High Standards and Discipline; The 75th Ranger Regiment
Abstract
The 75th Ranger Regiments mission is to plan and conduct joint special military operations in support of U.S. policy and objectives. The regiment is a direct action force capable of executing any special operations or light infantry mission requiring a mature, competent, highly disciplined and lethal force to ensure the precise application of combat power in a politically sensitive environment, day or night, in all weather conditions via land, sea or air. [1] This requirement the Army has placed on the Regiment defines the necessity for such HighStandards and Discipline. For Operation Just Cause, the 75th Ranger Regiment was selected to spearhead the operation in order to restore stability to the country of Panama. The date chosen for the mission was 20 December 1989. For years, the Army had been in a state of decline. In the 1980s, the U.S. Army continued to be plagued by discipline problems. At that time, the 75th Ranger Regiment was the Armys main effort for conducting airfield seizures. The Army knew that the Rangers were a highly disciplined unit, which was combat ready. The U.S. Army started its steady decline in the wayward years of the Vietnam War. The war effort was not successful in Vietnam or back home, during a period marked by social unrest. America was in turmoil with the death toll in excess of 50,000 soldiers, anti war and racial riots in the streets, and college students killed by National Guard troops at Kent State. These sentiments spread back and forth from society to the Army. The Army was in steady decline with rampant discipline issues; black market, drug and alcohol abuse, and morale issues. The Army had to transform. Reestablishing and maintaining discipline was one of the many avenues, which would transform the Army from a post Vietnam Era. By contrast, the Army at the end of 1980 was at peace, gradually modernizing, and with its attention directed toward the Europe. The active Army contained sixteen divisions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 15, 2009
- Accession Number
- AD1117826
Entities
People
- Leland A. Schmid
Organizations
- United States Army Sergeants Major Academy