3rd Ranger Battalion

3rd Ranger Battalion

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      3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment

      3rd Ranger Battalion’s history reaches from amphibious landings in the Mediterranean to combat jumps in Panama and Afghanistan, fighting in Mogadishu, and repeated deployments during the wars that followed September 11. Today, 3/75 is based at Fort Benning, Georgia, as one of the 75th Ranger Regiment’s three maneuver battalions. Its role combines the ability to seize an airfield with the precision and preparation required for special operations raids.

      That history includes several distinct organizations. The WWII battalion, Korean War Ranger company, and Vietnam-era reconnaissance company were brought together through formal lineage actions. Understanding those connections gives the battalion’s history more depth than a list of operations, while preserving the distinction between inherited service and the modern battalion activated in 1984.

      Inception: Darby’s Rangers and World War II

      The original 3rd Ranger Battalion was organized provisionally in North Africa on May 21, 1943. Its formation followed the success of LTC William Darby’s 1st Ranger Battalion and the decision to expand the force for operations in Sicily and Italy. Veteran cadre from the 1st Battalion helped establish the new 3rd and 4th Battalions. MAJ Herman Dammer became 3rd Battalion’s first commander.

      On July 10, 1943, the battalion landed near Licata during the invasion of Sicily. It seized high ground covering the landing beaches and subsequently fought ahead of the advancing American divisions. On September 9, the Rangers landed at Maiori, west of Salerno, and secured Chiunzi Pass. Holding that position required a prolonged defense against German counterattacks.

      After months of fighting in Italy, the battalion landed at Anzio on January 22, 1944. Eight days later, the 1st and 3rd Ranger Battalions attempted to infiltrate German positions and seize Cisterna. Both became isolated against a substantially stronger enemy. The 4th Battalion’s effort to reach them failed, and the two forward battalions were effectively destroyed as fighting organizations.

      The disaster ended their operational service in Italy. Surviving Rangers were redistributed, including transfers to the First Special Service Force. The original 3rd Ranger Infantry Battalion was formally disbanded on August 15, 1944.

      Two Branches of the Battalion’s Lineage

      The modern battalion also inherits a separate connection to Merrill’s Marauders, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), through the 475th Infantry and later Fco 75th Infantry. This branch links 3/75 to the American force that operated behind Japanese lines in Burma.

      The two branches were formally joined on February 3, 1986, when the former Aco 3rd Ranger Infantry Battalion was consolidated with the modern battalion’s headquarters company. The battalion was simultaneously redesignated as 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. This explains why its lineage contains both Darby’s Rangers and Merrill’s Marauders, rather than a single organization serving continuously under one name.

      Korea: The “Cold Steel Third”

      The Korean War revived the Ranger concept in company-sized organizations. The 3rd Ranger Infantry Company was activated at Fort Benning on October 28, 1950. After helping train additional Ranger companies and completing mountain and winter training in Colorado, it deployed to Korea and joined the 3rd Infantry Division in March 1951.

      The company conducted reconnaissance, patrols, ambushes, and attacks in support of the division. On April 11, its Rangers fought alongside tanks from the 64th Heavy Tank Battalion and infantry from the 65th Infantry in the attack associated with “Bloody-Nose Ridge.” The assault included close combat against prepared Chinese positions and cost the company four killed and eleven wounded.

      The company’s service gave the “Cold Steel Third” a distinct place in Ranger history. Its opportunities narrowed as the war became increasingly positional, and the company was inactivated in Korea on August 1, 1951. Its lineage later passed through additional organizational changes before joining the modern battalion.

      Between Wars and Vietnam: The Reconnaissance Connection

      On the Merrill’s Marauders branch of the lineage, Fco 75th Infantry served briefly on Okinawa from November 1954 to March 1956. It returned to active service in Vietnam on February 1, 1969, as Fco (Ranger), 75th Infantry, supporting the 25th Infantry Division.

