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us army ranger about late 80s beginning of 90s


msgt norway
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Heres a couple close ups of the Grenada Ranger scroll

 

paul

 

 

Great pics but, that chute would never pass JMPI............. thumbdown.gifw00t.gif

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pwmiraldi67
Great pics but, that chute would never pass JMPI............. thumbdown.gifw00t.gif

Your probably right!!! We only had a few of em for the show and I have no idea since Im a leg, we did have one guy who use to be with the 82nd way back in1979 so he was a little rusty.

would have been great to have a Jump Master or Rigger!!

LOL

thanks though

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  • 2 months later...
ABNRANGER1-75
Gotta have a tab on that patrol cap.

 

A "tabber" would be a minimum of an E-3 but more likely at least an E-4.

 

Need to lose the mustache.

 

Camoflauge.

 

The Scroll shold be the old school scroll.

 

The buttpack is nice but they carried large rucks.

Rock

 

I was in 1st Ranger Battalion during the time you are trying to reenact.

 

A couple of notes:

 

1-Once you graduate Ranger School you get automatically awarded the rank of E-4/Specialist. You will not see a 'Tab'd' Ranger (meaning graduate from Ranger school) with rank of E-3 or lower *unless then got busted down; which would mean they probably would not be a Ranger anymore

 

2-No facial hair in battalion--period.

 

3-Old school ranger scrolls were only worn by those rangers that participated in Grenada. The scroll in the picture is period correct.

 

4-The uniform is correct also-lightweight BDU's or ERDL Pattern 2 (RDF) pattern were allowed. NO OG-107's after Panama.

 

5-The Ranger Roll in the hat. The Regiment banned Ranger Rolls as well as the regular army. Some guys would do a modify roll which meant they smashed their hat down on the their head. Also, Ranger tab and rank were sewn on front; name tape and cat eyes on back....

 

6-Sew-on Rank, Name Tapes, US Army, Jump Wings....were required along with unit patch... 'in the name of being squared away'.

 

Thats enough for now...

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In A/1/17, i know I wore,as did my whole company, the OG-107 slant pockets well after Operation Just Cause,into at least mid-late 1990 when I left the Batt.

 

The "Ranger crush" was authorized and pretty much accepted, while I was in. Cant say what current SOP is, but during my time in A/1/75,we definately did "ranger crush"Patrol Caps as well as boonie hats.

 

 

Craig

Former A/1/75 1988-1990

FTL and later SL; 3rd Squad

Rank in Batt;Cpl Thru Sgt E-5

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and I dont know about the automatic E-4;there were an awful lot of PV-2 and PFC's on my fire team and in my squad.

 

Automatic "Spec-4"...when I made E-4, in the Batt, i got my hard stripe,as did anyone who had a 11B,11C,11H (combat) MOS. Spec-4 was for non combat arms without PLDC (or the older "PNCOC") or BNCOC.

 

perhaps i was in a different 1st ranger Batt. than some here. I was and still am prouder of my Ranger tab than almost any other award,skill or badge. I might not be great with names anymore, but i remember faces,and see them in my minds eye like it was yesterday. There are too many discrepancies for what is the same unit;somebody is not right says I.I'm not going to get into a pissing contest, but I have my paperwork, uniforms and much from my batt time still here with me, despite several divorces and hurricaines. Not as much as originally, but a good bit. I have my Operation Just Cause U.S. Army commendation citation on my wall,cuz I am proud of that.It came at a time when ribbons,awards and accolades were not commonplace in the Batts.,so to me, getting that is a accomplishment,even if only in my eyes.

I am still in, in the SF here in AL (NG) and have strong ties with a few folks from my Ranger time they also back up what I said here, and added that not only did ranger ALWAYS give their caps the "Ranger crush" (sometimes boonies too) but that when regular troops tried to imitste it,being they were not Ranger qualified would bring quick "on the spot" correction-always in a friendly,"let me help you" way.

