 Army presents The Big Picture, an official report produced for the armed forces and the American people. To me, it has come to have many meetings. My name is Joe Price, and I first began to realize how much that word would affect me during the early days of my training at the Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia. I had some doubts and fears, but before it was over, I discovered that eight weeks of Ranger training had given me something that most people don't get in their lifetimes. A belief in my ability to overcome whatever seemingly impossible challenge I had to face. It gave me an inner confidence and lack of fear that'll remain with me as long as I live. One of the first things I learned was that the proud history of Ranger units went back over 200 years. The colorful, exciting story of the Rangers had its beginning in 1756, when Major Robert Rogers of New Hampshire organized his Rangers to fight the Indians and the French. Ranger techniques and methods of operation were practically a way of life to the frontiersmen of Rogers Day. However, it was Rogers who first made conscious use of them in training a military unit. Being tough men were skilled in the primitive warfare they learned from the Indians, Americans who used Ranger tactics, such as General Marion's partisans, who harassed the British and drove them to despair with hit-and-run raids and ambushes. Come through American history, the Ranger comes. John Mosby and his raiders. Morgan and his men, Confederates who struck fast and disappeared, creating havoc behind enemy lines. In the early part of World War II, Rangers of the United States Army accompanied Canadian and British commandos in the surprise raid on Dieppe. Rangers participated in the North African campaign. They fought with the 7th Army in Sicily. At Anzio, Rangers overcame beach defenses, cleared the town, and formed a defensive perimeter. In Omaha Beach in Normandy, captured German coastal batteries and mopped up enemy opposition. Ranger operations aided the breakthrough of our armor, which spearheaded U.S. forces to the Rhine. Masters of the swift deadly combat raid in enemy territory, Rangers formed a daring rescue force in the Philippines to surprise a Japanese garrison twice their number. In 20 minutes, they liberated 500 allied prisoners of war. In Korea, Ranger trained personnel were spread throughout the infantry to raise the overall combat efficiency. And so the still unfinished story of the Ranger comes down to today. Today's Ranger is just as good a man as his predecessor, maybe even better. We think he is because he has had the benefit of 200 years of know-how. And the modern Ranger learns it in only eight weeks. But those eight weeks, oh brother, I'll never forget that first week. I knew you had to be a good man to earn the Ranger tab, like these Ranger instructors. Some were combat veterans, some not. Some officers and some enlisted men, and all proud of that tab. I said to myself, Joe, you're a good soldier. Why not be the best? So there I was in the first week of eight I'd never forget. We had to be in good condition to get in the Ranger course to begin with. Then they made you prove it. Ever toss around a bunch of telephone poles? Try it sometime. They only weigh about five or six hundred pounds. By the third day, I was sure I'd made a big mistake. This wasn't the Army Ranger course at all. We were training for the Olympics. It was double time here, double time there. And then at the end of the day, a mile and a half run to make sure we had a good appetite for supper. As I say, a mile and a half, by the fifth day it was two miles and a half. And a few days later, four miles. Halfway, halfway, half way, one mile, one mile, gotta be, gotta be, uh, uh, Ranger. There was something every hour of every day. From pugilistic battles, to tug-of-war matches, to wrestling in the bear pit. Once in a while we get to sit still long enough to learn other tricks of the Ranger's trade, like using demolition charges, like map reading and the proper use of a compass. And like making up patrol orders for a mission, then we'd be off and running again. One day on the bayonet course, another day on the conditioning course. And it seemed as if every day we discovered muscles we never knew we had. I think it was the next night, or maybe the night after, that we had the night compass course, finding our way from point to point through ten miles of forest with nothing to guide us but that little needle. And you know something? That little needle was right. Then we had more demolition work, more physical conditioning, and more running. The last run being five miles. I don't know how we made that last mile, but we did it. Then there was a combat patrol. Five miles across country, hitter objective, and back before dawn. And then the fort vending phase of the course was over. Next, they moved us to the Florida Ranger camp. Everyone knows that Florida is a land of palm trees, orange juice, and bathing beauties. So being Ranger trainees, naturally we saw none of these things. What they had waiting for us was a program called Waterborne Swamp and Jungle Training. This was the beginning of operations under simulated combat conditions, with realism supplied by specially trained opposing forces. Next event was our introduction to jungle survival and the local forms of life. Most people think of a snake as something to be avoided. But to a hungry Ranger, a snake can be the main course for supper. That's what our instructor said. And later on, he was going to cook one to prove it. He also said that snakes are afraid of people. And when we got out in the swamps, just forget about them. Well, I was willing if they were. This operation is called a stream crossing expedient. The idea is to keep your weapons and equipment dry, make a raft out of your poncho, and pull it across. You needn't be a great swimmer, but you do need confidence, the number one ingredient that makes a Ranger. The main method of Ranger training is the patrol. This is where we learn to operate in small fighting units. To reach an objective quickly and secretly, accomplish our mission, and get out fast. Each of us wrote a