For those of us who were special operators during our military careers and who did not attend Ranger School, the School and the Tab have always held a certain amount of fascination. Of course, we non-tabbed SOF types are quick to point out that the successful completion of Ranger School, and the Tab that goes with it, designate that individual as “Ranger Qualified” as opposed to being a serving Army Ranger. That distinction belongs to soldiers who have been qualified to serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Ranger School, as I have always maintained, is the Army’s premier leadership school. A hard school to be sure and depending on your reference, has between a 40 and 60 percent attrition rate. John Spencer’s fine article in the journal Modern War Institute at West Point contends that it is a course in small-unit tactics, weapons, field craft, and other professional military schools. John, I stand enlightened, if not totally convinced. For the full article:
