Posted on Jan 12, 2015
SGM Gregory Tarancon IV
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75th ranger regiment 2
There have been many spirited debates on the internet, in clubs, and elsewhere on exactly who is and is not a Ranger, and the debate comes down to two issues Tab or Scroll. I have read some pretty scathing comments from Scroll wearers about how they are the only ones worthy of the title Ranger. By Leonard Benton

http://rhinoden.rangerup.com/tab-or-scroll-what-makes-a-ranger/
Posted in these groups: P240 Ranger
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CW4 Juan Morales
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It all comes down to being committed to your organization and committing to the values of the Ranger Creed. I spent a year in Ranger Regt. I arrived tabbed SSG, and it was obvious that I was different than the home grown 'Batt Boys' and was referred to as an import. The way I saw it at the time, being tabbed and not in Regiment was like being airborne and never being in an airborne unit. After I left Regiment for flight school I've found that whenever I run into tabbed aviators there is a camaraderie there because of a shared experience. You know something about each other. Being part of the Ranger Regt. is a HUGE accomplishment, and so is attending the Ranger School and being awarded your tab. Remember, however, neither Maj. Robert Rogers nor Col. Darby had a Ranger tab. If we can understand the differences in culture between being a school trained Ranger leader and being a member of the Ranger Regiment, we can honor both with pride.
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MAJ Regimental Physician Assistant
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Ranger School is a leadership school. Ranger Regiment is a way of life. I'm not sure someone can answer this without both serving in Ranger Regiment and graduating Ranger School. I considered myself a Ranger upon graduating RIP in 1993. I considered myself a leader after graduating Ranger School in 1994.
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CPL Infantryman
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Well said sir!
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SGT Charles Jewell
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A Ranger is someone who is a member of a Ranger battalion. A Ranger qualified soldier wears the tab.
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SGT Charles Jewell
SGT Charles Jewell
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Just my opinion. But if I would have made SF, which I tried, I would have been a Special Forces soldier. If I would have then been assigned outside the Special Forces, I would have then just been a Special Forces qualified soldier. Again, just my opinion.
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Tab or Scroll – What Makes a Ranger?
COL Jean (John) F. B.
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Edited >1 y ago
Then answer to the question about what makes you a Ranger is nothing about the Tab or Scroll. It is about graduating from Ranger School and being awarded the Ranger Tab. Once awarded the Ranger Tab, you are a Ranger, just like graduating from Airborne School and being awarded Jump Wings makes you a parachutist. Whether you are assigned to a jump slot or not, you are still a parachutist. Whether you are assigned to a Ranger unit or not, if you have been awarded the Ranger tab, you are a Ranger.
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COL Jean (John) F. B.
COL Jean (John) F. B.
>1 y
SGT Christopher Kirkpatrick - You do that.. They may have been assigned to the Ranger Regiment and, at the time, considered Rangers, due to their assignment, but they are not Rangers, as far as the Army is concerned. It really does not matter in the overall scheme of things. Not sure why people like you want to make it so. You can believe what ere you want; however, that does not make it so.

I'll tell you what ... Here's a test. Have one of your non-Ranger Tabbed former Ranger Regiment guys appear before a promotion board and claim to be a Ranger and have a non-Ranger Regiment, but Ranger Tabbed, soldier appear before the same board. Who gets the promotion points (or does not get in trouble for falsification of records)? I know the answer, do you???
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COL Jean (John) F. B.
COL Jean (John) F. B.
>1 y
SGT Christopher Kirkpatrick - OK, buddy... I don't know anybody who was "issued" a Ranger Tab and did not earn it. Most professional soldiers live the military creed every day, as I did for 30 years and still do to this day. I see no need to denigrate anybody's accomplishments or to puff up my chest and purport to be better or less than others because I was or was not assigned to a particular unit. I see no need to continue to beat this dead horse... You have your opinion and I have mine. I respect your service and your dedication, as I do all soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines
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COL Jean (John) F. B.
COL Jean (John) F. B.
>1 y
SGT Christopher Kirkpatrick - You just won't let it die and have to have the last word, don't you. Let's get a couple of things clear... (1) I am not a leg, as you indicate in your disrespectful cartoon. (2) A Ranger is defined by the Army as a person who graduates from Ranger School and is awarded a Ranger Tab. Being assigned to a Ranger unit, but not having been awarded a Ranger Tab, does not qualify that individual as being a Ranger. He is simply a member of a Ranger unit. A cook in an Armor unit is not a Tanker, a mechanic in an Infantry unit is not an Infantryman, and a clerk in an Aviation unit is not a pilot, for example. Being assigned to a unit does not result in award of the Tab or the title.

