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75th Ranger Regiment

The 75th Ranger Regiment, composed of three Ranger battalions, is the premier light-infantry unit of the United States Army. The 75th Ranger Regiment is a flexible, highly trained and rapidly deployable light infantry force with specialized skills that enable it to be employed against a variety of conventional and Special Operations targets.

Headquartered at Fort Benning, GA, the 75th Ranger Regiment's mission is to plan and conduct special missions in support of U.S. policy and objectives. The three Ranger battalions that comprise the 75th Ranger Regiment are geographically dispersed.

The mission of the ranger regiment is to plan and conduct special military operations. These operations are conducted by specially trained, equipped, and organized forces against strategic or tactical targets in pursuit of national military, political, economic, or psychological objectives. They may support conventional military operations or they may be performed independently when conventional forces cannot be used.

The flexibility of the Ranger Force requires it to perform under various command structures. The force can work unilaterally under a Corps, as a part of JSOTF, as an ARSOTF, or as an Army component in a JTF. Historically, it is common for the Ranger Force to conduct forced entry operations as part of a JSOTF, then become OPCON to a JTF to afford them the capability to conduct special operations/direct action missions.

Special military operations conducted by the ranger regiment include strike operations, usually deep penetration, and special light infantry operations. Strike operations include raids, interdiction, and recovery operations. Special light infantry operations include many of the light infantry missions assigned to airborne, air assault, or light infantry battalions and brigades. These operations are conducted in support of the AirLand Battle at all levels of intensity.

The ranger regiment provides the national command authority (NCA) the ability to move a credible military force quickly to any region in the world. The regiment uses the entire spectrum of intelligence support, from national systems to organic assets. Ranger units maintain a readiness posture that supports their immediate commitment to battle once deployed. They are often tailored for specific missions and may require augmentation from external sources. Tactical mobility may be augmented by USAF or Army special operations aviation (SOA) aircraft.

Because of the importance the Army places on the 75th Ranger Regiment, it must possess a number of capabilities. These capabilities include:

• Infiltrating and exfiltrating by land, sea and air;
• Conducting direct action operations;
• Conducting raids;
• Recovery of personnel and special equipment; and
• Conducting conventional or special light-infantry operations.

One ranger battalion is always in an advanced readiness condition as the Ranger Ready Force (RRF) available for immediate worldwide deployment. A second battalion is prepared to deploy later and a third battalion to follow. The regimental headquarters maintains command and control, liaison, communications, and reconnaissance elements immediately available for deployment. Higher status of readiness in response to specific world situations can be achieved.

Each of the three Ranger Battalions is identical in organization. Each battalion consists of three rifle companies and a Headquarters and Headquarters Company. Each battalion is authorized 580 Rangers. However, the battalions may be up to 15% over-manned to make allowances for schools and TDYs.

In order to maintain advanced readiness conditions, ranger battalions are rotated as the RRF. Ranger units can maintain an increased readiness condition for long periods, but this condition is not maintained longer than needed. The effort to maintain this level of readiness degrades the unit's training and effectiveness. If the needs of the operations dictate long periods at the highest readiness condition, provisions are then made for sustainment training. Also, added support is required from the RSE.

The Army maintains the Regiment at a high level of readiness. Each battalion can deploy anywhere in the world with 18 hours notice. The N-hour sequence is a departure time sequence designed to help the ranger force complete all required deployment actions within a certain time. The length of the N-hour sequence depends on the readiness condition of the battalion before deployment. The N-hour sequence begins when the battalion is alerted and ends when the first elements depart. The N-hour sequence does not include travel time to the objective area.

Before taking over the duties of the RRF, battalions must do the following:

• Complete preparation for oversea movement (POM) qualification, to include an individual records check and required inoculations;
• Test fire all weapons, confirm battlesight settings, and repair or replace faulty weapons;
• Assemble and load on pallets the unit basic load (Classes I and V) and other supplies and equipment;
• Check unit-derived packing list components for accountability and serviceability; and
• Prepare special operations troop listings.

Ranger battalions are light infantry and have only a few vehicles and crew-served weapons systems. Standard weapon systems of the unit are:

• 84mm Ranger Antitank Weapons System (RAWS);
• 60mm Mortars;
• 81mm Mortars;
• 120mm Mortars;
• M240B Machine Guns;
• Mark 19 RP MM Grenade Launcher; and
• Stinger.

Regimental Headquarters consists of a Command Group, normal staff positions (S-1 through S-5), a fairly robust communications detachment, a fire support element, a reconnaissance detachment of three 6-man teams, a cadre for the Ranger Training Detachment (RTD), and a Company Headquarters. Additionally, the Regiment has the capability of deploying a planning team consisting of experienced Ranger operations, intelligence, fire support, communications and logistics planners. The team can deploy on short notice with USASOC approval, to theater SOCs to plan ranger operations during crisis action planning for contingency operations.

To maintain readiness, Rangers train constantly. Their training encompasses arctic, jungle, desert, and mountain operations, as well as amphibious instruction. The training philosophy of the 75th Ranger Regiment dictates the unit's' high state of readiness. The philosophy includes performance-oriented training emphasizing tough standards and a focus on realism and live-fire exercises, while concentrating on the basics and safety. Training at night, during adverse weather, or on difficult terrain multiplies the benefits of training events. Throughout training, Rangers are taught to expect the unexpected.

All officers and enlisted soldiers in the Regiment are four-time volunteers - for the Army, Airborne School, the Ranger Regiment and Ranger School. Those volunteers selected for the 75th Ranger Regiment must meet tough physical, mental and moral criteria. All commissioned officers and combat-arms NCOs must be airborne and Ranger qualified and have demonstrated a proficiency in the duty position for which they are seeking.

Upon assignment to the Regiment, both officers and senior NCOs attend the Ranger Orientation Program to integrate them into the Regiment. ROP familiarizes them with Regimental policies, standing operating procedures, the Commander's intent and Ranger standards. Enlisted soldiers assigned to the Regiment go through the Ranger Indoctrination Program. RIP assesses Rangers on their physical qualifications and indoctrinates basic Regimental standards. Soldiers must pass ROP or RIP to be assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Junior enlisted soldiers who are not Ranger qualified must attend a Pre-Ranger course, which ensures they are administratively, physically and mentally prepared before they attend the U.S. Army Ranger Course. The result of this demanding selection and training process is a Ranger who can lead effectively against enormous mental and physical odds.

Commandos, termed Rangers in the U.S. Army, are elite light infantry units, organized and trained to conduct raids and long-range reconnaissance and to seize critical points on the battlefield. By the time of American intervention in World War II, both the Axis powers and the Allies had already used special operations with some success. In 1940 German airborne commandos seized the "impregnable" fortress of Eben Emael, the key to the Belgian defense system.

From the plains of Europe to the jungles of the Pacific, the U.S. Army in World War II employed a variety of commando and guerrilla operations to harass the Axis armies, gather intelligence, and support the more conventional Allied military efforts. U.S. soldiers led guerrillas against Japanese patrols in the jungles of the Philippines and pushed through uncharted paths in the rugged mountains of northern Burma to strike at the enemy rear. During the Allied invasion of northern France on D-day, elite American infantry scaled the sheer cliffs of the Normandy coast, while smaller combat teams and partisans struck deep behind German lines, attacking enemy troop concentrations and disrupting their communications. Having accomplished the task that had been the basis for their creation, the two Ranger battalions spent much of the rest of the war in search of a purpose.

During the Korean War, to obtain potential rangers a request for volunteers was sent out to those willing to accept extremely hazardous duty in the combat zone of the Far East. Volunteers came from a variety of sources, but many had previously served in the original ranger battalions, the Canadian-U.S. First Special Service Force, or in the Office of Strategic Services, during World War II. The 82nd Airborne Division was particularly responsive to the call. Some estimates report as many as 5,000 of these paratroopers volunteered for ranger training.

Inactivated in 1945 and then activated in 1950, rangers continued to distinguish themselves in combat but were again inactivated in 1951. The ranger flag didn't fly again until the late 1960s, when the unit was activated and eventually became the 75th Infantry Regiment.

Rangers received authorization through AR 670-5, Uniform and Insignia, 30 January 1975, to wear black berets. Previously, locally authorized black berets had been worn briefly by the 10th Ranger Company (Airborne), 45th Infantry Division, during the Korean War before their movement to Korea; Company F (LRP), 52d Infantry, 1st Infantry Division, in 1967 in the Republic of Vietnam; Company H (Ranger), 75th Infantry, 1st Cavalry Division, in 1970 in the Republic of Vietnam; and Company N (Ranger), 75th Infantry, 173d Airborne Brigade, in 1971 in the Republic of Vietnam. Armor and Armored Cavalry personnel wore black berets as distinctive headgear until CSA Bernard W. Rogers banned all such unofficial headgear in 1979.

In 1980, a new era of Ranger training began with a focus on special operations. Second Battalion trained in countries through the world and participated in many significant events to include combat, shows of force and demonstrations of various duration in key regions included England, Thailand, Central and South America and Africa.