Something here smells like a damn fishmarket for chrissakes (I hope chrissakes doesnt offend any particular religious faith of some of the more "genteel"cloud poppers here,cuz all religion,faith ect are fine by me)

So, what I am saying I guess is, I remember my time well,I was a NCO in Batt,therefore enforced the standards and SOPs in my squad, I DO remember the 80's and 90's quite well, and,well I will leave it at that so I dont offend anyones delicate sensabilities (anymore)

 

Craig

Former A/1/75 1988-1990

FTL and later SL;3rd Squad

Rank in Batt'CPL thru Sgt E-5

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Sgt_Rock_EasyCo

There ya have it from some actual Rangers:

 

Lose the mustache.

Lose the field jacket.

Cut your hair.

Get patches squared away.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I was in 1st Ranger Battalion during the time you are trying to reenact.

 

A couple of notes:

 

1-Once you graduate Ranger School you get automatically awarded the rank of E-4/Specialist. You will not see a 'Tab'd' Ranger (meaning graduate from Ranger school) with rank of E-3 or lower *unless then got busted down; which would mean they probably would not be a Ranger anymore

 

2-No facial hair in battalion--period.

 

3-Old school ranger scrolls were only worn by those rangers that participated in Grenada. The scroll in the picture is period correct.

 

4-The uniform is correct also-lightweight BDU's or ERDL Pattern 2 (RDF) pattern were allowed. NO OG-107's after Panama.

 

5-The Ranger Roll in the hat. The Regiment banned Ranger Rolls as well as the regular army. Some guys would do a modify roll which meant they smashed their hat down on the their head. Also, Ranger tab and rank were sewn on front; name tape and cat eyes on back....

 

6-Sew-on Rank, Name Tapes, US Army, Jump Wings....were required along with unit patch... 'in the name of being squared away'.

 

Thats enough for now...

 

1st Batt and 2nd Batt did things alot differently pre-Regiment. The "Ranger Rolls" were never banned at 2nd Batt. and I was a tabbed PFC for about 8 months due to a promotion freeze. I made E-5 after about 5 months as an E-4 though. As far as I now there was never a automatic promotion to E-4 after Ranger School in 2nd Batt.

 

Another example of the differences is that 2nd Batt were not allowed to roll up the sleeves on our fatigues where 1st Batt did it all the time. Of course there's a lot of difference between Georgia and Washington weather....

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Sgt_Rock_EasyCo

All this talk is making me reminice a little.

 

I served in Berlin with several 82nd and Batt guys. All of us were Grenada veterans and they PCS'd us all over the place. I wanted the 509th in Italy but got Berlin instead. The Batt guys were all motivated and squared away and we all gravitated to each other. I remember walking around as an E-5 with guys saluting me a least twice a day- Few young guys had a combat stack so we looked like officers or something.

 

Rock

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest SFDOC8489
Yes, WE were ambushed.

 

Even though we are largely forgotten by the passage of time, and how others think that " :lol: it wasn't REALLY a war ! :lol: " as I have heard and have been told, my memories remain fresh and come EVERY DAY that I breathe, just as they have for 25 years.

 

I CANNOT forget.

 

Adam

 

 

Hey Adam:

 

I knew Cpt Ritz and SSG Epps too. How exactly did you know these fallen paratroopers?

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  • 2 weeks later...
snake36bravo
Hey Adam:

 

I knew Cpt Ritz and SSG Epps too. How exactly did you know these fallen paratroopers?

 

I was in the 25th ID(L) from 92 to 95. One of the best things about that division was we got a lot of Ranger qual'd and tabbed guys in. We also had quite a few Panama-Grenada-Desert Storm veterans. Saying that means the training filtered down.

 

Everything stated here is mos def according to my recollection especially using 550 cord to tie the hell out of everything. If you carried an AN/PVS4 it was tied to you with 550, we secured everything with it and we taped everything, and trained as we fought. Cat eyes were a must and some of us who gave a damn followed lead and put our name tapes on our rucks and PCs as well. We also Ranger Rolled our caps but caught hell for it occasionally.