I was willing to let it rest ... your opinion is noted and you are entitled to it ... however, I will not allow you to attack me without comment.

Newsflash, rookie ... I have been a Ranger for over 45 years. How long have you been one?? Had you been one of my Ranger students, you may not have been Tabbed, had you displayed an attitude like you now have.
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COL Jean (John) F. B.
COL Jean (John) F. B.
>1 y
SGT Christopher Kirkpatrick - Actually, you have no ideas what you are talking about. I commanded the joint force Special Operations mission to conduct the non-permissive evacuation of the US Embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia. Notwithstanding that, I am every bit a Ranger and more than you are. I'm just not a pompous asshole, like you. I was trying hard to keep it civil, however, since you are such an asshole, you just won't have it, Sergeant. Your holier than thou attitude does not impress anybody in the know. Save it for the bars with the ignorant, uneducated folks about the military. You are no better than a drug store cowboy, with your been-there, done-that bullshit.
I am not impressed, nor is anybody else... Thank you for your service and your dedication... Now get over yourself.

Future responses will be ignored..
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COL Senior Strategic Cyber Planner
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Tab and scroll. Serving in the Ranger Regiment is more difficult than 60 days of school. RLTW!
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COL Charles Williams
COL Charles Williams
>1 y
And serving in other units is not? Us Combat Support Guys like MPs, ENs, etc deploy at a much higher rate, and for longer each time than our SOCOM brothers... which is why after 911... the Army grew (GTA) 60 plus combat support MP Companies.
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COL Senior Strategic Cyber Planner
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Sir, I would put any unit up against the Ranger Regiment to measure difficulty. I did not say anything about deployments, but we can agree to disagree there. The ranger regiment did grow an extra company per battalion to meet the deployment requirements. Having deployed with the 82nd and working as a combat support guy, I agree that some elements may have deployed at higher rates to include MPs, Aviation etc.
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COL Charles Williams
COL Charles Williams
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Hooah COL (Join to see) I have never been in the Ranger Regiment (Obviously), so my opinions are clearly that of an outsider. No question the Ranger is difficult, but so is all Light Infantry. It takes a very special person to do that well. The issue/question is is Ranger Tab earning (not tab wearer) or just a Ranger Regiment guy.
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SFC Gary Southern Isles
SFC Gary Southern Isles
>1 y
Its not even about difficulty. Its about the mission. There is one unit in the military that exists to conduct Ranger operations. If you graduated Ranger school, that is an excellant and one anyone would be proud of. A man with a scroll is a man that wakes up every day, and does "Ranger shit" for a living. A man with a tab is a man that attended a difficult course (that has very little to do with Ranger operations) and has gone back to his job. A Ranger is a man with a scroll, with or without the tab. As I have mentioned many times, taking Science in high school did not make me a scientist.
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CPT Zachary Brooks
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What makes a Ranger? That's simple:

Heart
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1SG Mark Colomb
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From an outsider looking in (and listening in on many conversations SGM Tarancon alludes to). I have worked alongside tab wearers (in a number of MOSs), and scroll wearers (All IN).

The arguments are generally emotionally based, so I would expect to address this from an emotional standpoint.

