17 photos showing the life of an elite US Army Ranger
The 75th Ranger Regiment is an elite airborne light infantry unit, falling under the U.S. Special Operations Command.
The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ranger Battalions have approximately 600 men in each of its ranks, according to American Special Ops.
With an increasingly fast op-tempo in a post-9/11 world, Rangers have stood out amongst their special ops peers as the experts in pulling off raids. "On multiple occasions, my teammates pulled terrorists out of their beds and flex cuffed them before they even woke up. That's how precise Rangers have become in this war," one Ranger wrote on the website SOFREP.
But before any soldier can make it within the regiment, they need to go through some of the toughest training the military has to offer.
For most soldiers, that training pipeline begins with the Ranger Assessment and Selection Programs. Once complete, soldiers will be assigned to the regiment and be authorized to wear its distinctive tan beret.
While they are then authorized to wear the unit scroll of the 75th, they still need to attend the 8.5 week Ranger School if they want to earn the coveted Ranger Tab.
The Army calls the 61-day Ranger School "the most physically and mentally demanding leadership school" it has to offer.
According to American Special Ops, students train for about 20 hours per day on two (or fewer) meals while sometimes carrying upwards of 90 pounds of gear. By the end of the course, they will hike or patrol approximately 200 miles.
All will learn to memorize the Ranger Creed, an oath which embodies the elite soldiers' ethos of never leaving a comrade behind, to never surrender, uphold Ranger history, and always complete the mission.
The Regiment traces its lineage back to World War II. They were held in special regard after the Normandy landings, when 225 Rangers scaled cliffs at Pointe Du Hoc on June 6, 1944 under intense enemy fire. "The Rangers pulled themselves over the top," President Ronald Reagan said of the men, in 1984. "And in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe."
Rangers have distinguished themselves on many battlefields since then, to include places like Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Somalia, and most recently, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Like other special operations units, Rangers yield a variety of skills, weapons, and can conduct operations in different environments. They can hit a target on land,
from the air ...
... and out of the water.
Beyond formal schools like Ranger, Airborne, and Mountain Warfare, soldiers in the Regiment are often practicing their skills or taking part in real-world exercises when they are not deployed.
Among its most recent high-profile missions, the 75th Ranger Regiment played a larger part in overthrowing the Taliban in 2002, and the invasion of Iraq.
They also helped rescue Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch, who was taken prisoner of war during the invasion.
One thing is absolutely clear: The 75th Ranger Regiment, in keeping with its creed, will continue to lead the way into battle.
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