Ranger Training Brigade

Commander, COL Gregory Hager
Command Sergeant Major, CSM John Burns

Ranger training at Fort Benning, Georgia, began in September of 1950 with the formation and training of 17 Airborne Ranger companies during the Korean War by the Ranger Training Command. In October, 1951, the Commandant of the United States Army Infantry School established the Ranger Department and extended Ranger training to all combat units in the Army. The first Ranger class for individual candidates graduated on 1 March, 1952. On 1 November, 1987, the Ranger Department reorganized into the Ranger Training Brigade, and established four Ranger Training Battalions.

The Ranger Training Brigade's mission is to conduct the Ranger and Long Range Surveillance Leader courses to develop the leadership skills, confidence and competence of students by requiring them to perform effectively as small unit leaders in tactically realistic environments.

The Ranger course is designed to further develop leaders who are physically and mentally tough and self-disciplined and challenges them to think, act and react effectively in stress approaching that found in combat. The course is over nine weeks in duration and divided into three phases: Benning phase, Fort Benning, Georgia; Mountain phase, Dahlonega, Georgia; and Swamp phase, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The Long Range Surveillance Leader course is designed to train long range surveillance leaders to better prepare them for the training and tactical leadership of their units/teams.