 

The only downside to the 25th was that when SFAS time came around they made sure those of us eager for it were on CQ and missed day one. LRSD was another no-no. BN didn't want to loose anyone.

 

This was taken at PTA around 93. We still had ragtops then and this was my first position in the squad, SAW gunner. In the end I was weapons squad leader when I departed the 25th Dimension. You can see we used large rucks as well. I miss my ragtop. Wish I had kept it.

 

By the way I have a source for a box full of those 50s PCs.

post-2582-1254658442.jpg

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snake36bravo

One more real quick. Even our medics were high speed low drag. Doc Dinwiddie early morning Northern Territory during Kangaroo 95, 550 cord, tape, carabiner, pace counter and air assault qual'd to boot.

post-2582-1254658710.jpg

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snake36bravo

Another shot at PTA. Freeze at night, burn during the day. RIP and Air Assault were common and Scouts were top notch. Damn good unit.

post-2582-1254658893.jpg

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snake36bravo

K95 as RTO. We took our slings off as well, I don't know if Batts did this but Scouts did in the 25th (chow sling my a%%) and you can see the 550 running to my M9 bayonet, like I said it was our mustard for everything, muzzle caps to keep to dirt out. This is prior to re-camo and loading up on the Australian M113s for Tinsel AFB and night patrols.

post-2582-1254659343.jpg

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snake36bravo

Ranger Rolls anyone? A few of the guys I served with went on to Lewis. My point here is even line units picked a lot up from our Rangers. It was a flashback to hear many of the things pointed out like not using insect repellent because of the shine/wear but lighting the ends of the camo tubes, covering all exposed skin, etc. Leaving a PB we would sit for 15 and just listen to acclimate to sounds, etc, I remember we even had little bottles of black paint to cover anything reflective.

 

Crackers crushed up, peanut butter, sugar packet, cocoa and some water and viola! Ranger Pudding.

 

The 25th also were the first to field the PEQ, PVS7B, patrol packs from the mountain rucks, and M4s.

post-2582-1254661401.jpg

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hey snake36B...i also was in the 25th ID from 87-91 and was in Cco. 1/21 Inf. and HHC as a Scout....i was prior service when i came back in 87 and had to go back thru basic and Infantry AIT as i was a signal guy in my prior service,but had been thru basic Airborne and AirAssault school..... been to RIP ,sniper and rappel master while i was a 1/21 INF. "Gimlet" and made the rank of E-5 before i PCS'ed to the 7th ID.....i also got deployed to Aussie for operation "Dimond dollar 87" and Team spirt 88....also various FTX's at east range ,PTA, the kawhocohs and did a silent warrior Scout competion within my brigade....vince g. 11b inf....

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hey snake36B...i also was in the 25th ID from 87-91 and was in Cco. 1/21 Inf. and HHC as a Scout....i was prior service when i came back in 87 and had to go back thru basic and Infantry AIT as i was a signal guy in my prior service,but had been thru basic Airborne and AirAssault school..... been to RIP ,sniper and rappel master while i was a 1/21 INF. "Gimlet" and made the rank of E-5 before i PCS'ed to the 7th ID.....i also got deployed to Aussie for operation "Dimond dollar 87" and Team spirt 88....also various FTX's at east range ,PTA, the kawhocohs and did a silent warrior Scout competion within my brigade....vince g. 11b inf....

 

Most definitely! I was detached for Division from the Repo Depo but A Co 1/21 didn't want to loose me so I went to them first. Straight to Makua Valley when I got there. I was a Gimlet for awhile, 100K I wont forget and then transferred to C Co 5/14 to go to Sinai, Egypt with MFO for a rotation. I went to Anti-Armor school with 1/21 and was a Dragon gunner for a bit. Scouts wanted me but I was green and like an idiot told the CSM I 'needed a little more line time'. What a dunce.

