If you ask a bat boy, he’ll give you the narrow definition, “a scroll-wearing member of the 75th Ranger Regiment,” one of the most elite military units in the world, a genuine bada**.
According to most everyone else in the Army, it’s much broader: a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment AND/OR a graduate of the infamous US Army Ranger School, someone who has earned the right to wear the Ranger Tab.
But I’ve always liked a broader definition still. Historically, a ranger is the quintessential American “commando,” born on the colonial frontier when European gunpowder met Native American small-unit fighting tactics. In an era when the conventional armies of Europe fought in line formation, in well-organized battalions and regiments, rangers fought in smaller, irregular units, using stealth, surprise, and sheer audacity to take the fight to the enemy, on his home turf. In this basic role, rangers and ranger tactics played instrumental roles in every conflict in this nations’ history from the colonial era, to the World Wars, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Yes, rangers are irregular warriors, better suited than anyone to hunting down and destroying other irregular warriors in close combat. They are light infantry soldiers specially selected and trained to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier. But being a “ranger” is more than that, it’s a way of carrying yourself, a mindset, a way of life. Ultimately, if you ask me, it’s being the hardest mother****er in the room, any room. A ranger is someone other people look to when times are tough, a leader who can keep it together, when everyone else is falling apart. A ranger gets the mission accomplished, no matter what.
Because Rangers Lead the Way.
Learn more and pickup a copy of ‘The Mediocre Infantryman’s Guide to Ranger School’ at https://mediocreinfantryblog.com/guide-to-ranger-school/