U.S. Army Ranger Handbook

by U.S. Department of the Army (Editor)

The latest edition of the February 2011 Official US Army Ranger Handbook SH-21-76.
Not for the weak or fainthearted. The US Army Ranger Handbook SH21-76 is packed with information for Rangers, mall ninjas, survivalists, campers and those who just want to know. Table of Contents
Chapter 1 LEADERSHIP1
Chapter 2 OPERATIONS 11
Chapter 3 FIRE SUPPORT53
Chapter 4 COMMUNICATIONS65
Chapter 5 DEMOLITIONS79
Chapter 6 MOVEMENT91
Chapter 7 PATROLS103
Chapter 8 BATTLE DRILLS135
Chapter 9 MILITARY MOUNTAINEERING161
Chapter 10 MACHINE GUN EMPLOYMENT185
Chapter 11 CONVOY OPERATIONS197
Chapter 12 URBAN OPERATIONS209
Chapter 13 WATERBORNE OPERATIONS221
Chapter 14 EVASION AND SURVIVAL233
Chapter 15 AVIATION261
Chapter 16 FIRST AID281

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction, Survival, Military History, War, Leadership, Research

358 pages, Paperback

First published January 6, 1992

About the author

The Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The Department of the Army is the Federal Government agency within which the United States Army is organized, and it is led by the Secretary of the Army who has statutory authority 10 U.S.C. § 3013 to conduct its affairs and to prescribe regulations for its government, subject to the limits of the law, and the directions of the Secretary of Defense and the President.

The Secretary of the Army is a civilian official appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The highest-ranking military officer in the department is the Chief of Staff of the Army, who is also a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other senior officials of the Department are the Under Secretary of the Army (principal deputy to the Secretary) and the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (principal deputy to the Chief of Staff.)

The Department of War was originally formed in 1789 as an Executive Department of the United States, and was renamed by the National Security Act of 1947 to the Department of the Army on September 18, 1947. By amendments to the National Security Act of 1947 in 1949, the Department of the Army was transformed to its present-day status.

Reviews

[Dealyllama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy focus on ranged weapons and very large parties. Little to no discussion of melee attacks, dual wielding etc. The author also focused very heavily on humanoid opponents with no real discussion of abilities vs. giants etc.

Most battle strategies required a great deal of planning and organization which is likely best suited to a heavily tabletop style of gameplay.

Overall an interesting approach but many players will find this style of play incompatible with their current parties and may need to create house rules to handle some of the tactics.


(On a more serious note, the Kindle version has some trouble patches where the OCR seems to have screwed up and dropped words and letters. Table formatting and many figures appeared to be missing but overall seemed pretty good).

[Matt A · Rating 1 out of 5]

A memento from the worst 7 days of my life.

Props to the guys who made it through the course - I washed out because I wasn't mentally tough enough to endure the arbitrary sleep deprivation, unprovoked anger of instructors, and menial tasks like guarding trash cans.

[Vladyslav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Багато речей в цій книзі не є абстрактними та заточені під конкретне обладнання армії США, але є деякі загальні корисні речі, також часто трапляється, що абревіатури не розшифровуються та додатково потрібно ходити про них читати деінде.

[David Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

WARNING: This book deals heavily with real life tactics and survival methods.
You will probably have to look up what some of the abbreviations mean if you have no military experience.

[Joseph Kmiech III · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most handy books/guides for any soldier. Many handy tips on field work arounds, small unit tactics, and many more Ranger skills. Highly recommended to add to your rucksack.

[Patrick Dunphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for mil science

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures were cool I guess

[Syd Railla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alternate Title: how to waste 3 months of your life

[Luka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its a coursebook, instruction manual, with a purpose to teach particular things (here mainly section tactics). Its a very good textbook with a purpose it achieves. Its not "inaccessible" as someone said on here, its very accessible to the audience intended for. Great for the armchair generals too.
If its your thing or you have need of it you'll like it, if not why are you reading it?

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

learned how guerrilla warfare works, tactics of counter insurgency, learned how to make traps in the woods, effective movement tactics , how to survive if lost or abandoned in a unknown area and much more.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pocket guide [SH 21-76] to basic Army Ranger skills relating to survival and combat. Smaller type size is used to conserve space. The book contains useful information for the outdoors man or just anyone interested in the military arts.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a technical manual. It may be difficult for people with no military experience to understand some of the specifics. It covers several topics that an Infantry Leader will need to know in order to plan, organize, and carry out things like raids, ambushes, reconnaissance, etc.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got my tab.

[Lusichka Enna]

a great book

[Shayne Lee Charlesworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

If I had to choose one guide to carry with me everywhere this is the one. And I do have one in my ruck at all times