1 March 1952. Its duration was 59 days.[22] At the time, Ranger training was voluntary.
In 1966, a panel headed by General Ralph E. Haines, Jr. recommended making Ranger training mandatory for all Regular Army officers upon commissioning. "On 16 August 1966, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Harold K. Johnson, directed it so." This policy was implemented in July 1967. It was rescinded on 21 June 1972 by General William Westmoreland. Once again, Ranger training was voluntary.[22] In August 1987, the Ranger Department was split from the Infantry School and the Ranger Training Brigade was established.
The Ranger Companies that made up the Ranger Department became the current training units—the 4th, 5th and 6th Ranger Training Battalions.[23] These units conduct the United States Army's Ranger School at various locations at Fort Benning, Georgia, Camp Frank Merrill, near Dahlonega, Georgia, and Camp James Rudder at Eglin Air Force Base's Auxiliary Field #6, in Florida. As of 2011, the school is 61 days in duration.
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) and Long Range Patrol companies (also known as Lurps) were formed in the mid-1960s as a "reactive necessity to the US Army's lack of units capable of reconnaissance behind enemy lines". On 1 January 1969, under the new U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), these units were "redesignated as Rangers" in South Vietnam within the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger).[24] Fifteen companies of Rangers were raised from "Lurp" units—which had been performing missions in Europe since the late 1950s and in Vietnam since 1966. The genealogy of this new Regiment was linked to Merrill's Marauders.[25]
In Vietnam, the Rangers were organized as independent companies: C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O and P (With one notable WWII exception, since 1816, U.S. Army regiments have not included a Juliet or "J" company[26]
In addition to scouting and reconnoitering roles for their parent formations, ranger units provided terrain-assessment and tactical or special security missions; undertook recovery operations to locate and retrieve friendly prisoners of war; captured enemy soldiers for interrogation and intelligence-gathering purposes; tapped North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong wire communications lines in their established base areas along the Ho Chi Minh trail, and mined enemy trails as well as motor-vehicle transport routes.[27]
After the Vietnam War, division and brigade commanders determined that the U.S. Army needed elite, rapidly deployable light infantry, so in 1974 General Creighton Abrams constituted the 1st Ranger Battalion; eight months later, the 2nd Ranger Battalion was constituted, and in 1984 the 3rd Ranger Battalion and their regimental headquarters were created. In 1986, the 75th Ranger Regiment was formed and their military lineage formally authorized. The 75th Ranger Regiment, comprising three battalions, is the premier light-infantry of the U.S. Army. It is the deadly combination of special operations and elite airborne light infantry. The Regiment is a flexible, highly trained and rapid light infantry unit specialized to be employed against any special operations targets. All Rangers—whether they are in the 75th Ranger Regiment, or Ranger School, or both—are taught to live by the Ranger Creed.
The 4th, 5th, and 6th Ranger Battalions were re-activated as the Ranger Training Brigade, the cadre of instructors of the contemporary Ranger School; moreover, because they are parts of a TRADOC school, the 4th, 5th, and 6th battalions are not formally included to the active strength of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
The Rangers have participated in numerous operations throughout modern history. In 1980, the Rangers were involved with Operation Eagle Claw, the 1980 rescue attempt of American hostages in Tehran, Iran.[28] In 1983, the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions conducted Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. All three Ranger battalions, with a headquarters element, participated in the U.S. invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) in 1989. Bravo Company, the first platoon and Anti-Tank section from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion was deployed in the First Persian Gulf War (Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield) in 1991. Bravo Company, 3rd Ranger Battalion was the base unit of Task Force Ranger in Operation Gothic Serpent, in Somalia in 1993, concurrent with Operation Restore Hope. In 1994, soldiers from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ranger Battalions deployed to Haiti (before the operation's cancellation. The force was recalled 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Haitian coast.). The 3rd Ranger Battalion led the attack in Afghanistan, in 2001. The Ranger Regiment has been involved in multiple deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since 2003.
After 11 September, the United States began what it called its War on Terror with the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Special Operations Units such as the Rangers, along with some CIA officers were the first US Forces on Afghan soil during Operation Enduring Freedom. This was the first large Ranger operation since the Battle of Mogadishu. The Rangers met with success during the invasion and, along with the other US Special Operations forces, played an integral part in overthrowing the Taliban government. They also participated in the biggest firefight of Operation Anaconda in 2002 at Takur Ghar.[29]
In 2003, when the United States invaded Iraq, the Rangers were among those sent in. During the beginning of the war, they faced some of Iraq's elite Republican Guard units.[30] One of their notable achievements in Iraq was the rescue of American prisoner of war POW Private First Class Jessica Lynch. The 75th Ranger Regiment has been one of the few units to have members continuously deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.[31]
There is some dispute over the use of the word "Ranger." According to John Lock,
The problems of the Ranger Tab and indeed Ranger history is in large part caused by the lack of a clear-cut definition of who is a Ranger. The Ranger Department, the Infantry School, and Department of the Army have in the past carelessly accepted the definition of a Ranger unit to include the use of terms 'Ranger-type' and 'Units like Rangers,' and 'Special Mission Units.' In his book Raiders or Elite Infantry, David Hogan of the Center for Military History writes that 'By the time of the formation of LRRP units..., Ranger had become a term of legendary connotations but no precise meaning.' For the want of a definition of who and what is a Ranger, integrity was lost. As a result of Grenada, circumstances have changed. Since 1983, men have had the opportunity to earn and wear an authorized Ranger unit scroll or an authorized Ranger Tab or both. But there is a need for a firm definition of who and what constitutes a RANGER. Without that definition, we face the likelihood of future controversy.[32]
Organizations define the term "Ranger" in different ways. For example, the annual "Best Ranger Competition", hosted by the Ranger Training Brigade, can be won by pairs of participants from the 75th Ranger Regiment, or by Ranger qualified entrants from other units in the US military. For an individual to be inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Association's "Ranger Hall of Fame" he "must have served in a Ranger unit in combat or be a successful graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School." The Ranger Association further clarifies the type of unit: "A Ranger unit is defined as those Army units recognized in Ranger lineage or history."[33] Acceptance into the US Army Ranger Association is limited to "Rangers that have earned the U.S. Army Ranger tab, WWII Rangers, Korean War Rangers, Vietnam War Rangers, all Rangers that participated in Operations Urgent Fury, Just Cause, Desert Storm, Restore Hope, Enduring Freedom, and all Rangers who have served honorably for at least one year in a recognized Ranger unit."[34]
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 French Morocco, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Anzio and Leyte. During the Vietnam War, they received campaign participation streamers for every campaign in the war.
In modern times, 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 Commendations, the most recent of which were earned in Vietnam and Haditha, Iraq, respectively.
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