THE RANGER COURSE

The soldier who has experienced combat knows the value of tough, realistic training in military skills. He knows that he must be able to successfully accomplish any mission which his unit has been organized, equipped and trained to perform in the shortest possible time, with the least expenditure of resources (men and equipment) and with the least confusion to maintain a combat effective unit. The Ranger Course provides tough, realistic training with a minimum of formal classroom instruction.

The Ranger Course is 61 days in length with an average of 19.6 hours of training each day, seven days a week. It is divided into THREE phases of training with each phase being conducted at a different geographical location. The first (Benning Phase), 21 days in length, is conducted by the 4th Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade (RTB) at Fort Benning, Georgia. The second (Mountain Phase), 21 days in length, is conducted by the 5th Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade at Camp Frank D. Merrill near Dahlonega, Georgia. The third (Florida Phase), 17 days in length, is conducted by the 6th Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade at Camp James E. Rudder at Eglin AFB, Florida. Two days of the course are consumed by travel, maintenance, in/out processing and graduation. Rangers are assigned to one of the three Ranger Training Companies of the 4th Battalion upon arrival at Fort Benning and will be trained by that unit's cadre utilizing small group instruction techniques throughout the phase. Upon rotating through the other phases, the same procedures are followed. The emphasis during the course is on practical, realistic, and strenuous field training, where the Ranger student will be taught Ranger-related skills based on current tactical doctrine. It is designed to develop combat arms functional skills relevant to fighting the close combat, direct fire battle. The student is exposed to conditions and situations which closely approximate and often exceed those he would encounter in combat. Fatigue, hunger, the necessity for quick, sound decisions and the requirement for demonstrating calm, forceful leadership under conditions of mental and emotional stress are all experienced in the Ranger Course. The instruction is conducted with units that vary in size from an infantry rifle squad to a rifle platoon, in distance traveled from 2 to 30 kilometers, and in duration from 1 to 12 days. The qualified Ranger student has been trained to effectively function under conditions of simulated combat stress. He is evaluated as a small-unit leader in a series of field training exercises which are conducted primarily at night under all weather conditions. Frequent and unexpected enemy contact, reduced sleep, difficult terrain and the constant pressure of operating within restrictive time limits all contribute to this atmosphere of stress.

The 4th RTBn conducts a Zero Week for each class. The Zero Week program starts one week prior to the class reporting date. Applicants must report on Monday NLT 0600, to HHC, 4th RTBn in the Harmony Church area, Fort Benning, Georgia. Students will report with closely cropped haircuts. Hair complicates good hygiene. Incoming Ranger students will have in their possession health records, to include a medical examination signed by a doctor,(IAW AR 614-200 and DA PAM 351-4), dated within 12 months from the reporting date, twenty copies of their orders with amendments and certification by their company commander of Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), Combat Water Survival Test (CWST), prerequisite skill completion and a memorandum signed by their commander verifying that a PANOREX exists.

Incoming Ranger students will bring all required uniforms and equipment IAW SH 21-75.

ZERO WEEK MISSION

Conduct Ranger Zero Week to better prepare students for Ranger School.

ZERO WEEK INTENT

SPECIAL INFORMATION

The Zero Week program performance statistics for FY95 indicate a lower rate of attrition during the first five days of Ranger training. It is not designed to train Ranger School candidates to graduate the Ranger Course. Zero Week is not intended to make a soldier proficient in any single task. Sustainment training is conducted to reinforce present skills and allow partial acclimation. Students receive a 24-48 hour pass at the end of Zero Week.

ZERO WEEK EVENTS

The APFT and CWST if passed counts for Ranger School. Five Mile Run (Same pace as Ranger School, 40 min total). Physical Training (Daily). Basic Map Reading Review, Land Navigation Course (Same course as Ranger School):

Battle Drills
Troop Leading Procedures
Warning Order
Fragmentary Order
Time Schedule
Duties and Responsibilities of Key Personnel (Squad Leader, A and
B Team Leaders)

The Benning Phase of Ranger training is designed to assess and then to develop the military skills, physical and mental endurance, stamina, and confidence a soldier must have to successfully accomplish combat missions. It is also designed to teach the Ranger student to properly sustain himself, his subordinates, and maintain his equipment under difficult field conditions during the subsequent phases of Ranger training. If a student is not in TOP PHYSICAL CONDITION when he reports to the Ranger Course, he will have extreme difficulty keeping up with the fast pace of Ranger training, especially during the initial phase. The Benning Phase is executed in two parts. The first part is the Ranger Assessment Phase (RAP) conducted at Camp Rogers in the Harmony Church area of Fort Benning. This phase consists of an APFT and Combat Water Survival Test (CWST), 5 mile run, 3-mile run with an obstacle course, a 12-mile foot march, night and day land navigation tests, medical considerations class and 10-event Ranger Stakes (see para 4f, pg 16). Advanced physical training assures physical and mental endurance and the stamina required for enhancing basic Ranger characteristics, commitment, confidence and toughness. Additionally, the student completes the Water Confidence Test at Hurley Hill (Victory Pond) and 7 1/2 hours of combatives vicinity Camp Rogers. The second part of the Benning Phase is conducted at nearby Camp William O. Darby. The emphasis at Camp Darby is on the instruction in and execution of squad combat operations. The Ranger student receives instruction on airborne/air assault operations, environmental and fieldcraft training, executes the Darby Queen obstacle course and learns the fundamentals of patrolling, the warning order/operations order format and communications. The fundamentals of combat operations include battle drills (React to Contact, Break Contact, React to Ambush, Platoon Raid, Demolition's Training, Airborne Operations, Air Assault Operations, Crawl, Walk, Run FTX, principles and techniques that enable the squad to successfully conduct reconnaissance and raid missions. The Ranger student must then demonstrate his expertise through a series of cadre and student led tactical operations. As a result, the Ranger student gains tactical and technical proficiency, confidence in himself and prepares to move to the next phase of the course--the Mountain Phase. Following the Benning Phase, students are normally provided a short break to launder uniforms, get haircuts and purchase any sundry items or TA50 they may have lost, destroyed or exhausted prior to their departure to Camp Frank D. Merrill, Dahlonega, Ga.

