Rangers Caught In The PC Crossfire

World Net Daily ^ | May 27, 2003 | David H. Hackworth

[joesnuffy]

Rangers caught in the PC crossfire

Posted: May 27, 2003 1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2003 David H. Hackworth

Rangers have always been my favorite soldiers. My admiration for them probably started at age 10 when I watched Spencer Tracy in the movie "Northwest Passage" – or perhaps it was the daring deeds of Darby's Rangers in Africa, Sicily, Italy and France. For sure, seeing Rangers in action in Korea and Vietnam was the clincher. And once I was hooked, I've remained one of their biggest fans.

Since the Korean War, the Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Ga., has been training individual Rangers at the conventional Army's most demanding course. Upon completion, these proud Ranger graduates have always infused the rest of the Army with the high standards of professionalism required to prepare men for battle and to make it through the horror of combat.

Ranger training has never been easy. Darby set the standard in 1942 while forging the first U.S. Ranger battalion. "We trained from early morning till late at night, seven days a week," he wrote. Ironman physical conditioning, speed marches, difficult obstacles and exacting discipline were just part of the drill. And there was always that infamous in-your-face stress created by the Ranger Instructors and designed to weed out those who would fall apart in a firefight.

About half of Darby's highly motivated initial volunteers didn't make it. In the years since, this 50 percent attrition mark has continued to be the norm.

While the rest of the U.S. Army has lowered its standards to the point where seasoned war vets find today's combat training a joke and the crusty salts who fought at Anzio, Osan and Dak To refer to what passes for most training as "an invitation to get killed," Rangers have fought lowering the training bar and have consistently turned out hardened studs whom commanders in the field would fight to get.

That is until Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, the guy who runs Fort Benning today, was told by a few recent Ranger graduates that they were turned off by Ranger School because some of their RIs were meanies and actually yelled and cursed at them and even made them do pushups when they goofed up. Others complained in writing that they'd been sleep-deprived and that the training was too difficult.

For the record, the RIs – hardened vets who know what it takes to win and walk away alive – were merely following the battle-tested Darby practices of creating maximum stress, teaching attention to detail and passing on the proven tactics and techniques that have worked so splendidly for our Rangers in a bunch of bad scraps.

But serving Rangers say Eaton went ballistic. He assembled the RIs and gave these tough, dedicated warriors – most with 12 to 15 years of service – a tongue-lashing they'll never forget.

About the time this general-officer temper tantrum occurred, an investigation was launched. Magnificent soldiers such as Command Sgt. Maj. Bobby Lane, a combat Ranger with 23 years of superior service, were relieved, and other equally fine soldiers' careers went down the toilet.

Why?

Because clueless Generation Xers with a few months in the Army ratted out these heroes to a general who then overreacted.

The effect?

RIs are now no longer allowed to swear in the presence of a student. Nor can they raise their voices or use pushups as punishment. Students wear sneakers instead of boots and are coddled as if they were at a Boy Scout Jamboree instead of preparing for a kill-or-be-killed rendezvous on a hillside in Afghanistan or a patch of desert in Iraq.

When an RI complained to his boss that today's training environment is like "walking on eggshells," the colonel – who caved for those potential stars flickering in the breeze along with the rest of the Ranger colonels who didn't come to their fine RIs' defense – said, "Good, that's the way I want it."

When Ranger students were recently caught writing "obscene graffiti" on a Ranger vehicle, RIs asked their colonel to boot the guilty from the school. The colonel passed. Could he be afraid of the students complaining again to Eaton?

Pray our future enemies will be as weak as the Iraqis. Because down the road, we might not have real Rangers to Lead the Way as they have for the past 250 years.

Col. David H. Hackworth, author of his new best-selling "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts," "Price of Honor" and "About Face," has seen duty or reported as a sailor, soldier and military correspondent in nearly a dozen wars and conflicts – from the end of World War II to the recent fights against international terrorism.

[evad]

I use to have respect for Hack...but then he went to the dark side.

Not sure why???

[robowombat]

I am frequently not very enthusiatic about COL H's column. Howver, he would appear to have done a real public service this time. Army officers routinely describe Ranger Training as the toughest and most demanding of thier career. One former boss who endured two combat tours in VN bluntly stated that Ranger Training was tougher than combat live fire excepted. It is impossible to push people as hard as necessary using the rules of a Boy Scout Troop. Actually many years ago leadership in Boy Scout troops consisted of necessary a**kicking in certain circumstances. This is more of the same crapola that has wrecked basic training where being mean by the instructional staff is verboten. This is complete garbage and everyone reading this ought fire up the ptrinter and compalin to both Congress and the Sec Def and Sec Army.

[xkaydet65]

While Hack may have raised some feelings such as yours with other writings, what could possibly be objectionable in this essay? The only thing that could be attacked would be if it was untrue. If true, Hack's verbal assault on Ranger PC should only be the first shot in the war.

[jjm2111]

This is a re-write for a different article either by hack or by someone else. I saw that "walking on eggshells" quote somewhere else w/ regards to military training.

