Fighting Elite, US Army Ranger: 1983-2002

Rangers have attained a near-mythical status within the hierarchy of theUnited States Army. "I wanna be an Airborne-Ranger" is the first stanza ofthe most famous of all army cadences. No other unit can point to a morecolorful and impressive combat record - yet despite their reputation, Rangerunits have been disbanded at regular intervals since World War II, only tobe re-activated later when circumstances required. The modern 75th RangerRegiment, composed of a headquarters company and three infantry battalions,holds in its ranks fewer than 2,000 Rangers. It is an all-male, homogeneous,strictly hierarchical and severely disciplined combat unit, complete withits own culture and idiosyncrasies. To gain entry, each soldier mustvolunteer four times (for the Army, the Airborne, for the Ranger Regiment,and for Ranger School) - ensuring that only the toughest and most skilledcandidates succeed. This title takes the reader through the distinct stagesof training and acceptance, including the Ranger Indoctrination Program andRanger Battalion training, and details the developments in Ranger weaponry,equipment and clothing since the early 1980s. Using first hand accounts, itshows what it was like to fight in Panama in 1989, in raid missions in Iraqin 1991 and Somalia in 1993, and brings the unit up to date with the RangerRegiment s deployment to Afghanistan in Operation Enduring Freedom. It alsocovers the culture of the Rangers, from their special language andterminology, to the rites of passage that lie behind the formal trainingprogram. Packed with superb photographs taken by Rangers themselves, thistitle takes you into the world of the US Army's elite.