warning order based on a short briefing on the combat situation and a description of our mission. I was chosen as leader for this mission, and I gave the patrol order, picked team leaders, assigned equipment, and so on. Later, each of the others would be given a similar chance. One day, it might be a combat patrol, or it might be a reconnaissance patrol. The next night, it could be an air-landed raid to liberate American prisoners of war. Then we were sent on our first patrol into the swamps. We've been briefed at midnight, and we're well on our way at daylight. By noon, I guessed we had gone about five miles, about one half the way to our objective. By 4 p.m., I'd even forgotten all about snakes. It was tough enough just keeping our footing and moving ahead. I figured there had to be an end to the swamps somewhere, but by 9 o'clock that night, I was convinced there wasn't any end. The swamps went on forever. By 7 the next morning, I was hungry enough to eat a snake for breakfast. And believe it or not, we were out of the swamps. By noon, we finally sighted our objective, an enemy communications center. We'd come up from the swamp side, the side the enemy figured was impassable. They were snug and safe. They thought, well, after what we'd been through to get there, nothing could have stopped us. Surprise and teamwork paid off. It was our first combat patrol, and we had the satisfaction of knowing we had done a good job. Next, we were moved to what is called the rope drop area. This test was developed to help increase our self-confidence. While the test is not extremely difficult, and not beyond the capabilities of any man in the course, it is made as challenging as possible. For instance, anyone could walk across this log if it were lying on the ground, but being 30 feet up in the air makes quite a difference. These simulated artillery bursts don't help any. The same holds true for this rope climb. It's not difficult in itself, but it must be done properly. When a man conquers his fears so that he is able to meet the challenge of this test without clenching, he proves something to himself. He had done more than he thought he could. Naturally, he gets quite a lift to his self-confidence. But this wasn't the last experience we had with water. A few nights later, we were given our most important mission, to destroy enemy missile installations at Fort Pickens on Santa Rosa Island. We planned the assault all day, then landed undetected in small boats. Our teamwork was getting better all the time, and tonight we'd really need everything we had learned. From the swamps and beaches of Florida, we moved to the Ranger Mountain Camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Delana, Georgia. Mountain operations are another type of mission for which a Ranger must be trained. Repelling down a log wall looked easy the way the instructor did it, the way we did it. Well, let's just say we needed some practice. And I got quite a bit. In a short time, I was repelling with the best of them down the side of a 60-foot cliff. Failure to follow proper procedures during all phases of Ranger training results in extra physical activity. A rope is a Ranger's best friend in mountain operations, and you can use it in a dozen different ways. We learned to make a rope bridge like this, for instance, and to cross it without hesitation. Over a creek on one rope is the simplest way, but tough on your arm. Then day after day and night after night, we went on patrols, combat patrols and reconnaissance patrols, practicing the techniques of Ranger needs. We learned all those little things that add up to the big things, self-confidence, self-discipline, and leadership. This competence test is intentionally conducted after several days and nights with little rest. Climbing a swaying rope ladder to a cable 85 feet in the air. Then down and on a signal into the lake. Yes, if you're a Ranger, you can do anything. Finally, we went on our last combat patrol, and it was really something. We left by helicopter on Monday night and were dropped behind enemy lines. We had to accomplish our mission by Thursday morning. 50 miles of mountains lay between us and our objective. And we had to get there without detection by enemy forces who held the area. That meant bypassing all roads and bridges. We had one assault ration per man to last three days and nights, unless we rendezvoused with a friendly partisan. By the end of the first night, we were mostly thinking about how hungry and tired we were. By the middle of the second day, we were still thinking about how hungry and tired we were. By the end of the second night, when we'd come about 35 miles, we were mostly not thinking at all. It became a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and going on. We'd top one hill and there was always another. Climb that one and there was still another. We'd think we were lost. We'd check the compass and map and find we were okay. By the middle of the third day, we moved into a clandestine assembly area. Once security was established, we cleaned equipment, rested and prepared for the raid that night. The one thing that was missing was food. Well, we knew how to take care of that. During our briefing for this patrol, we'd been told to make contact with a friendly partisan whose location had been given to us. And we sure didn't have to worry about our appetite. That night, we continued on the way to our objective. A little faster now when we could because time was growing short. Then when we were sure we'd never make it in time, there was the missile site. And here we were, tired but determined. Nothing mattered now except the job we had to do. Mission accomplished. The only thing that remained was graduation at Fort Benning. And now I knew that a ranger is a man who has been through the toughest combat training course in the armed forces today. A man who can lead with self-confidence. I had proved something to myself and to a lot of other people. And the ranger tab made it official. Here's an official report for the armed forces and the American people. Produced by the Army Pictorial Center. Presented by the Department of the Army in cooperation with this station.