I used to respect Hack until I found out about the whole ADM Boorda thing.

[yarddog]

Something about this article doesn't pass the smell test.

For one thing he mentioned that the ones complaining were graduates, not the ones who flunked out. Usually the ones complaining are the sore loser types.

The one thing I could see as possibly happening would be religeous soldiers objecting to using the Lords name in vain.

I too lost respect for Hack, actually way back when he praised President Carter during the Iran hostage rescue attempt.

[Zavien Doombringer]

Need to call out "Roger's Rangers"!!! And Daniel Morgan!

[Eagle Eye]

You have no idea of the low quality of senior NCOs and officers I have to deal with. It amazes me that we won this war. Fortunately these boob were not in the front where they can get people killed. At leaast most of them weren't.

[evad]

Not sure if anything is untrue..OR true for that matter.

That's the problem when you lose credibility.

[Fred Mertz]

RIs are now no longer allowed to swear in the presence of a student. Nor can they raise their voices or use pushups as punishment.

What the heck?

[SLB]

I guess when I went through basic training I was either too scared or too dumb or a combination of both to realize what the drill sergeants could and could not do. Cursing was the least of our problems. The chinese thinking position was used mainly. the chinese thinking position consisted of getting into the front leaning rest positon except you were on your elbows with your hands clasped behind your neck and your sleeves were rolled up. Felt great on gravel. I think I still have embedded Ft Lewis gravel in my left elbow.

[centurion316]

Not sure why???

A. He makes a very comfortable living being a nay-sayer.

B. He doesn't have to talk about the unfortunate events that caused him to leave the Army under a black cloud and to hide out in Australia until he was sure that the Army wouldn't court martial him.

[rangerwife]

It supposedly came from a letter a current RI or Ranger wrote to Hack. I've seen it on another military forum that hubby likes to hang out on. I (hubby neither) have no idea if the whole situation is true or not, but CSM Lane used to be hubby's first sergeant in battalion years ago. Lane is tough, but his Rangers respected him for it. I know hubby has always talked about CSM Lane with respect. Lane also tried to come back to the Regiment a few years ago and was deemed not suitable from what I understand. He's not politically correct...too old school for the new Army I guess. So he ended up working out at Ranger school.

You know, this wouldn't surprise me if it were true. Why? Because a few years ago when hubby was at Regiment and he and some fellow Rangers were on a run, they ran past some female soldiers while singing an Un-PC cadence. The female soldiers complained to higher ups and the complaint eventually made its way to the CG of Benning. They were reprimanded and told never to sing a cadence like that ever again. Even I found that ridiculous...they're Rangers, they're gonna sing cadences with references to sex, drinking, and killing in it!! So if this whole story is true, it wouldn't surprise me.

[where's_the_Outrage?]

I remember in the Florida phase, some Ranger student messed, the RI had him up a tree, flapping his arms repeating: "I am a sh*tbird but I can't fly"

But we had volunteered and expected it to be tough. One of the RI's was MAJ Howard, Medal of Honor winner, he was in the 2nd Ranger BN putting on a dog and pony show when he parachuted into a foxhole breaking some ribs and several toes. He then got up and participated in the following parade.

My guess is that the Ranger Battlions will not become a home for the letter writters.

[philetus]

Pray our future enemies will be as weak as the Iraqis.

They won't be.

[Travis McGee]

Ping.

[rangerX]

If this is true, it's bad. Wonder how these poor mistreated souls would feel if they were in a battalion, started lagging behind on a speed march, and a squad leader tied them with a sling rope to the guy in front of them, like I remember happening once in 1st Batt. Everytime this one PFC slacker started dragging backward on the sling rope, he got a butt stroke from SGT Kennedy.

Hopefully, these whiners won't ever see any time in a Ranger battalion. You have to feel for the guys at 3rd battalion, and also at the regiment headquarters. Since they are at Benning, they're exposed to this idiot 2-star's wrath.

[Travis McGee]

Wait until the General finds out about the games which take place in the sawdust pits.

He'll have a stroke.

[rangerX]

Maybe if he wants a real stroke, he'll go and run a little PT with 3rd batt. Back in 1981 in 1st Batt, we had the 24th Infantry Division Deputy CG run with us during morning PT one time. He literally had a stroke. He probably would have survived had not six rangers picked him up and run about a mile to the post hospital with him. He died some time after they got him to the hospital. Not one of our best days.

Of course, he could get a stroke watching the boys up at Dahlonega, too. I distinctly remember doing pushups with my feet elevated on the red rock at the bottom of the rappel course. It was after we screwed up the stretcher rappel. I was the guy on the stretcher and two buddies were bringing me down the cliff on rappel, with a guy below on belay. All four of us elevated our feet and did lots of pushups, me with the stretcher still attached. We also did pushups in the stream, at the pullup bar, at the mess hall steps, and every other place that was available where you could elevate your feet.

[Fred Mertz]

"I want you to push Fort Benning into the ground, ranger! Give me thirty!"