      The Vietnam Ranger companies worked in a different way from the later Ranger battalions. Small patrols operated beyond friendly positions to locate enemy forces, observe movement, identify targets, and conduct selected ambushes and prisoner-capture missions. Fco developed from the division’s earlier long-range reconnaissance and patrol organization, whose personnel trained through programs including MACV’s Recondo School.

      The company’s history emphasizes the demands placed on small teams: careful movement, reliable communications, accurate reporting, and the judgment to remain concealed or engage. Fco was inactivated on March 15, 1971. Its designation later provided the organizational foundation for the modern 3rd Battalion.

      1984: Building the Modern Battalion

      The Army rebuilt its standing Ranger capability during the 1970s, activating the modern 1st and 2nd Battalions in 1974. During the broader expansion of Army special operations in the following decade, it added a third maneuver battalion and a regimental headquarters.

      The formal lineage records 3rd Battalion’s activation at Fort Benning on October 2, 1984. The battalion and headquarters received their colors at York Field on October 3, the date commonly commemorated as their activation anniversary. The 1986 redesignation subsequently established the familiar 75th Ranger Regiment designation.

      Adding 3/75 increased the available assault force and gave the regiment another battalion to train, prepare, and employ. The accompanying headquarters provided a permanent organization for coordinating Ranger operations. This development occurred alongside the growth of dedicated special operations aviation, communications, and support units, strengthening the system that would carry Rangers into combat.

      Panama: Combat Jumps and Airfield Seizures

      On December 20, 1989, 3/75 entered combat during Operation Just Cause. The battalion operated at two separate airfield objectives. Aco and Bco joined 2nd Battalion at Rio Hato, while Cco supported 1st Battalion at the Torrijos-Tocumen airport complex.

      At Rio Hato, the Rangers parachuted into a defended airfield and moved against assigned objectives that included headquarters, communications facilities, and positions controlling access to the installation. Securing the field allowed reinforcement and resupply aircraft to land. Air Force transports, combat controllers, supporting aircraft, medical personnel, and other attachments were essential to the operation.

      Cco’s mission at Torrijos included securing the commercial terminal, where civilians and complex buildings made the assault more difficult than a straightforward runway seizure. The operation required Rangers to adjust to scattered landings, resistance, and the presence of people who were not combatants.

      Panama established the modern battalion’s combat record and demonstrated the importance of its Airborne mission. It also showed what followed the jump: assembling under pressure, identifying the correct objectives, opening the airfield, and maintaining control while follow-on forces arrived.

      Somalia: Task Force Ranger and Mogadishu

      In August 1993, Bco 3/75 and additional battalion personnel deployed to Somalia as part of Task Force Ranger. During Operation Gothic Serpent, Rangers worked alongside Delta personnel, the Night Stalkers of 1/160, and other special operations personnel to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid and key members of his organization.

      The task force carried out six operations before the October 3 raid near the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu. The assault element captured the targeted associates while Rangers established security around the objective. The downing of two MH-60 Black Hawks then changed the operation into a prolonged effort to defend crash sites, recover personnel, and evacuate casualties.

      Rangers fought both on foot and from vehicles as the task force attempted to move through streets blocked by barricades and enemy fire. The fighting continued overnight. Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division, supported by Malaysian and Pakistani forces, participated in the relief effort that enabled the surviving force to withdraw.

      Eighteen Americans were killed in the October 3–4 battle, including Rangers, aviation personnel, other special operations Soldiers, and Soldiers involved in the relief effort. The losses belong to the larger force that fought in Mogadishu and should not be presented as a 3rd Battalion casualty total.

      For 3/75, Mogadishu became a defining part of the battalion’s identity. Its importance extends beyond the later book and film. The battle demonstrated the demands of casualty care under fire, coordination between ground and aviation forces, and preparation for an operation that could grow far beyond its original duration.

