Ranger Courses (Japan Ground Self-Defense Force)


Ranger Courses of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force are military training courses oriented toward Commando operations.

Background

The original course that is being held at :ja:陸上自衛隊富士学校|Fuji School was established in 1956 by two JGSDF officers who had graduated from the United States Army Ranger School. This course was basically the Japanese version of the American Ranger School at the beginning.
In 1960, Local ranger courses were started by each infantry regiments. As ranger courses continue to be carried out in various JGSDF units, they developed according to the country's geography.

Ranger Courses

Generally, there are four types of Ranger Courses as follows, but all courses are known for their severe harshness so only eligible soldiers can take these courses:
; Local courses
; At the :ja:陸上自衛隊富士学校|Fuji School
; At :ja:習志野駐屯地|Narashino
; At Niseko
JGSDF soldiers are not the only to participate in the courses. Air Self Defense Force paramedics also have participated in various ranger courses. JGSDF rangers are known as the pioneers of the rope and mountain rescue techniques, thus eligible members of the civilian law enforcement and rescue organization can take Ranger Courses arranged for search and rescue operations.

Deployment

Unlike the United States Army Rangers, the JGSDF has adopted a policy to improve the level of the whole forces by distributing rangers to each units, thus the unit consisting only of rangers was not established except for the training units in the Fuji School and CWCT. But in case of special operations or disaster response, commanding officers may gather Rangers and organize Ranger units temporarily.
When the Western Army Infantry Regiment was launched in 2002, Ranger platoons were set up in this regiment. These platoons are certified as special operation units. In 2012, they conducted joint landing exercises with the United States Marine Corps in Guam.

Books

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