3rd Ranger Battalion


The 3rd Ranger Battalion, currently based at Fort Benning, Georgia, is the third of three Ranger Battalions belonging to the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment.

History

World War II

After the impressive performance of the 1st Ranger Battalion in the North Africa Campaign the 3rd Ranger Battalion was organized on 19 June 1943 in Morocco, the battalion was made up of American volunteers and led by Major Herman Dammer.
The battalion participated in the invasion of Sicily, the invasion of Italy, the battalion was destroyed at the Battle of Cisterna in early 1944.
This unit was consolidated 10 August 1944 with Company F, 475th Infantry Regiment , and consolidated unit designated as Company F, 475th Infantry Regiment. This unit was deactivated 1 July 1945 in China.

Post-WWII

The unit was redesignated 21 June 1954 as Company F, 75th Infantry Regiment, in the Army of the United States, and was allotted on 26 October 1954 to the Regular Army. It was activated 20 November 1954 on Okinawa, and was inactivated there on 21 March 1956.
The unit was again activated on 1 February 1969 in Vietnam, and was again inactivated on 15 March 1971 in Vietnam.
This unit was again redesignated 3 October 1984 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Infantry, and activated at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Headquarters and Headquarters Company consolidated 3 February 1986 with former Company A, 3rd Ranger Infantry Battalion 3rd Battalion, 75th Infantry Regiment, concurrently redesignated as the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
On 20 December 1989, the 75th Ranger Regiment was committed to Operation Just Cause, in Panama. Along with the 2nd Ranger Battalion, Companies A and B of the 3rd Battalion conducted an airfield seizure of the Rio Hato Airfield, and Company C participated along with the 1st Ranger Battalion to seize the airfield at Torrijos/ Tocumen Airport, and subsequent combat operations contributed significantly to the United States victory in Panama.
In August 1993, elements of Company B of the 3rd Ranger Battalion and the battalion headquarters deployed to Somalia as part of Task Force Ranger. After several successful missions, on 3 October 1993 exactly nine years from the activation of the battalion, they performed a courageous daylight assault where they were engaged in the most intense ground combat for U.S. troops since the Vietnam War.

War on Terror

After the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the 3rd Ranger Battalion deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. On 19 October 2001, during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, 200 Rangers of 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment spearheaded ground forces by conducting an airborne assault to seize Objective Rhino; Spc. Jonn J. Edmunds and Pfc. Kristofer T. Stonesifer were the first combat casualties in the War on Terror when their MH-60L helicopter crashed at Objective Honda in Pakistan, a temporary staging site used by a company of Rangers from 3rd Battalion. During the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001, a CIA Jawbreaker team requested that the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment be inserted into the mountains to establish blocking positions along potential escape routes out of Tora Bora into Pakistan. They would serve as the 'anvil' whilst Green Berets with the AMF would be the 'Hammer,' with attached Air Force Combat Controllers, the Rangers could direct airstrikes onto enemy concentrations or engage them in ambushes, but this was denied.
In 2003, the 3rd Battalion was called upon to participate in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. On 24 March 2003, 3rd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment conducted a combat drop onto H-1 Air Base, securing the site as a staging area for operations in western Iraq. On the night of 31 March/April 1, 2003, Delta Force and 3/75th captured the Haditha Dam complex and held it for a further 5 days.
At the end of 2003, the battalion deployed again, this time sending elements of the battalion to both Afghanistan and Iraq. The battalion deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom until summer 2010. The battalion continues to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Primary tasks include: direct action, national and international emergency crisis response, airfield seizure, airborne and air assault operations, special reconnaissance, intelligence and counter intelligence, combat search and rescue, personnel recovery and hostage rescue, joint special operations, and counter terrorism.
On 18 April 2010, ISOF troops, supported by US troops, carried out a night-time raid on a terrorist safe house near Tikrit in Iraq, the ISOF killed Abu Ayyub al-Masri and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the two leaders of ISI; 16 others were also arrested. A US UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter supporting the mission crashed killing a Ranger NCO from 3/75th and wounding the aircrew.
By mid-2015 each Ranger battalion had completed its 20th deployment in support of both Afghanistan and Iraq operations. As of 28 March 2016, since the War on Terror began, 31 Rangers from the battalion have been killed.
It was reported that on the evening of 26 April 2017, 50 Rangers from 3/75th joined 40 Afghan commandos to conduct a joint US-Afghan operation/raid that was targeting the headquarters of Abdul Hasib, the Emir of ISIS-K, in a village in Achin District, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. The force was flown into Mohmand Valley and within minutes were engaged in a heavy, close-quarter firefight, AC-130 gunships, Apache helicopters, F-16 fighters and drones were called in to support the force firefight with ISIS-K militants. The firefight lasted for 3 hours, resulting in 2 Rangers from C and D Companies died of injuries after being medevaced and a third was also wounded, 35 ISIS-K militants were also killed.

Lineage

The 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment traces its lineage to two units; Company H, 475th Infantry Regiment and Company A, 3rd Ranger Battalion. The units originally had separate lineages, but were then consolidated in 1986.

Campaign participation credit

Decorations