Posted on Jun 18, 2021
Does an Infantry officer need to go to Ranger School to be in Infantry?
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Infantry officer requirements is ranger school?
2d Lt
11A: Infantry Officer
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
It is not a requirement but it is an expectation. The career path for an infantry officer includes going to Ranger school. After you complete your infantry basic officer leader course you will go to Ranger school. The success rate is somewhat low but it is better than the average soldier who goes to ranger school. A lot of units have expectations of officers having Ranger tabs. Most premier assignments expect you to have it and if you do not have a ranger tab you may be passed over for somebody who does have a ranger tab. You could have a career without a ranger tab but your chance of taking command of a company in the 82nd is very little.
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TSgt (Join to see)
This is a longer, and more detailed explanation of what I heard while at OCS in 2009-2010: "If you're an Infantry Officer without a Ranger Tab, you will never get a command."
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It's not a "requirement".
However, if you end up commissioning active component, you will go to Ranger School following IBOLC. In the active component, an IN LT without a Ranger Tab would be in the bottom 2% for the DA CPT board, and your Company Commander would have a long talk with you about going back to Benning for Ranger School.
In the Army Guard, an IN LT would just be in be in the bottom 97%, not a big deal.
However, if you end up commissioning active component, you will go to Ranger School following IBOLC. In the active component, an IN LT without a Ranger Tab would be in the bottom 2% for the DA CPT board, and your Company Commander would have a long talk with you about going back to Benning for Ranger School.
In the Army Guard, an IN LT would just be in be in the bottom 97%, not a big deal.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
If you are active Army, you are expected to apply for Ranger School, but there are always more Officers than slots. I understand now that there is some pre Ranger thing that determines whether you have a slot ( period of high failure rate, I am told). In my day, they Ripped all of us, but only the Officers going to the new or existing Light Units got slots. From there you competed with everyone else in your Division. It was the reason the Army formed that 30 day Light Leader Course for a period.
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While it is not a "Requirement" I will tell you that in my entire career I never saw a career-minded infantry officer that did not have his Ranger Tab. If you plan to do 5 and gone, then you choose, even then you will catch much less crap from your seniors and peers if you have your tab. Pay attention when you see Infantrymen greet each other, as they shake hands, upon first meeting, they give a quick look to the top of the left sleeve to do a "Tab Check" ...
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You don't. That's not to say being tabbed wouldn't hurt you, but it's not required and certainly not all 11A's are Ranger qualified.
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No, you don't but it's easier in the National Guard to progress without the tab.
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Speaking as a former Infantry Officer: For all intents and purposes, it is "mandatory" to obtain your Ranger Tab if you are serving as an Infantry Officer. You can go through your Infantry Officer "Basic" training, but it is 99.9999999% expected that you become Ranger qualified. I hope that answers your question Cadet Steve. Best of luck in all your endeavors.
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Not a requirement, but if you're looking to make it a career, and you can do it, you should.
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It's not a requirement but it is extremely helpful if the individual wants to be looked at above their peers
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