      The 1990s: Readiness Between Deployments

      The years between Somalia and September 11 remained a period of preparation for rapid employment. In September 1994, the Ranger battalions and supporting special operations forces prepared to launch from USS America for an invasion of Haiti. A negotiated agreement changed the operation before the planned assault took place.

      Haiti illustrates a part of Ranger service that a battle chronology can overlook. A force may deploy, rehearse, and prepare to fight without ultimately conducting its planned assault. Maintaining that option was part of the regiment’s role throughout the decade.

      Afghanistan: Objective Rhino and Repeated Deployments

      Following the September 11, 2001, attacks, 3rd Battalion and the regimental headquarters deployed within thirty days. On October 19, Rangers from 3/75 conducted a combat parachute assault onto Objective Rhino, an airfield in southern Afghanistan. The operation placed the battalion among the forces conducting the opening ground actions of Operation Enduring Freedom.

      Rhino was followed by years of deployments. The regiment rotated its maneuver battalions through Afghanistan, with Rangers conducting raids and supporting joint special operations task forces. The sustained campaign required repeated cycles of deployment, recovery, training, and replacement of personnel.

      The battalion’s service continued after the original invasion era. On April 27, 2017, SGT Joshua Rodgers of Cco and SGT Cameron Thomas of Dco were killed during combat operations in Nangarhar Province in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel. Both were on their third deployment to Afghanistan. Their service reflects how the war extended across successive generations of Rangers.

      Iraq: H1, Haditha Dam, and the Raid Campaign

      During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the bulk of 3/75 conducted a combat jump onto H1 airfield in western Iraq. That position supported subsequent operations, including the seizure of Haditha Dam.

      In the opening days of April, Bco, reinforced by a platoon from Cco and additional personnel, assaulted the dam complex. The mission was to prevent its destruction and the release of floodwaters that could threaten civilians and obstruct the coalition advance. What had been expected to be a short operation became a week-long fight to secure and hold the facility.

      The Rangers cleared the dam’s buildings, established blocking positions, and defended against attacks supported by mortars and artillery. The 160th provided reconnaissance, fire support, and casualty evacuation. Conventional armor and Civil Affairs personnel subsequently helped consolidate control and restore the facility.

      Haditha demonstrated that a Ranger assault could develop into a sustained defense of strategically important infrastructure. In the years that followed, the battalion participated in the regiment’s rotating commitments to Iraq and Afghanistan as joint special operations forces pursued insurgent and terrorist networks.

      The Battalion Today: Mission and Modernization

      Today, 3/75 remains a maneuver battalion within the Army’s standing Ranger force. Its publicly described role includes direct-action raids, airfield seizure, and other joint special operations. Specific ongoing deployments are not consistently detailed in public accounts, so the clearest current picture comes from the Army’s published mission descriptions and documented training.

      A 2025 Infantry article describing the battalion’s live-fire preparation shows how that training is evolving. Alongside marksmanship and small-unit maneuver, scenarios incorporate electronic warfare, jamming, unmanned aircraft, counter-drone measures, and sensitive site exploitation. Leaders are expected to make tactical decisions rather than simply follow a rehearsed route through a range.

      In May 2026, the battalion conducted a certification exercise at Fort Benning with Air National Guard Security Forces personnel defending an austere airfield as the opposing force. The event tested battalion-sized airfield assaults and prepared the Rangers for operational tasking.

      The equipment and threats have changed, but the regiment continues to emphasize five fundamentals: marksmanship, small-unit tactics, casualty care, mobility, and physical fitness. Those requirements connect the modern battalion’s training to the practical demands visible throughout its history. Seizing an objective is one task. Reaching it, identifying the enemy, treating the wounded, and adapting when the plan changes remain part of completing the mission.

      Historical Sources

      Sources distinguish the battalion’s inherited lineage from the service of the modern 3/75. The current-role section draws on published Army mission information and documented training through May 2026.

      Historical Sources & Editorial Standards