 

I still think the 25th ID(L) is the best unit to start you off on your first enlistment. We had lots of senior NCOs back then who were in Grenada-Panama-Desert Storm. A lot of practical combat experience for an 11B00. Lots of schools including Marine Corps Sniper School at Kanehoe, RIP, Air Assault and if you can get in, LRSD. If it wasn't for 7 kids, apparently God didn't issue me blanks, I would re-up to get back there. Im a sucker for humping the gulches there. Man I loved it.

 

The only con was the old barracks, kind of cool historically, but monuments werent meant to live in. I remember you could see the rebar on some of the stairs leading to the lanais.

 

The medical officer who ran our Aid Station was a former Green Beret.

 

Remember the Divisional Kole-Kole runs?

 

Dear old Sam deactivated both units, 1/21 as well as 5/14.

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hey snake36bravo great to here from you...i did'nt know that 1/21inf. was deactiveated when ?.. yes i remember the kole kole (fun) runs we used to make fun of all the non-Infantry (REMFS)passed out along the road..heck we used to run or walk kole kole for fun on sat... C-quad was were "from here to eternity" was filmed in the 1950's and in the 1/21 Inf. Bn. area....i was in a good unit and a great Infanrty Divison sadly my career in the Army sent me to alot of bad units....vince g. 11b inf...

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  • 3 years later...
flashesandovals

Gotta have a tab on that patrol cap.

 

A "tabber" would be a minimum of an E-3 but more likely at least an E-4.

 

Need to lose the mustache.

 

Camoflauge.

 

The Scroll shold be the old school scroll.

 

The buttpack is nice but they carried large rucks.

 

 

Rock

 

And that pack would be full too!

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flashesandovals

I don't have many pictures from back in the day but, here's one of the Anti-Tank Section B Company 2/75 taken at

Ft. Lewis in the summer of 1983. From left to right Steve Griffin (me), Mike Emerling, Harold Hagen, John Macejunas (holding 90mm Recoiless), Mike Keith and Blair Hall (kneeling)

 

 

webco.jpg

 

I have an early BDU shirt of an Emerling with a master jump wing with combat star, a 2nd Ranger Bn old school scroll as a combat patch while he was serving with an 8th ID unit on jump status at Baumholder, Germany (probably the 108th MI Bn's LRS outfit) - do you happen to know if that may have been him? Also, there were no rank or branch insignia on it.

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  • 1 month later...
Fender Rhodes

I have an early BDU shirt of an Emerling with a master jump wing with combat star, a 2nd Ranger Bn old school scroll as a combat patch while he was serving with an 8th ID unit on jump status at Baumholder, Germany (probably the 108th MI Bn's LRS outfit) - do you happen to know if that may have been him? Also, there were no rank or branch insignia on it.

 

I know Emerling. Great guy. Was a 90mm recoilless rifle gunner. Let me know if you decide to get rid of that shirt. I'm sure he'd probably like to have it back.

Best,

FR

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  • 4 weeks later...
flashesandovals

I know Emerling. Great guy. Was a 90mm recoilless rifle gunner. Let me know if you decide to get rid of that shirt. I'm sure he'd probably like to have it back.

Best,

FR

 

Hi,

 

I'd like to get in touch with him too - we'll go from there.

 

Thanks!

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Fender Rhodes

I'll touch base with him and see if he's interested in making contact. If you PM your name I can pass it to him...

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  • 2 months later...

anyone have a sett of od bdus in size large regular or medium regular

for sale?

old school ranger scroll are interresting to.

extra ranger tabs to.

 

 

 

and thank you al for the feedback,it helps me improve my impressions

and feeds my collector hunger :)

 

ken

i have a set of woodland bdu -top is medium long and pants are medium regular. i also have my patrol cap and a pair of issue 10W combat boots still in box, desrt storm got me my 2nd award for national defense ribbon with 1 star. war on terroe got me my 3rd award national defense with 2 stars. us navy 61-64 uss john r. pierce DD753 post 21 of cuban blockade. arng 1985-2003 B1/126FA 85-99 99-2003 40Th ID hhc 2/185AR mos 64C20,88M30,13B30

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  • 8 months later...

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