Army Rangers (75th Ranger Regiment)

US Army Rangers are an elite light infantry unit that carries out special operations

Rangers - Roles

• airborne / air assaults
• direct action operations
• raids
• airfield seizure
• recovery of personnel and special equipment
• support of general purpose forces (GPF)

Rangers often provide support to other Special Operation Forces (SOF) such as Delta Force. In such operations, the Rangers will typically act as a security and/or backup force for Delta. An example of this type of mission occurred during Operation Gothic Serpent, Somalia, 1993 during which Rangers provided a security cordon for several Delta Force operations.

Rangers - Video

The 75th Ranger Regiment is made up of regimental headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) and several battalions.

The regimental headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) consists of:

• Commanding Officer (colonel)
• CO's staff
• Special staff (communications officer, fire support officer, surgeon, staff judge advocate, USAF weather officer and USAF tactical air control officer)
• HQ Company Staff
• Fire Support Element
• Communications Platoon
• Medical Treatment Team
• RIP (Ranger Indoctrination Program).

Ranger Battalions

• 1st Ranger Battalion
• 2nd Ranger Battalion
• 3rd Ranger Battalion
• Regimental Special Troops Battalion

Each of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ranger Battalions are around 600 men-strong and are made up of a battalion headquarters and headquarters company (HHC) and 3 rifle companies.

The Battalion HHC is comprised of:

• Battalion Company headquarters
• Fire Support Team
  (includes Battalion Mortar Platoon)
• USAF FAC Team
• Medical Team
• Communications Team
• Reconnaissance Platoon
• Support Section

Ranger Rifle Companies

A Ranger rifle company typically consists of 152 Rangers, divided into:

• headquarters and headquarters company (HHC)
• 3 x rifle platoons
  • platoon headquarters
  • 3 x rifle squads
  • 1 x machine gun squad
• 1 x weapons platoon
  • platoon headquarters
    
  • mortar section
    (3 x 2-man mortar squads (M224 60mm mortar))
  • anti-armor section
    (3 x 3-man Ranger Antitank Weapons System (RAWS) or Javelin teams)
  • sniper section
    (includes 3 x 2-man Ranger Sniper Teams :
    2 teams armed with M24 SWS 7.62mm, 1 team with M107 .50)

Regimental Special Troops Battalion (RSTB)

The 75th Regimental Special Troops Battalion (RSTB) was offiicaly activated in 2007. It provides support to the rest of the Regiment in a number of ways including reconnaissance, signals, intelligence and a selection course for potential Rangers.

• Regimental Reconnaissance Company (RRC)
  carries out special reconnaissance for the 75th Ranger Regiment and JSOC.
  
  more info: Regimental Reconnaissance Company
  
  
• Ranger Communications Company (RCC)
  provides the Rangers with command and control-level communications
  
  
• Military Intelligence Company (MICO)
  carries out a wide spectrum of intelligence gathering, including human intelligence (HUMINT), signals intelligence (SIGINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT)
  
  
• Ranger Operations Company (ROC)
  carries out selection and training tasks
  

Rangers - Weapons

US Army Rangers employ a range of weapons systems.

more info : Rangers - Weapons

Rangers- Operations

The modern 75th Ranger Regiment began as the 1st Ranger Battalion in 1974. Further battalions were to follow until the 75th Ranger Regiment was created in 1986. Rangers have operated in South America, Africa and the Middle East.

more info : Rangers Operations

Rangers - Training

Rangers undergo a grueling and extensive training regimen.

more info : Ranger Training

Rangers with the 75th Ranger Regiment clear a compound during an operation in Afghanistan, 2012

U.S. Army Photo by U.S. Army Spc Justin Young

Rangers Resources

Rangers Photos
more Rangers photos
Rangers Video
more SOF video

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