why aren't the us army rangers considered special forces like the delta force or green berets
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there can be some confusion about us army rangers because there are in a way
two different types there are those soldiers who have completed the u.s army ranger school
and there are soldiers who have served in the 75th ranger regiment
united states army ranger school the united states army ranger school is an
intense 61-day combat leadership course oriented towards small unit tactics
it has been called the toughest combat course in the united states and is the
most physically and mentally demanding leadership school the army has to offer
it is open to soldiers commissioned officer warrant officer or enlisted sailors airmen
and marines in the united states armed forces as well as allied military students
the united states army ranger school is not organizationally affiliated with a 75th ranger
regiment ranger school falls under the control of the united states army training and doctrine
command as a school open to most members of the united states army but the 75th ranger regiment
is a special operations warfighting unit organized under the united states army special operations
command the two share a common heritage and subordinate battalion's common lineage
and ranger school is a requirement for all officers and ncos of the 75th ranger regiment
those graduating from ranger school are presented with a ranger tab which is worn on the upper
shoulder of the left sleeve of a military uniform according to u.s army regulations wearing the tab
is permitted for the remainder of a soldier's military career the cloth version of the tab is
worn on the army combat uniform and class a dress uniform of the us army a smaller metal version is
worn on the new army service uniform the purpose of the course is learning to soldier as a combat
leader while enduring the great mental and psychological stresses and physical fatigue
of combat the ranger instructors our eyes also known as lane graders create and cultivate such
a physical and mental environment the course primarily comprises field craft instruction
students plan and execute daily patrolling perform reconnaissance ambushes and raids against
dispersed targets followed by stealthy movement to a new patrol base to plan the next mission
ranger students conduct about 20 hours of training per day while consuming two or fewer meals daily
totaling about 2 200 calories or 9200 kj with an average of 3.5 hours of sleep a day
students sleep more before a parachute jump for safety considerations
ranger students typically wear and carry some 65 to 90 pounds 29 to 41 kilograms of weapons
equipment and training ammunition while patrolling more than 200 miles
or 320 kilometers throughout the course the us army rangers aren't special operations forces
the short and sweet answer is that u.s army rangers aren't considered special forces
because rangers aren't special forces neither are navy seals or marsaak raiders for that matter
far too often special forces are used as a catch-all term for any and all special
operations forces or sof this application of the term is a misnomer as special forces within the
context of u.s military is a specific reference to u.s army special forces aka the green berets
so because rangers aren't special forces they aren't green berets
think of it this way everyone in special forces is a member of the soft community but not everyone in
the soft community is special forces with all that out of the way the us army rangers are
considered part of the soft community they're under the jurisdiction of usocom and yusuf sock
however to your point they don't have quite the same mystique as green berets or delta force
i would argue that a big part of this has to do with public misconceptions about all three
of the aforementioned units here's the thing army soft units are not mutually exclusive
in all likelihood your average d-boy has been a ranger your average d-boy has been
a ranger or green beret at some point in his career before trying out for delta
in fact this is encouraged as serving in either the rangers or special forces
allows a would-be delta operator to gain valuable combat experience and develop a strong foundation
of infantry and small unit tactics so it's not that the rangers aren't as good as the other two
units it's just that they are often younger less experienced and maybe in the process of
building the skill sets they need in order to become green berets or delta force operators
the 75th ranger regiment also known as rangers is light infantry special operations unit of
the united states army the regiment is headquartered at fort benning georgia
and is composed of one special troops battalion and three ranger battalions
the regiment is the us army's premier raid force with specialized skills that
enable them to perform a variety of missions these include direct action airfield seizure
airborne and air assault special reconnaissance personnel recovery and high value target raids
it operates as a special operations force under the united states army special operations command
the 75th ranger regiment is a special operations force but they are not considered
special forces because the term in the united states army refers to units with a different
and specific purpose that performs other missions besides those of the ranger regiment
the united states army special forces known as the green berets because of their distinctive
service headgear or a special operations force tasked with five primary missions
unconventional warfare the original and most important mission of special forces
foreign internal defense special reconnaissance direct action and counterterrorism
the first two emphasize language cultural and training skills in working with foreign troops
other duties include combat search and rescue csar counter narcotics counter proliferation hostage
rescue humanitarian assistance humanitarian demining information operations peacekeeping
psychological operations security assistance and manhunts other components of the united
states special operations command or other u.s government activities may also specialize in
these secondary areas delta cag whatever they've changed their name to this week
for opsec purposes are an outgrowth of special forces and are technically a special forces unit
the confusion here is mostly one of semantics the 75th ranger regiment
army special forces and delta cag whatever are all special operations forces units that conduct
special operations missions but they perform different types of missions
the ranger regiment is the big stick of the special operations community and is tasked
primarily with direct action missions shooting bad guys and breaking or stealing their stuff
or territory army special forces perform a lot of different missions beyond just direct action stuff
they go into an unfriendly country and raise insurgent movements they go into friendly
countries and train their militaries and police to do their jobs better they conduct special recon
missions deep in the unfriendly territory when you can't get intelligence with just
elent sigint and mass dent they go into humanitarian disaster areas that might
be too dangerous for traditional humanitarian aid workers to get recovery operations started
they take on the complex head scratching missions delta cag xyz is a tier one unit
they perform the most crucial special operations missions that the army has
whether it's direct action or whatever if you have a soft mission and it's assigned to the army
and it absolutely must produce results it will be tasked to delta
they can ask for just about any sort of training equipment
and educational resources they need because their mission could encompass just about anything
you