Facts About US Army Rangers
The U.S. Army Rangers is an American Special Operations Force and an elite, highly-trained light infantry unit. The current Rangers are the 75th Ranger Regiment. The Rangers have a long and celebrated history in American warfare. They are trained to perform in any type of climate, from the Arctic to jungles to the desert to the mountains.
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Creed
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The Rangers go by a creed all of them must learn. Each paragraph begins with a letter of the word "Ranger." The creed is a pledge that each Ranger will do his best to uphold the high standards of the regiment and to be loyal to his country and his fellow Rangers. It ends with the motto, "Rangers lead the way!"
Origins
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The 75th Ranger Regiment can be traced back directly to the U.S. Army Rangers who fought in the Korean War. However, the term "Rangers" was first designated for special military units before the French and Indian War. American Indians were raiding towns and villages in Virginia in 1622. These communities sent out small groups of armed men who would "range" throughout the area looking for Indians and warning the towns of possible Indian attacks.
Many historians recognize the first organized Rangers unit as the one commanded by Captain Benjamin Church. The unit was activated in 1670 and helped to end King Phillips' War in New England in 1675.
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History
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The Rangers have been a part of every major American war since the French and Indian War--except for World War I. After each war, the Rangers were deactivated and subsequently reactivated when the next war came along. This practice ended in 1973 when General Creighton Abrams, Chief of Staff of the United States Army, issued a charter that ordered the 75th Infantry Regiment to be permanently active as a highly-trained Ranger unit.
Training
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The Ranger Training Center opened on Oct. 2, 1950, in response to the tactics being used by the North Koreans during the Korean War. The Rangers were trained in small unit tactics, use of demolitions, cold weather and mountain operations and low-level parachute jumps and river crossings.
Today, Rangers begin their training at the Ranger Training Brigade at Ft. Benning, Ga. Candidates must pass an orientation course and train for three weeks at Ft. Benning. They then go to Dahlonega, Ga., for three weeks of mountain training before getting three weeks of swamp training at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida.
Best Ranger Competition
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The Best Ranger Competition is held annually at Ft. Benning. It is a contest to determine the best two-man team. It began in 1982 as a competition for the Rangers at Ft. Benning, but it has since been expanded into a competition for the entire United States Armed Forces.
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