Infantry Rangers, the Riflemen on the Front Lines: What it Takes
Video: The #Rangers are the most elite large-scale fighting force the Army has to offer with a rich operational history. Their mission, depending on the operation, can range from airfield seizure to special reconnaissance to direct action raids on select targets and individuals.
1st Ranger Battalion History
The 1st Ranger Battalion was organized and activated by Maj. William O. Darby on June 19, 1942, in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland. The battalion participated in the North African landing at Arzew, Algeria, the Tunisian Battles, and the critical Battle of El Guettar. The battalion was deactivated at the close of World War II. Army.mil
In the fall of 1973, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Gen. Creighton Abrams, recognized the need for a highly trained and mobile reaction force and directed the activation of the first battalion-sized Ranger unit.
Headquarters, Forces Command, issued General Order 127, directing the activation of the 1st Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, with an effective date of Jan. 31, 1974.
A selection process continued from March through June 1974, as personnel assembled at Fort Benning, Georgia, where cadre training was conducted. On July 1, 1974, the battalion parachuted into Fort Stewart, Georgia, where it was stationed until moving to Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, in September 1978.
Back to the Beginning.
In 1775, the Continental Congress formed eight companies of expert riflemen to fight in the Revolutionary War. Later, during 1777, this force of hardy frontiersmen, commanded by Dan Morgan, was known as the Corps of Rangers. Francis Marion, “The Swamp Fox,” organized another famous Revolutionary War Ranger element, known as Marion’s Partisans.
During the War of 1812, companies of U.S. Rangers were raised from among the frontier settlers as part of the Regular Army. Throughout the war, they patrolled the frontier from Ohio to western Illinois on horseback and by boat. They participated in many skirmishes and battles with the British and their Indian allies. Many famous men belonged to Ranger units during the 18th and 19th centuries, including Daniel Boone and Abraham Lincoln.
The Civil War included Rangers such as John Singleton Mosby, who was the most famous Confederate Ranger. His raids on Union camps and bases were so effective – part of North-Central Virginia soon became known as Mosby’s Confederacy.
After the Civil War, more than half a century passed without military Ranger units in America. However, during World War II, from 1941-1945, the United States, using British Commando standards, activated six Ranger infantry battalions.
Col. William O’Darby
Then-Maj. William O. Darby, who was later a brigadier general, organized and activated the 1st Ranger Battalion at Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland, June 19, 1942. The 1st Ranger Battalion participated in the North African landing at Arzeu, Algeria, the Tunisian Battles, and the critical Battle of El Guettar.
The 3rd and 4th Ranger Battalions were activated and trained by Col. Darby in Africa near the end of the Tunisian Campaign. The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Battalions formed the Ranger force. They began the tradition of wearing the scroll shoulder sleeve insignia, which has been officially adopted for today’s Ranger battalions.
U.S. Army Rangers show off the ladders they used to storm the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, which they assaulted in support of the Omaha Beach landings on D-Day.
The 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions participated in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6, 1944. It was during the bitter fighting along the beaches that the Rangers gained their motto, “Rangers, lead the way!” They conducted daring missions to include scaling the cliffs of Pointe Du Hoc, overlooking Omaha Beach, to destroy German gun emplacements trained on the beachhead.
The 6th Ranger Battalion operated in the Philippines and formed the rescue force that liberated American prisoners of war, from a Japanese POW camp at Cabanatuan in January 1945. The 6th Battalion destroyed the Japanese POW camp and evacuated more than 500 prisoners.
The 75th Infantry Regiment was first organized in the China-Burma-India Theater as Task Force Galahad, Oct. 3, 1943. It was during the campaigns in the China-Burma-India Theater that the regiment became known as Merrill’s Marauders after its commander, Maj. Gen. Frank D. Merrill. The Ranger battalions were deactivated at the end of World War II.
Men, of the 3rd U.S. Rangers, 3rd Infantry Division, advance north of the Imjim River across the 38th Parallel in Korea, while under heavy mortar fire from Chinese communists.
The outbreak of hostilities in Korea, June 1950, again signaled the need for Rangers. Fifteen Ranger companies were formed during the Korean War. The Rangers went to battle throughout the winter of 1950 and the spring of 1951. They were nomadic warriors, attached first to one regiment and then to another. They performed “out front” work – scouting, patrolling, raids, ambushes, spearheading assaults, and as counterattack forces, to regain lost positions.
Rangers were again called to serve their country during the Vietnam War. The 75th Infantry was reorganized once more, Jan. 1, 1969, as a parent regiment under the Combat Arms Regimental System. Fifteen separate Ranger companies were formed from this reorganization. Thirteen served proudly in Vietnam until inactivation, Aug. 15, 1972.
In January 1974, Gen. Creighton Abrams, Army chief of staff, directed the formation of a Ranger battalion. The 1st Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, was activated and parachuted into Fort Stewart, Ga., July 1, 1974. The 2nd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, followed with activation, Oct. 1, 1974. The 3rd Battalion, 75th Infantry (Ranger), and Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), received their colors on Fort Benning, Ga., Oct. 3, 1984. The 75th Ranger Regiment was designated during February 1986.
