RANGER READING LIST

James Altieri joined the Army in late 1941 and was subsequently sent to Northern Ireland where he served as an artillerymen with the 1st Armored Division. While stationed there, he was told that volunteers were wanted to form up a new unit structured much like the British Commandos. Altieri completed the demanding training program and became a Ranger in July 1942. Click here to continue reading.

Chris Anthony’s career spans military, government, Department of Defense, academic research, and education. As CEO of TeamWorx Security, Chris is passionate about entrepreneurship, especially military veteran, and military spouse entrepreneurs. Click here to continue reading.

Mir Bahmanyar enlisted in the U.S. Army’s 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, where he exercised the Green-to-Gold Option and entered the Reserve Officer Training Corps before being medically discharged. Mir went on to serve on the Board of Directors for the 75th Ranger Regiment Association and was an Associate Historian of the World War Two Ranger Battalions Association. Click here to continue reading.

Robert Black enlisted in the Army in 1949 as an Infantryman and volunteered for Airborne School. When the Korean War broke out, Black was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division. Black chaffed at the idea that he might have to sit out the war. “I knew the Korean War and I were made for each other” he wrote, so he volunteered for one of the newly formed Ranger companies. Click here to continue reading.

Chris Brewer is a retired Army officer with ten years prior service as an NCO, from E2 to E7. He served in the 1st Ranger Battalion from its activation in 1974 as a PFC to 1977 as an acting platoon sergeant in B Company. He served as an NCO in the 1/509th ABCT in Italy, in the 1/10th Special Forces Group in Bad Tolz Germany, and as a Ranger Instructor at Camp Darby, Ft Benning Georgia. Click here to continue reading.

After enlisting in the U.S. Army in 2003 at the age of 21, Dr. Tony Brooks attended and graduated Infantry and Airborne school followed by the four-week Ranger Indoctrination program, officially checking in to the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Fort Lewis, Washington, in September 2004. Click here to continue reading.

Ethan Brown spent eleven years as a United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) specialist, spending most of his career aligned with the U.S. Army’s 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC). Click here to continue reading.

Dominic Caraccilo served over 27 years as a commissioned officer was selected for Brigadier General and retired as Colonel in 2011. Beginning his career in the 8th Infantry in Mainz, West Germany as a platoon leader and then was posted to a number of assignments to include two commands in the 82nd Airborne Division. Click here to continue reading.

CW4 (R) Greg Coker served 22 years in the U.S. Army, 15 years as an AH-6 “Little Bird” attack helicopter instructor pilot who was specially recruited, assessed, and selected in the Army’s only Special Operations Helicopter unit, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He was one of the senior Lead Instructor Pilots and planner responsible for planning and executing special operations missions in support of our nation’s most elite special operations units, 75th Ranger Regiment and 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta. Click here to continue reading.

William O. Darby was a career United States Army officer who fought in World War II, where he was killed in action in Italy. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general. Darby led the famous Darby's Rangers, which evolved into the U.S. Army Rangers. Click here to continue reading.

Stephen M. Davis was born and raised in Marion, Indiana. He joined the Army a month after high school graduation and had the honor of serving in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Click here to continue reading.

Matt Eversmann enlisted in the Army as an Infantryman in December 1987. His assignments included the 10th Mountain Division, 3/75 Ranger Regiment, 75th Ranger Regiment HQ, Cadet Command and the US Army War College. Matt deployed to Mogadishu in 1993 as a member of Task Force Ranger. Click here to continue reading.

Dino Garner was born in Laredo, TX to a fighter-pilot father and designer mother and grew up in Europe his first 12 years. He traveled to more than a dozen countries as a child and teen, learned multiple foreign languages, and discovered a deep passion for action-adventure and seeking knowledge in many areas.

In ninth grade, Dino developed a life plan. Become a: 1. Marine Biologist; 2. Neurobiologist; 3. Army Ranger; and 4. Mercenary of some type. Click here to continue reading.

LTC (Ret) JC Glick serves as the National Director of Merging Vets and Players (MVP), a non-profit founded by FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer and former Green Beret and Seattle Seahawk Nate Boyer, established to empower combat veterans and former professional athletes by connecting them after the uniform comes off; providing them with a new team to assist with transition, promote personal development, and show them they are never alone. Click here to continue reading.

Bill Goshen served with F Company, 52d Infantry (LRP), and I Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), 1st Infantry Division, in the Republic of Vietnam from October 1968 through March 1969. In his book, War Paint, Goshen gives first account of the battle-hardened soldiers. Click here to continue reading.

