The 3rd Ranger Battalion is the third of three Ranger Battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment. It is currently based at Fort Benning, Georgia.
History World War II Italy After the impressive performance of the 1st Ranger Battalion in the North Africa Campaign the 3rd Ranger Battalion was organized on 19 June 1943 in Morocco. The battalion was made up of American volunteers and led by Major Herman Dammer.
The battalion participated in the invasion of Sicily and the invasion of Italy; it was essentially destroyed at the Battle of Cisterna in early 1944 and subsequently deactivated.
Merrill’s Marauders
The other World War II unit that 3rd Ranger Battalion draws lineage from is the 5307 Provisional Unit, also called Merrill's Marauders. This unit was consolidated 10 August 1944 with Company F, 475th Infantry Regiment (Long Range Penetration, Special) (constituted 25 May 1944 in the Army of the United States), and consolidated unit designated as Company F, 475th Infantry Regiment. This unit was deactivated 1 July 1945 in China.
Post-WWII Korea The 2nd Ranger Battalion was reactivated during the Korean War and formed the 3rd Ranger Infantry Company. They fought with distinction before being deactivated. While deactivated, they were redesignated as Company A, 3d Ranger Infantry Battalion and later consolidated with 1st Company, 1st Battalion, 2d Regiment, 1st Special Service Force redesignated as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 13th Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces before eventually being deactivated again.
Inactivation Company F, 475th Infantry was redesignated 21 June 1954 as Company F, 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger), in the Army of the United States, and was allotted on 26 October 1954 to the Regular Army. It was activated 20 November 1954 on Okinawa, and was inactivated there on 21 March 1956.
Vietnam War Company F, 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) was again activated on 1 February 1969 in Vietnam and was one of the Vietnam War era Ranger companies before it was again inactivated on 15 March 1971 in Vietnam.
Reformation Company F, 75th Infantry Regiment (Ranger) was redesignated on 3 October 1984 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Infantry, and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia (organic elements concurrently constituted and activated).
Further reformation Headquarters and Headquarters Company consolidated 3 February 1986 with what the deactivated former Company A, 3rd Ranger Infantry Battalion, thus uniting with its World War II era 3rd Ranger Battalion heritage. The unit was then redesignated from 3rd Battalion, 75th Infantry Regiment to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Reformation as the 75th Ranger Regiment On 20 December 1989, the 75th Ranger Regiment was committed to Operation Just Cause, in Panama. Along with the 2nd Ranger Battalion, Companies A and B of the 3rd Battalion conducted an airfield seizure of the Rio Hato Airfield, and Company C participated along with the 1st Ranger Battalion to seize the airfield at Torrijos/Tocumen Airport, and subsequent combat operations contributed significantly to the United States victory in Panama.
Deployment to Somalia
In August 1993, elements of Company B of the 3rd Ranger Battalion and the battalion headquarters deployed to Somalia as part of Operation Gothic Serpent . codenamed Task Force Ranger, part of the UN intervention in the Somali Civil War. On 3 October 1993, they performed a daring daylight assault which became a protracted gunfight with hundreds of Somali militia. By the end of the battle, two Black Hawk helicopters had crashed within the city and the force was extracted under heavy fire with assistance from units of the American QRF, Malaysian Army, and Pakistani Army. American forces suffered 19 KIA, 5 MIA (later confirmed KIA and included in the 19 KIA listed), and one 160th SOAR pilot captured as a POW (who was released several weeks later). Though the force achieved its objectives in capturing high value targets and inflicted enormous casualties on the enemy (estimates ranged from 500 to 1,000+ military and civilians killed and thousands injured), the political backlash was too great and caused their withdrawal from Somalia.
War on terror
Spearhead and raid in Objective Rhino After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the 3rd Ranger Battalion deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On 19 October 2001, during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, 200 Rangers of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment spearheaded ground forces by conducting an airborne assault to seize Objective Rhino. The Rangers parachuted onto the airstrip from 4 Air Force Special Operations MC-130 Combat Talon Aircraft from 800 feet above ground level. Before the Rangers landed, American bombers and AC-130 Gunships bombarded the airstrip reportedly killing 11 Taliban fighters and 9 Taliban fighters escaped. After the Rangers landed, a single remaining Taliban guard appeared but was shot and killed by several Rangers. The Rangers established blocking positions. Other Rangers cleared a compound opening locked steel doors with shotguns or explosive charges. Two Rangers who were injured in the jump were evacuated by a U.S. Combat Talon. American Air Force Special Tactics Squadron airmen surveyed the DLS to determine its capability to handle larger aircraft. Orbiting AC-130 Spectre gunships bombarded and destroyed a small convoy of enemy vehicles and troops approaching the area. American attack helicopters landed, refueled, rearmed, and flew off to conduct more operations against the Taliban. After staying at the airstrip for 5 hours and 24 minutes, all of the U.S. Rangers and American Combat control teams boarded the MC-130s and departed. The entire American raiding force withdrew from the airstrip after completing their objective."Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan" by Charles H. Briscoe pgs. 97-98."Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan" by Charles H. Briscoe pgs. 109-113.