It is not the Tab, nor the Scroll that makes one a Ranger in these discussions, it is the conduct of the individual. How do they treat their fellow Soldiers, What missions have they participated in, Do they really live the Ranger Creed? Sure a prerequisite is a Tab, you have to pass Ranger School to get into a Ranger Battalion. However, if the truth were to be told there are individuals in those same battalions, with a Tab AND a Scroll who these individuals will say do not deserve to be called a Ranger.

It goes beyond patches, tabs, scrolls, and accouterments, it is about character, commitment, professionalism, and integrity.
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COL Senior Strategic Cyber Planner
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If those types of people exist in the Ranger Battalion that don't belong there, then they are RFS'd (Relief for Standards). The Ranger Regiment does not hold on to dead weight. Too may of your ranger buddies depend on you. See Abrams Charter and the Ranger Creed for clarification. In the Regiment you are held to a standard from the Regimental Commander to the youngest private.

To clarify, to get to the Ranger Regiment you need to complete Airborne School, the RASP Program (assessment and selection), and then as an NCO or Officer you must have earned your Ranger Tab.

You are right, that it is character, commitment, professionalism and integrity that sit at the cornerstone of Rangers in the Regiment.
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SSG Todd Lysfjord
SSG Todd Lysfjord
10 y
You need only complete RIP/ROP/RASP to be assigned to the 75 th Ranger Regiment.

I went there as a tabless PV2 and went to Ranger School shortly thereafter as a PFC. I spent 10 years in 3/75 and even guys I met in NCOES schools who were tabbed but not in the 75th understood they were not Ranger's in the truest sense of the word because they did not conduct the Ranger mission. I have the utmost respect for those who are Ranger qualified and will always remember my Ranger School experience. My life life really didn't change after graduation because I went back to doing what I did before but as a junior leader. I was already a Ranger.

RLTW!
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COL Jason Smallfield, PMP, CFM, CM
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Ranger Tab or Scroll thoughts:
- Where one stands on this issue depends upon where one sits.
- Kind of like arguing over who is the best basketball player or baseball player of all time. Everyone will have an opinion, all opinions can be supported by evidence, and no one position is absolutely right.
- History. Recommend all do a google search on "Ranger Regiment" to understand the history and use of Rangers since before the Revolutionary War to present. From this a person should understand why we have Rangers and what they are used for.
- Ranger Tab. A person who has attended and successfully completed the 68 day, three phase (used to be 72 day, four phase) Ranger Course conducted at Fort Benning, GA; Dalanaga, GA; and Eglin AFB, FL resulting in award of the Ranger Tab.
- Ranger Scroll. A person who is assigned to the operational Ranger Regiment (three subordinate battalions).
- This leads to four different possibilities (no tab/no scroll, no tab/scroll, tab/no scroll, tab/scroll). Is a non tabbed person assigned to the Ranger Regt a Ranger? Is a tabbed person not in the Ranger Regiment a Ranger?
- Long story short, I believe that people who only consider only the scroll to be Rangers are thinking tactically and not strategically. One of the reasons to have Rangers is to have a seed corn of highly competent Soldiers who can permeate the rest of the force. This is a strategic issue. The other reason to have Rangers is to have an elite force specialized skills that enable them to perform a variety of special operations missions, including direct action, airfield seizure, airborne and air assaults, reconnaissance, and personnel recovery. This is a tactical level issue. It takes both but not both at the same time on the same individual.
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COL Charles Williams
COL Charles Williams
>1 y
Hooah
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SGT Richard H.
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My opinion, unqualified as it may be, would be that the tab makes one "Ranger Qualified", while the scroll represents someone who lives what a Ranger really is.
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MSG Assistant Inspector General
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I have not had the pleasure of going to Ranger School (I would go tomorrow if I could), I agree with COL Jean (John) F. B. and through the years I have been stationed with and I am friends with Rangers and men who have been assigned to a Battalion. The phrase Tab Bearer not a Tab Wearer seems to come to mind.
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