Chuck Holton is a freelance conflict reporter who travels to more than a dozen hot zones each year. His experience as a U.S. Army Ranger and extensive travel come out in his writing - both fiction and non-fiction. Click here to continue reading.

When War II was declared, James Hopkins left his surgical practice at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and volunteered for military duty in the Army Medical Corps. While serving in the Fiji Islands and seeing the many battle casualties in Guadalcanal, Dr. Hopkins left his plush assignment and volunteered for duty with a forward combat unit in various Soloman Island battles where he served as battalion surgeon with the 148th Regiment, Ohio National Guard. When the call came from the president for experienced combat troops for a dangerous and hazardous mission, he volunteered again and went with the unit that would eventually be known as the Merrill's Marauders. Click here to continue reading.

A 1929 West Point graduate, by the start of WWII Hunter had gained experience in jungle warfare in both Panama and the Philippines. In late 1943, while running a combat training course at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was called upon to help form a new Long Range Penetration Group, modeled on the British Chindits, for service in Burma. Colonel Hunter arrived in India where he oversaw the training of nearly 3,000 men in jungle warfare and long-range penetration tactics. Click here to continue reading.

Leo Jenkins didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer—he didn’t grow up at all. As a child, he aspired to be like his father, but when that role was already taken, he went to war instead. From those experiences, he wrote a book about the wars he fought. Click here to continue reading.

Frank Johnson enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 1968. He served in Vietnam as a member of Company L (Ranger), 101st Airborne Division, where he was awarded the Silver Star Medal, the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device, the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. Click here to continue reading.

Kapacziewski enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 2001, straight out of high school. He then went on to complete his training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Throughout his tours he has served as a Rifleman, Grenadier, Squad Automatic Rifleman, Squad Leader, and Platoon Sergeant. Then, on October 3, 2005 in Northern Iraq, just as his team were coming to the end of their tour, Kapacziewski’s convoy was ambushed. An enemy grenade fell through the gunner’s hatch in his Stryker vehicle and exploded. Click here to continue reading.

Fred Kleibacker (MSG, Ret.) served as a team leader and squad leader in 3rd Platoon, B Company, 2nd Ranger Battalion from 1975-1978. He re-enlisted for Special Forces and served nine years in the 10th and 7th Special Forces Groups, four years in the 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta, and two years as an ROTC Cadre Instructor at Bucknell University, retiring in 1994. Click here to continue reading.

In 2004, God called Phil Kramer into the U.S. Army Chaplaincy where he served sixteen years with units such as the 82nd Airborne Division and the Army Rangers and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan nine times. He also led Army chapel congregations throughout his career, most notably as Lead Pastor for Crossroads Chapel at Fort Benning, Georgia—one of the largest congregations in the U.S. Army. Click here to continue reading.

James Lechner served in the US Army for 27 years and participated in eight operational deployments, including Somalia with Task Force Ranger, as well as the Sinai, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to this, Jim has advised the NSC at the White House and served numerous tours at the CIA. Click here to continue reading.

Olin proudly served as a US Army Ranger, with 1st Ranger Battalion and, for the last twenty years, has served his local community of Charlotte, North Carolina as a Police Officer. Click here to continue reading.

Magruder’s impressive career began in 1969 as a Distinguished Military Graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, followed by combat service in Vietnam as an infantry rifle platoon leader and later as a company commander in the 82nd Airborne. Click here to continue reading.

Tony hails from upstate New York and grew up where Robert Rogers developed the famous “Rules of Ranging” which are followed to this day by the 75th Ranger Regiment.  After undergraduate studies, where Tony was collegiate hockey player, he attended graduate school at the University of Albany where he competed in the New York State Golden Gloves Boxing circuit. Click here to continue reading.

Stan McChrystal was commissioned into the infantry upon graduating from West Point in 1976, and retired as a General in 2010. During his time in service McChrystal served three tours in the 82nd Airborne Division, was a ODA Commander in 7th Special Forces Group, a mechanized company commander in the 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, and commanded Company A, 3rd Ranger Battalion, 2nd Ranger Battalion, and the 75th Ranger Regiment. Click here to continue reading.

Karl Monger was commissioned a 2d Lieutenant in 1983 from Wichita State University.  He served as a platoon leader and company executive officer in the 9th Infantry Division (Motorized), as a company commander and staff officer in the 25th Infantry Division (Light), and as a staff officer in the 1st Ranger Battalion. Click here to continue reading.