During the Mountain Phase, students receive instruction on military mountaineering tasks as well as techniques for employing a platoon for continuous combat operations in a mountainous environment. They further develop their ability to command and control a platoon size element through planning, preparing , and executing a variety of combat missions. The Ranger student continues to learn how to sustain himself and his subordinates in the adverse conditions of the mountains. The rugged terrain, severe weather, hunger, mental and physical fatigue, and the emotional stress that the student encounters afford him the opportunity to gauge his own capabilities and limitations as well as that of his "Ranger Buddies".

In addition to combat operations, the Ranger student receives five days of training on military mountaineering. During the first three days of mountaineering (Lower) he learns about knots, belays, anchor points, rope management and the basic fundamentals of climbing and rappelling. His mountaineering training culminates with a two day exercise (Upper) at Yonah Mountain applying the skills learned during Lower mountaineering. Each student must make all prescribed climbs at Yonah Mountain to continue in the course. During the FTX, Ranger students perform a mission that requires the use of their mountaineering skills. Combat missions are directed against a conventionally equipped threat force in a Mid Intensity Conflict scenario. These missions are conducted both day and night over an eight day field training exercise (FTX) and include moving cross country over mountains, conducting vehicle ambushes, raiding communications/mortar sites, and conducting a river crossing or scaling a steep sloped mountain.

The Ranger student reaches his objective in several ways: cross-country movement, airborne insertion into small, rugged drop zones, air assaults into even smaller landing zones on the sides of mountains or an 8-10 mile footmarch over the Tennessee Valley Divide (TVD). The stamina and commitment of the Ranger student is stressed to the maximum. At any time, he may be selected to lead tired, hungry, physically expended students to accomplish yet another combat mission. At the conclusion of the Mountain Phase, the students move by bus or parachute assault into the Third and final (Florida) Phase of Ranger training, conducted at Camp Rudder, near Eglin AFB, Florida.

The Third or capstone Phase of Ranger School is conducted at Camp James E. Rudder (Auxiliary Field #6), Eglin AFB, Florida. Emphasis during this phase is to continue the development of the Ranger student's combat arms functional skills. He must be capable of operating effectively under conditions of extreme mental and physical stress. This is accomplished through practical exercises in extended platoon level operations in a jungle/swamp environment. Training further develops the students' ability to plan for and lead small units on independent and coordinated airborne, air assault, small boat, and dismounted combat operations in a mid-intensity combat environment against a well-trained, sophisticated enemy.

The Florida Phase continues the progressive, realistic OPFOR scenario. As the scenario develops, the students receive "in-country" technique training that assists them in accomplishing the tactical missions later in the phase. Technique training includes: small boat operations, expedient stream crossing techniques, and skills needed to survive and operate in a jungle/swamp environment.

The Ranger students are updated on the scenario that eventually commits the unit to combat during techniques training. The 12-day FTX is a fast-paced, highly stressful, challenging exercise in which the students are further trained, but are also evaluated on their ability to apply small unit tactics/techniques. They apply the tactics/techniques of raids, ambushes and movement to contact to accomplish their missions.

Upon completion of the Florida Phase of training, students move by parachute assault or bus to Fort Benning, Georgia. Ranger students graduate two days later if they have passed all requirements.

High standards are required and maintained despite the stressful environment in Ranger training. The Ranger Course produces a mentally hardened soldier, who possesses an enhanced capability to perform combat arms related associated functional skills and is more confident in his ability to withstand the stresses of combat to overcome all obstacles to accomplish his mission under extremely adverse conditions.

The Ranger proves during the Ranger course that he can overcome seemingly insurmountable mental and physical challenges. He has demonstrated, while under simulated combat conditions, that he has acquired the professional skills and techniques necessary to plan, organize, coordinate, and conduct small unit operations. He has demonstrated that he has mastered basic skills needed to plan and execute dismounted small-unit day and night operations, low altitude mountaineering, and infiltration as well as exfiltration techniques via land, air, and sea. As a result of proving that he can successfully accomplish these tasks during the Ranger Course, he is authorized to wear the Ranger tab. The graduate of the Ranger Course is the epitome of the U.S. Infantryman.