Ranger Handbook

by U.S. Department of the Army

This February 2011 edition is the most current, fully revised and is currently in use. In this handbook you will find tactics and techniques used by Army Rangers. This handbook offers the techniques and tactics that make U.S. Army Rangers the best soldiers in the world. These highly trained, easily deployable, and widely skilled infantrymen specialize in airborne assault, raids, recovery of personnel and equipment, and airfield seizure, among other difficult and dangerous missions. Now, in this recently revised edition of the U.S. Army Ranger Handbook, you can get the latest info on everything from understanding the basics of Army operations and tactics to discovering what makes a soldier with good leadership qualities and character. Although primarily written for Rangers and other light infantry units, it serves as a handy reference for all military units, covering how infantry squad- and platoon-sized elements conduct combat operations in varied terrains. this guide provides modern soldiers with best training possible and effectively combines the lessons of the past with important insights for the future to help make army leaders the absolute best they can be. This handbook provides squad and platoon leaders with the roles, tactics, knowledge, and operational requirements to employ combat multipliers in a combat environment. SH 21-76.

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

448 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