Like the rest of USASOC, the 75^th Ranger Regiment has had to adapt to a number of new roles and missions since 9/11. What are the most important of these new tasks and what has the regiment had to do to accomplish them?

The first task that the 75^th Ranger Regiment encountered after 9/11 was to command and control a Joint Special Operations Task Force. We found ourselves controlling special operations units from across the joint community and synchronizing all of their capabilities into one effort that supported the Global War on Terror. We initiated this capability in Iraq and then perfected it in Afghanistan. The second capability we developed was our find, fix, finish, exploit, and assess (F3EA) targeting process that Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn from the DIA taught us. This capability enables the regiment to strike at and pressure an enemy network continually until it collapses under the resulting pressure against it.

It is no secret that the 75^th Ranger Regiment is all about the men, selected and trained in one of the harshest and most difficult selection and qualification courses in the world today. Has that process changed any since 9/11, and do you anticipate any major evolutions at the Ranger schoolhouse in the years ahead?

Our assessment and selection process changed in 2009 because of the lessons we learned from Afghanistan and Iraq as well as in response to the high operational tempo of our battalions. What the regiment needed to send battalions were not just Rangers who had proven their mental and physical toughness. Rangers also needed to be trained as if they were going to deploy the day they arrived at their battalion. Furthermore, we identified a deficiency in that prior to 2009, we really only oriented candidates to the regiment prior to assigning to a specific platoon, company and battalion. Candidates frankly were not assessed for their potential to successfully serve in the regiment while simultaneously the regiment was being asked to conduct its nation’s most sensitive operations. So the Ranger Indoctrination Program and the Ranger Orientation Program became the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. RASP 1 is the training path for all sergeants and below with eight weeks training AND assessments vice three weeks in RIP. The course is incredibly challenging, both physically and mentally, but now also provides the training required to serve in the entry level positions of the regiment and a baseline of knowledge regardless of their occupational specialty. Rangers now learn advanced marksmanship on all common Ranger weapons, the Ranger First Responder medical program, breaching techniques, vehicle driving skills, land navigation and small unit tactics. When a Ranger graduates from RASP 1, he is ready to join his squad, perform his duties, and deploy to combat. RASP 2 is the path for all staff sergeants and above, warrant officers, and officers with three weeks of training and assessments instead of two. This course is designed to expose potential leaders of the regiment to our operating procedures and culture with the same demanding physical and mental testing standards while assessing leadership abilities and skill competencies that are compatible with our organization. All members are required to complete the same selection and assessment program regardless of career field.

Rangers serving in the 75^th Ranger Regiment are afforded the opportunity to attend the U.S. Army Ranger Course. However, the Ranger Course is run by the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, not the 75^th Ranger Regiment.

While the Rangers themselves are the centerpieces of the regiment, it is no secret that they are using a number of tools and weapons that did not exist on 9/11. What are the most interesting of these, and how is the regiment using them out in the field today? Are there any new systems/technologies on the horizon that might prove useful to future Ranger operations?

The regiment has continued to serve as a platform for the latest technologies and equipment advances for the Army in line with the CSA’s charter to the Ranger Regiment. Most notably this includes the En Route Mission Command Capability that has revolutionized our situational awareness and mission planning in support of forcible entry operations and is now moving forward as a program of record in support of the greater Army. The regiment also played a significant role in the advancement of individual soldier situational awareness through the use and further development of the Nett Warrior End User Device. Rangers also worked with the Asymmetric Warfare Group or AWG on the development of the Man Portable Line Clearing Charge (MPLC). The regiment continues to work closely with the Maneuver Center of Excellence and the greater SOF community to develop soldier systems that increase the lethality and effectiveness of all soldiers. As another example, the regiment tested and utilized mortar precision ammunition for the first time in the history of the Army, in combat.

In addition the 75^th Ranger Regiment has replaced the Emergency Medical Technician Basic program with an internally run Advanced Ranger First Responder (A-RFR) program. The program will take one 11B infantryman per squad and train him in advanced first responder skills, giving him a significant increase in medical skills applicable to the battlefield. The course, run annually, runs for 1-2 weeks and trains the non-medic in advanced hemorrhagic control, airway management, shock management, pharmacology, casualty collection point operations, and high/low angle rescue. The intent of the course is to bridge the gap between a medic and first responder, giving the non-medic advanced skills for medical treatment when isolated from the medical team, or to serve as a highly qualified first assist.

The 75^th Ranger Regimental medical team recently implemented a new hemorrhagic shock management protocol. The protocol integrates early use of tranexamic acid (TXA), freeze dried plasma (FDP), and field use of fresh whole blood (FWB). FDP has been fielded to the 75^th Ranger Regiment as part of an FDA Investigational New Drug study. Recently the protocol was put to use and for the first time FDP was used on a surviving trauma patient in combat. This training and protocol has contributed to an unprecedented survival rate for Rangers wounded on the battlefield.

Recently, the Joint Trauma System based out of San Antonio, Texas, implemented a theater wide casualty after action review process. This process captures level one medical care data to fuel future research and training. The system is based on the 75^th Ranger Regiment’s well-publicized Pre-Hospital Trauma Registry.