being called Ranger without attending ranger school?

[Steadfast]

here we go again.

I know...I'm an asshole. What his face was looking pretty ready for his adventure this weekend. You should call him, wish him good luck and blow him a long distance kissy-po!

We're going to change his name and avatar to LloydBridgesrtb. Do you remember that show young fella.

Yeah, the show was called Sea HUnt, huh sounds navyish, ya sure ya mean this show DG?

[Steadfast]

reviving this old thread is something else.

Reading hobbits remarks could make an old timer's head swell jes by agreeing with him. I remember back in 2nd Brigade that ocassionally a Ranger Tab would come to our unit or so I was told, find out what we did out in the field and skedaddled out of our AO. Truth was I never even thought of Ranger School and Ranger Battalion did not exist except prior back to WWII.

In 1998 as I was preparing to go to my first reunion of the www.75thrra.com I was reading an article in "Patrolling" magazine which was written by the father of a deceased Ranger School grad. There was talk that the Korean Veterans being in a Ranger Unit were awarded the Ranger Tab without ever having attended the school. This Ranger Dad went on further to elaborate that it would cheapen the accomplishment of what his son had achieved. And I heard that indeed the Korean Rangers by an order of Congress had been awarded the Ranger Tab. I felt bad for the father that lost his Ranger son. But at the same time I never personally wanted to be awarded by Congress a Ranger Tab without going through Ranger School. To me the old man was correct, why should we cheapen the award his son achieved. While I was running reconnaissance missions for our unit never once did I make the connections that we were even connected to anything even remotely similar to Roger's Rangers, The WWII Rangers wether in the Far East or in Europe. All I know is that I was doing a job and that I enjoyed it, many guys did in my unit. Hell, it seemed we had the life of luxury with one day off after every mission. Who else in Vietnam could boast a day off. Not a single one of my friends at my local V.A. They are all astonished saying they lead rugged lives. Some of them never came out of the jungle except for R&R or to rotate back to the states.
Here is the kicker, I didn't join the US Army. I got a letter from my dear ole Uncle Sam that translated said I was drafted for two years & that in addition to being drafted that unless I re-upped for additional time my MOS would be combat infantryman 11B. I figured I'd fuck the Army and volunteer to go Airborne - then in Vietnam where I was slated to go to an infantry grunt unit in the 2nd Brigade I again volunteered and joined the LRRP's after a delagate from the LRRP's asked for volunteers. Thats it - Ranger Tab, Ranger Scroll, Ranger heritage, we are all connected one way of the other. Today the Ranger Batts are a formidable unit that Armies of other countries would not want to meet us unless they were on our side. Us old timers from Vietnam had our time, Ranger Tab earners each day prove they earned their Tab. The very mention of Ranger means trouble for some country, that is if the US Army Rangers are gonna fucken kill'em. Hell I am proud of these fine young men in Battalions. These youngmen have lifted the Army's level so far up that not many can even compare in attitude, intelligence and fierceness. The Ranger Battalions today are the best, brightest and strongest our country has and every single one of 'em is Sua Sponte. So's if ya youngsters want to call me Tabless, I can live with the put downs in jest since in my heart I know you all are the best be it Tabbed or Tabless or Ranger Regiment and Tabbed. You are all fucken killers. My kind of guys. ~S~

[pzpos360]

Well I think for the modern day warrior you have to have served in the 75th to be called a Ranger. Not that I am not proud of my tab, I honestly worked my ass off for it. But I will never tell anyone that I am an Airborne Ranger, only that I served in the mighty Eighty Deush. Though I am certain I have the Ranger mentality and I am willing to bet that many who have worked with me can testify to that.

For warriors of the past i.e. LRRPs units, you are most definitely Rangers in my book. Being in combat, you established the principles and doctrine in the Ranger Handbook and many other Army manuals with blood. Who cares about a tilte when you have done all of that.

[Nomad]

So's if ya youngsters want to call me Tabless, I can live with the put downs in jest since in my heart I know you all are the best be it Tabbed or Tabless or Ranger Regiment and Tabbed. You are all fucken killers. My kind of guys. ~S~

I would not in a million years think of saying something that ignorant to any of you Vietnam Rangers. You are the guys that us next generation guys read about in books. As we all know, a book only gives you a couple of hours of condensed information from a removed point of view.

To me, you epitomize the very essence of a US Army Ranger.

[Ranger Bill]

I had to wait until I had three Stolys to reply to Ranger Steadfast's post. He and I served in the same unit, but in different platoons and I think he left before I arrived. The missions consisted of 4-man teams and often beyond the max range of arty and a half-hour for helicopter gunship support. Most of the missions were ambushes and prisoner snatches. We had maybe 10 percent with a School Tab. Maybe half were Airborne. The rest were legs. When an FNG with or without Tab arrived he was assigned to a team and had to prove himself in the bush. Many became TLs, but some did not. In my platoon, about a third of TLs were Tabbed. Some were legs and some were Airborne. They got the job based on ability. Back in those days Army policy was to have one Ranger School grad in every line company. And SF was the creation of JFK and most of the Army brass was against it. The Rangers in WWII never went to Ranger School. Were they Rangers? Was there even a Ft. Benning when Marion and Darby were leading their Rangers? Ranger Steadfast is as much a Ranger as any School grad and more. He did the deed, over and over again. And if the Vietnam Rangers would not have proved themselves, there would be no Regiment today. The real shame is that Ranger Steadfast felt he had to say what he did. He walked in the boots before most on this site were born. He's been there and he's back.

[Rock Island Ranger]

So's if ya youngsters want to call me Tabless, I can live with the put downs in jest since in my heart I know you all are the best be it Tabbed or Tabless or Ranger Regiment and Tabbed. You are all fucken killers. My kind of guys. ~S~

I would not in a million years think of saying something that ignorant to any of you Vietnam Rangers. You are the guys that us next generation guys read about in books. As we all know, a book only gives you a couple of hours of condensed information from a removed point of view.

To me, you epitomize the very essence of a US Army Ranger.

Sometimes, Bullkiller says something worthwhile...above...PROFOUND. I was raised by, trained by, and led by Viet Nam era Rangers. In my mind as well as heart, no group of men went against so much hostility both in the Jungle and at home, got so damned little credit, and set the bar so damned high than these guys did. It was indeed the birth place of the modern Battalions we have today. And as was siad, had they NOT perfromed superhuman tasks, the Regiment may not be.