Objective Honda Spc. Jonn J. Edmunds and Pfc. Kristofer T. Stonesifer were the first combat casualties in the war on terror when their MH-60L helicopter crashed at Objective Honda in Pakistan, a temporary staging site used by a company of Rangers from 3rd Battalion.
Raid at desert landing strip (DLS) Bastogne At November 13, 2001. One American MC-130 Combat Talon dropped 32 U.S. Army Rangers and an 8-man American Air Force Special Tactics Squadron element led by American captain David Watson onto DLS Bastogne southwest of Kandahar. The combat parachute jump was at 800 feet. After the Rangers landed, they punched in the coordinates of the assembly area. The U.S. Air-force STS team verified that the strip was suitable for C-130 four-engine turboprop before placing the infrared landing lights down its length. Two American MC-130s landed unloading 4 American AH-6 Attack Helicopters. The 4 American attack helicopters conducted hit-and-run raids on the Taliban. The 4 helicopters flew to Objective Wolverine. The American pilots guided their attack helicopters by their night-vision goggles. At Objective Wolverine, there was a Taliban base of stored equipment, vehicles, and some radar pieces. The 4 American attack helicopters made several runs destroying the Taliban compound with rockets. With the Taliban base compound destroyed, the 4 attack helicopters flew back to the airstrip DLS Bastogne. At the strip, the 4 U.S. attack helicopters rearmed and refueled. The 4 helicopters flew off again this time to Objective Raptor which was a Taliban compound containing vehicles and equipment. The attack helicopters made several attack runs destroying the Taliban compound base. Then the 4 attack helicopters returned to DLS Bastogne and were loaded back into the MC-130 transport aircraft. The entire American raiding force including all aircraft, U.S. Army Rangers, and American Air Force STS operatives departed into the air and withdrew safely."Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan" by Charles H. Briscoe pgs. 103-104."Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan" by Charles H. Briscoe pgs. 140-143.
First raid at (DLS) Bulge On the nights of November 16–17, 2001. Six desert mobility vehicles were inserted into the Afghan desert driven by 48 U.S. Army Rangers and U.S. Air Force STS personnel led by an American captain Chuck Seims(pseudonym). The American force of Rangers and Air-force STS operatives in their desert vehicles patrolled their way to their objective DLS Bulge which was an airstrip. The Air Force operatives gathered core samples and observed the runway if it was suitable for aircraft landing. While this was going on, the Rangers set up a hidden security perimeter overlooking DLS Bulge with camouflage nets. The Rangers brushed away tire tracks and made radio contacts. Finally on November 18, 2001. The U.S. Ranger task force moved to the airstrip in their vehicles and set a perimeter. The Ranger task force set out infrared landing lights along the length of the runway allowing the MC-130 transports to land and unload 4 American AH-6 gunships. The 4 U.S. attack helicopters took off and bombarded Taliban targets. The 4 helicopters returned, landed, rearmed, refueled, and flew off again conducting more aerial attacks on the Taliban. The U.S. attack helicopters returned, landed on the airstrip, and were loaded on the MC-130 transports. The MC-130 transports with the attack helicopters loaded in the cargo section departed into the air. The Rangers helped the Air Force STS operatives retrieve the landing lights, swept the area of any evidence they were there, and all together boarded their desert vehicles. The Rangers and Air Force operatives withdrew from the air strip in their desert vehicles. The Ranger task force set up a hidden hide site perimeter at a secure location."Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan" by Charles H. Briscoe pgs. 141-144.
Second raid at (DLS) Bulge The same task force of Rangers and Air Force STS personnel who raided (DLS) Bulge were prepared to conduct another raid at the same airstrip. The Rangers set up another observation post. Later, the Rangers and Air-force STS personnel boarded into their desert vehicles and drove to the (DLS) Bulge airstrip. The Rangers set up a perimeter and the Air Force STS laid out landing lights which helped MC-130s land. The MC-130s unloaded AH-6 attack helicopters. The U.S. attack helicopters conducted a hit-and-run raid bombarding Taliban targets before returning to refuel and rearm. Then the attack helicopters flew off again and conducted another hit-and-run raid conducting more aerial attacks on the Taliban. Then the attack helicopters returned and were loaded onto the MC-130s. All the Rangers, Air Force STS personnel, desert vehicles, and equipment were loaded onto the MC-130s. The entire American raiding force on board the MC-130 transports departed into the air and safely withdrew after completing their objectives."Weapon of Choice: U.S. Army Special Operations Forces in Afghanistan" by Charles H. Briscoe pgs. 144.
Attempted Deployment at Tora Bora During the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, a CIA Jawbreaker team (small group of CIA SAD ground branch operators) requested that the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment be inserted into the mountains to establish blocking positions along potential escape routes out of Tora Bora into Pakistan. They would serve as the 'anvil' while Green Berets with the AMF (Afghan Militia Forces) would be the 'Hammer,'. With attached Air Force Combat Controllers, the Rangers could direct airstrikes onto enemy concentrations or engage them in ambushes, but the Jawbreaker team's request was denied.
Capturing an air base and a dam in the Iraq War