Gulf war 1 era Ranger gear

[Rockwolf66]

Ok I have a question for the more gearheaded members of the forum. What would be the Apropriate gear for a US Army Ranger in the Gulf War 1 era?

I'm asking because I'm looking at a game where the players are all Rangers in the first gulf war. I myself am looking at possibly playing a radioman armed with a M203, but I would like to see what an entire squad looks like.

[Legbreaker]

You wouldn't be talking about the real 1st Gulf War between Iraq and Iran would you...

[ArmySGT.]

I do not recall any portion of the 75th Regiment deployed to Desert Shield / Desert Storm.

Unless you plan to use them as Ranger qualified members of a Corps, Division, or Brigade Reconnaissance unit.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by ArmySGT.

I do not recall any portion of the 75th Regiment deployed to Desert Shield / Desert Storm.

Unless you plan to use them as Ranger qualified members of a Corps, Division, or Brigade Reconnaissance unit.

You're right, there weren't -- and the Rangers were quite pissed about it, the rumor mill said. The closest you're going to get are the NCOs and officers of the 82nd and 101st -- you're required to go to Ranger School within a year of becoming an infantry squad leader or arriving as an infantry officer at the 82nd (barring lack of available slots), and I believe the 101st has (or had at the time I was in) a similar policy.

[Rockwolf66]

I'm not the GM, but when dealing with games some things get fudged. I know alittle on the subject but the emphisis is on little.

From what I've read they are kitted out like infantry but they tend to go heavy on Ammo. Still I would love to know what sort of Kit would be Apropriate For a recon unit in the GW1 era.

[Sanjuro]

There might be some useful ideas in Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero and Chris Ryan's The One that got away. Both were members an SAS patrol that was compromised while looking for Scud missile sites; Ryan was the only one to escape (he walked to Syria).

[Graebarde]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

You're right, there weren't -- and the Rangers were quite pissed about it, the rumor mill said. The closest you're going to get are the NCOs and officers of the 82nd and 101st -- you're required to go to Ranger School within a year of becoming an infantry squad leader or arriving as an infantry officer at the 82nd (barring lack of available slots), and I believe the 101st has (or had at the time I was in) a similar policy.

Actually the LRSU units were heavy on Ranger tabs, though I don't know how many LRSU actually were in ODS. The LRSU my son was in (E-709, 9 ID) before he went to Panama (pre-Just Cause) got as many slots for Ranger school and all the other courses ie Military Free Fall (HALO) etc as the Bats did, which REALLY jerk their chain. That's how an E-4 got to HALO with the E-6 and E-7 from the SF and Ranger Bat. Low man on the totem pole of the class roster, but made the course and loved it.

[Raellus]

If you've read Blackhawk Down (or seen the film), Gulf War [1] Rangers would likely have been kitted out in an almost identical fashion to the Rangers that got shot up in Mogadishu in '93.

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by Graebarde

Actually the LRSU units were heavy on Ranger tabs, though I don't know how many LRSU actually were in ODS. The LRSU my son was in (E-709, 9 ID) before he went to Panama (pre-Just Cause) got as many slots for Ranger school and all the other courses ie Military Free Fall (HALO) etc as the Bats did, which REALLY jerk their chain. That's how an E-4 got to HALO with the E-6 and E-7 from the SF and Ranger Bat. Low man on the totem pole of the class roster, but made the course and loved it.

18th Airborne Corp LRSC and a couple of the LRSDs from the divisions that were involved were there. Not a lot.

LRS units claimed a lot of Ranger history because of their resemblance to LRRPs in Vietnam and them taking over the same role when the Ranger Companies were consolidated into the Regiment in the mid-70s. The issue though, is in the Ranger community's eyes, there are different levels of Rangering.

One point that I'll take contention with, it doesn't jerk our chains when LRS members go to Hooah schools. There are personnel from all the services in most classes anyway, with the Air Force bubbas sometimes being E4 or E5 by the time they get to that point in their pipelines. What jerks our chains are the guys that reenlist for those schools from a unit without that role (conventional or SOF), take a slot, quit on day three and prevent guys that need it for their day-to-day jobs from going.

[Eddie]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

You're right, there weren't -- and the Rangers were quite pissed about it, the rumor mill said. The closest you're going to get are the NCOs and officers of the 82nd and 101st -- you're required to go to Ranger School within a year of becoming an infantry squad leader or arriving as an infantry officer at the 82nd (barring lack of available slots), and I believe the 101st has (or had at the time I was in) a similar policy.

Not entirely true. B Co 1/75 was there, but they were sitting on their hands due to Schwarzkopf wanting them for a PSD and SOCCENT said, "Nope, not how Rangers are used." So Schwarzkopf benched them for six months until there was really nothing but already destroyed tanks to shoot at.

The Ranger Tab "requirement" in the 82nd and 101st has gone away since the OPTEMPO of the GWOT picked up. My experiences with personnel from the 82nd and 101st was/is a little different. "Requirement" was always a bit misleading as it was just a slotted position from the MTOEs. Now the practice, and expectation, was yes, you will have a Tab or you won't be a leader in the 82nd or 101st (so in effect it was a requirement). The attrition rate in RS is and was so high that they wouldn't be fired for not earning it and NCOs needed time in leadership positions to get promoted, so they'd pay their dues and eventually get a leadership position. Usually not in a line platoon though. Exceptions were people that came back in casts.

Bottom line though, it is and always has been up to the Division and Brigade Commanders of who they would and would not allow in leadership positions by virture of their policy letters. Some are more lenient, some are more old school. IMHO, lots of good officers and NCOs get screwed over because of hype. My Tab didn't stop any bullets, RPGs (not the paper and dice kind), or IEDs during my time in Iraq.