The modern Ranger battalions were first called upon in 1980. Elements of 1st Battalion, 75th Infantry (Ranger), participated in the Iranian hostage rescue attempts.
In October 1983, 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions spearheaded Operation Urgent Fury by conducting a daring low-level parachute assault to seize Point Salines Airfield and rescue American citizens at True Blue Medical Campus.
The entire 75th Ranger Regiment participated in Operation Just Cause. Rangers spearheaded the action by conducting two important operations. Simultaneous parachute assaults were conducted onto Torrijos/Tocumen International Airport, Rio Hato Airfield and Gen. Manuel Noriega’s beach house, to neutralize Panamanian Defense Forces. The Rangers captured 1,014 enemy prisoners of war and more than 18,000 arms of various types.
Elements of Company B, and 1st Platoon Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, deployed to Saudi Arabia, Feb. 12, 1991 to April 15, 1991, in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Soldiers, of Task Force Ranger, take cover and return fire during the Oct. 3-4 battle.
In August 1993, elements of 3rd Battalion and 75th Ranger Regiment, deployed to Somalia to assist United Nations forces in bringing order to a desperately chaotic and starving nation. The Rangers conducted a daring daylight raid with 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, Oct. 3, 1993. For nearly 18 hours, the Rangers delivered devastating firepower, killing an estimated 600 Somalis in what many have called the fiercest ground combat since Vietnam.
The 75th Ranger Regiment deployed Regimental Reconnaissance Detachment, Team 2, and a command and control element to Kosovo in support of Task Force Falcon, Nov. 24, 2000.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Rangers were called upon to lead the way in the Global War on Terrorism. The 3rd Battalion and 75th Ranger Regiment spearheaded ground forces by conducting an airborne assault to seize Objective Rhino in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Oct. 19, 2001. The 3rd Battalion employed the first airborne assault in Iraq to seize Objective Serpent in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, March 28, 2003.
Due to the changing nature of warfare and the need for an agile and sustainable Ranger force, the Regimental Special Troops Battalion was activated, July 17, 2006. The RSTB conducts sustainment, intelligence, reconnaissance and maintenance missions, which were previously accomplished by small detachments assigned to the regimental headquarters and then attached within each of the three Ranger battalions. The activation of the RSTB signifies a major waypoint in the transformation of the Ranger force from a unit designed for short-term “contingency missions” to continuous combat operations without loss in lethality or flexibility.
Today, Rangers from all four of its current battalions continue to lead the way in overseas contingency operations. The 75th Ranger Regiment is conducting sustained combat operations in multiple countries deploying from various locations in the United States, a task that is unprecedented for the regiment. Rangers continue to conduct combat operations with almost every deployed special operations, conventional and coalition force in support of both Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The Ranger Regiment is executing a wide range of diverse operations that include airborne and air assaults into Afghanistan and Iraq, mounted infiltrations behind enemy lines, complex urban raids and rescue operations.
In addition to conducting missions in support of overseas contingency operations, the 75th Ranger Regiment continues to train in the United States and overseas to prepare for future no-notice worldwide combat deployments. The regiment also continues to recruit, assess and train the next generation of Rangers and Ranger leadership.
The modern Ranger battalions were first called upon in 1980, as Company C, 1st Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, participated in the Iranian hostage rescue attempts. The groundwork for the special operations capability of today was laid during training and preparation for this operation.
Rangers and other special operations forces from throughout the Department of Defense developed tactics, techniques and equipment from scratch, as no doctrine existed. The combat effectiveness of the battalion led to its deployment to Grenada on Oct. 25, 1983, along with the 2nd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, to rescue American students at the True Blue Medical Campus and restore democracy.
The 75th Infantry changed to the 75th Ranger Regiment in March 1986 when the 75th Ranger Regiment received the World War II and Korean War lineage and honors, which caused the battalion to be re-designated as 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
On Dec. 20, 1989, the entire 75th Ranger Regiment, including the 1st Battalion, was again committed to combat operations in Operation Just Cause. The battalion’s successful seizure of the airfield at Torrijos-Tocumen Airport and its subsequent operations contributed significantly to the U.S. victory in Panama.
From Feb. 12 to April 15, 1991, Company B and 1st platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm, where they conducted one critical raid and provided a quick reaction force in cooperation with allied forces. The performance of these Rangers significantly contributed to the overall success of the operation. In September 1994, 1st Battalion deployed to the USS America (CV-66) in support of Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.
In December 2001, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, elements of Headquarters, Headquarters Company and Company A deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In 2002, the entire battalion returned to Afghanistan, where they participated in Operation Anaconda, seeing action in the Battle of Takur Gar, also known as the Battle of Roberts Ridge.
In 2003, 1st Battalion participated in combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The battalion conducted missions across the entire country of Iraq, including the successful rescue of prisoner of war Pfc. Jessica Lynch.
At the end of 2003, the battalion deployed again, this time sending elements to both Afghanistan and Iraq. The battalion deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom until 2010 and continued to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Resolute Support until the summer of 2021. Today, the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, continues to deploy in support of overseas contingency operations around the world.