The primary problem in the kerfuffle regarding @TomCottonAR and the term "Ranger" is that it proceeds from ignorance, marches on a political azimuth, and it entertains no higher objective than a "gotcha" moment. @McCormackJohn @redsteeze
(Thread) (1) https://twitter.com/Salon/status/1352783721297039366

That problem is exacerbated by the inexactitude of the term "Ranger" in the US Army. There is an operational force known as the 75th Ranger Regiment, and there is a training organization known as the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. (2)

These organizations belong to two distinct Army major commands, with the former belonging to the US Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, NC, and the latter belonging to the Training and Doctrine Command's Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, GA. (3)

Each is motivated to command use of the term "Ranger." But that bifurcation is the pinnacle of a long history that predates the United States of America. Rangers mainly trace their history back to Robert Rogers, his 28 Rules of Ranging, and to his unit, "Rogers' Rangers." (4)

Though long preceded and followed by other organizations, Rogers’ rules provided the basis for the concept of Rangers: Soldiers skilled in long-range penetration operations through unfriendly territory and guerilla warfare. (5)

They approached by stealth and conducted lighting raids before withdrawing and evading pursuit, borrowing heavily from Native American tactics. (6)

Modern Rangers follow the model of the British Commandos (themselves styled after late 19th century South African Boer commandos): small, special-purpose units designed for reconnaissance, raids, deep-penetration attacks, and attacks through harsh terrain. (7)

US Army Ranger battalions during WWII participated in highly successful operations, legendary but largely unsuccessful operations, and unmitigated disasters. These units were mothballed after the war, but others arose during the Korean conflict. (8)

Just as importantly, the Ranger Training Program began early during the Korean conflict and has existed continuously to this day, where most Ranger units have not. (9)

Interestingly, when organized in 1984, the 75th Ranger Regiment’s lineage and honors began with the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), also known as "Merrill's Marauders," a unit organized in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of Operations.(10)

Patterned on the British Army's "Chindit" long range penetration force, it was organized from jungle-trained Soldiers in the Caribbean Command, Army Ground Forces, South Pacific Command, MacArthur's Southwest Pacific Areas command. (11)

Merrill’s Marauders were rounded out by volunteers from Pacific Theater stockades... in true "Dirty Dozen" fashion. (12)

This brigade-sized unit didn't have the term "Ranger" anywhere in its name or description, but the Ranger Regiment's distinctive unit insignia is taken directly from elements of the service of Merrill's Marauders. (13)

Until 1986, the Ranger Regiment’s lineage had no predecessor units with wartime service under the name "Ranger," such histories until then being subsumed by the 1st Special Forces. (14)
https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/inf/0075ra.htm

Meanwhile, during the Cold War, the Ranger Department, part of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, produced Rangers. Starting in 1951, that training continues to this day. (15)

Originally conceived not merely to fill Ranger or Ranger-type units in Korea and Vietnam, the training was done to elevate unit professionalism by increasing the tactical and technical competence of small unit leaders. (16)

That mission is conducted today by the Army's Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade (ARTB), whose mission is: (17)

Graduates are addressed by the ARTB Commander as Rangers. The Secretary of the Army refers to them as Rangers. No entity has authorized the Regiment, or its parent organization, to take exclusive use of the title “Ranger.” (18)

Along with training Rangers, the ARTB conducts an annual Best Ranger Competition. Rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment, ARTB, and other units with Ranger-coded positions throughout the force can participate in two-man teams. (19)

Previous Best Rangers include teams from the 101st Airborne, the 82nd Airborne, and the 25th Infantry. The only three time winner of the event, Captain Mike Rose, won the first time as a 2nd lieutenant in the 25th Infantry Division; too junior to even join the Regiment. (20)

How odd would it be if these non-Regiment Soldiers were able to defeat their brethren in the Regiment in the competition, but couldn’t actually call themselves “Rangers”? (21)

The U.S. Army Ranger Association, in its regular memberships, takes the expansive view of the term “Ranger,” with three criteria. (22)

As long as one has earned the Ranger Tab, has served in the Ranger Regiment or pre-regimental Ranger Battalions, or even Ranger-type units, some of whose names don’t even include the term “Ranger,” you’re welcome. (23)

To sum up, the history of Rangers in the US Army is too long and diverse to be captured by one organization today. The 75th Ranger Regiment is currently the Army’s only Ranger unit, but there are thousands of Army Rangers leading Soldiers throughout the infantry force. (24)

Ranger is a title for graduates of Ranger School, and it’s a title for members of the Regiment. Interestingly, all leaders within the Ranger Regiment must graduate Ranger School, so it seems a little odd that the Regiment’s partisans seek to diminish the course. (25)

Ultimately, the Army-internal debate on the term, completely separate from civilian partisan political hackery, is tribal: who gets to lay claim to the title. (26)

Even within these groups, there are sub-groups. “Winter Rangers,” those who graduated Ranger School in winter, would sew on their Ranger tabs with white thread, rather than black (back in the days when patches and special skill tabs were permanently affixed to uniforms). (27)

There is really no end to the ways in which Soldiers will sub-divide themselves, and such intramural fights should not be fodder for the political class to attempt to take scalps. (28)

To borrow from @JonahDispatch, those who argue that Tom Cotton falsely claimed to be a Ranger will fall into four groups:
- Current members of the Ranger Regiment
- Former members of the Regiment
- Partisan hacks trying to injure Cotton politically; and
- Idiots

(29) Finis