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   The United States Army Rangers are an elite American Special Operations Force capable of conducting direct action operations. The Army Rangers strongly draw upon the heritage, traditions and ethos of Rogers' Rangers.[citation needed] The current Army Rangers, the 75th Ranger Regiment, were originally raised for World War II. The modern rangers trace their 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 as the 75th Infantry. The current 75th Ranger Regiment has no organizational connection with the U.S. Army Ranger School, operated by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). The 75th Ranger Regiment is a special operations combat formation controlled by the U.S. Army Special Operation Command (USASOC); the connection is common military tradition and subordinate-battalion lineage; each has headquarters at Fort Benning, Georgia.[citation needed]. Historically, American light infantry units, designated “Rangers”, were raised for, and disbanded after, the French and Indian Wars, the American Revolution (British and Colonial armies), the American Civil War (Union and Confederate armies), World War II, and the Korean War.[citation needed] Of the current, active Ranger battalions, two, the 1st and the 2nd, have been in service since reactivation in 1974, with the Regimental Headquarters and the 3rd Ranger Battalion reactivated in 1984. The Ranger Training Brigade, an organization separate from the 75th Ranger Regiment, has been in service under various names and Army departments since World War II.
[edit] Early Rangers
The term Ranger first appeared in 13th-century England. Rangers were officials employed to "range" through the countryside providing law and order (often against poaching). In North America rangers served in the 17th and 18th-century wars between colonists and Native American Indian tribes. 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. During the revolutionary war, General George 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 was the first official Ranger unit for the United States, and are considered the historical parent of the modern day Army Rangers, Special Forces, and Delta Force. [edit] American Civil War
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. [edit] World War II[edit] European theater
 In May 1942, during World War II, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sanctioned, recruited, and began training in Scotland under the British Commandos; 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 William O. Darby until the Battle of Cisterna (January 29, 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.[1]  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 five-gun battery of captured French Canon de 155 mm GPF guns.[2] 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.[3] [edit] Pacific theater
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. After World War II, the Rangers were disbanded; however, the Ranger training regime was kept in place, though only senior NCOs and officers were allowed the training. [edit] Korean WarMain article: Korean War Ranger Companies
At the outbreak of war in Korea, 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 Companies. 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 and 7th Ranger companies were tasked to train new Rangers. October 28, 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 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 Rangers helped stop the Chinese 5th Phase Offensive. As in World War II, after the Korean War, the Rangers were disbanded. [edit] Ranger SchoolMain article: Ranger School In order to prepare the Rangers for combat, the Army instituted the United States Army Ranger School. Initially, all Rangers trained at the school belonged to one of the numerous Ranger companies. After the Korean War ended and the companies were disbanded, the school continued to train new Rangers. The school is organized under United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and is not associated with the special operations unit, the 75th Ranger Regiment, except by tradition and subordinate battlion linage. [edit] Vietnam WarMain article: 75th Ranger Infantry Regiment (Airborne) On 1 January 1969, under the new U.S. Army Combat Arms Regimental System (CARS), U.S. Army Rangers were re-formed in South Vietnam as the 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger). Fifteen companies of Rangers, two of which (A-75 & B-75) were based in the USA, were raised from units that had been performing missions in Europe since the late 1950s and in Vietnam since 1966 as Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol and Long Range Patrol companies. These new Rangers were given a unit genealogy traced to Merrill's Marauders. 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 [4]). Each company from the 75th Infantry (Ranger) was assigned to a major US army combat unit:[5]
Rangers in Vietnam conducted long range reconnaissance into hostile territory. They collected intelligence, planned and directed air strikes, acted as force-multipliers in conventional operations, assessed aerial bombing damage in enemy-controlled areas, executed hunter-killer missions, both day and night, conducted ambushes, and specially-trained and specially-equipped Ranger snipers killed selected enemy personnel.[citation needed] Additionally, Rangers attempted the recovery of friendly prisoners of war; captured enemy soldiers for interrogation, 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 and motor vehicle transport routes.[citation needed] [edit] Ranger SchoolMain article: Ranger School In order to prepare the Rangers for combat, the Army instituted the United States Army Ranger School. Initially, all Rangers trained at the school belonged to one of the numerous Ranger companies. After the Korean War ended and the companies were disbanded, the school continued to train new Rangers. [edit] The Modern Rangers Main article: 75th Ranger Regiment (United States)
After the Vietnam conflict, 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 a flexible, highly trained and rapid light infantry specialized to be employed against many conventional and special operations targets. 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 the following operations:[citation needed] the 1980 rescue attempt of American hostages, Tehran, Iran in (Operation Eagle Claw); the 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions in Operation Urgent Fury on Grenada in 1983; all three Ranger battalions, plus HQ elements, for the U.S. invasion of Panama (Operation Just Cause) in 1989; Bravo 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; soldiers from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ranger Battalions deployed to Haiti in 1994 (before operation's cancellation; recalled 5 miles (8.0 km) from the Haitian coast); and the 3rd Ranger Battalion led the attack in Afghanistan, in 2001; the entire Ranger Regiment is on deployment since the start of the current Iraq War, in 2003. [edit] Notable Members of the 75th Ranger Regiment or linage units
[edit] Honors[edit] Campaign Participation Credit 
[edit] Decorations
[edit] Similar Units
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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