Keith Nightingale was commissioned a 2d Lieutenant in 1965 from Claremont McKenna College. He graduated from Airborne, Jumpmaster, and Ranger Schools and retired as a Colonel in 1993. Click here to continue reading.

Gary “Butch” O’Neal lied about his age and joined the Army at age 15 to escape a hardscrabble life after being passed around by relatives in four different U.S. states following his parents’ divorce. Click here to continue reading.

As Kris Paronto’s successes on the football field began to fade, the call of an Army recruiter in the student Union answered his need for continuing to be a team player. Paronto enlisted and spent four years as a U.S. Army Ranger, 2/75 Ranger Bn., and then an additional four years in the U.S. Army National Guard as a commissioned officer until 2003. Click here to continue reading.

Ralph Puckett formed, trained, and commanded the Eighth Army Ranger Company in Korea as a second and, later, first lieutenant. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on November 25-26, 1950. Following the Korean War, Puckett served over two years in the U.S. Army Infantry School Ranger Department. Click here to continue reading.

Dave Rowland was a U.S. Army Infantry Colonel with various worldwide deployments including multiple trips to Iraq and Afghanistan with Airborne, Ranger, and Stryker units. He has published several articles in AUSA’s Army Magazine and the Washington Journal of Modern China. Click here to continue reading.

Robert Sterling Rush, Ph.D. command sergeant major (ret) USA, during a career spanning thirty years, served in leadership positions from squad leader through continental army sergeant major, and included assignments in regular, ranger, light (cohort), and mechanized infantry units. Click here to continue reading.

Self graduated from West Point in 1998. After becoming an Infantry officer he deployed to Kosovo and was then selected to serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment. As a platoon leader in the Rangers, he deployed to Afghanistan shortly after 9/11 as part of a Special Operations task force with a mission to kill or capture Taliban and al-Qaeda's top leaders. Self commanded a Quick Reaction Force to rescue a missing Navy SEAL during the Battle of Takur Ghar mountain. Click here to continue reading.

Marty Skovlund Jr. is the editor-in-chief of Task & Purpose. He is a veteran of the US Army and an experienced conflict reporter with assignments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine in addition to embedding with the US military worldwide. Click here to continue reading.

Blayne Smith is a West Point graduate and former Army Special Forces officer who has transitioned into a highly effective business and social impact leader. He is a co-founder and principal at Applied Leadership Partners and the director for health and wellbeing at the George W. Bush Institute. Blayne also serves on the board of the Armed Services Arts Partnership and as an advisory board member of GORUCK. Click here to continue reading.

During the Vietnam War, Bart Stamper served as an Army LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) with the November Company Rangers, 75th Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade in the Tiger Mountains near Bong Son, Vietnam. Click here to continue reading.

Jeff Struecker was a decorated enlisted soldier and Chaplain. He enlisted in the United States Army as Infantryman at age 18 and retired as a Chaplain more than 22 years later. in 2017, he was inducted into the US Army Ranger Hall of Fame. Click here to continue reading.

Jeff Tiegs is a retired Counter Terrorism and Counter Insurgency expert with over 25 years of service in US Army Special Operations. From young ranger private to Delta Force Lieutenant Colonel, he has braved—and commanded—combat operations around the globe, including in Panama, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Through decades of triumphs and traumas, he leaned on ancient stories from the Bible to help him find meaning, inspiration, and the will to keep fighting—no matter the odds. Click here to continue reading.

Vincent Rocco Vargas is a writer, entertainer, and advocate dedicated to improving the lives of veterans, first responders, and their families. A retired U.S. Army Sergeant First Class, Vincent brings years of military experience, including service with the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, and expertise in psychological operations and tactical medicine. Click here to continue reading.

Dave White joined the Ranger Regiment shortly after 9/11 and served eighteen years, deploying fourteen times in support of the Global War on Terror. Dave medically retired after an injury sustained in combat. He struggled in his transition because he felt some of the models out there did not account for the personal and lifelong journey that is military transition. Click here to continue reading.

TJ White grew up in a small town where his unconventional views often got him into trouble. He eagerly left home to fulfill his dream of serving his country as an Army Ranger, completing seven combat deployments. Following his military service, he continued to work in overseas security. Click here to continue reading.

James WilderHancock fell into the film business in the early 90’s after several weeks of cold calling and mailing resumes to production companies near and far. His first film opportunity found him in Southern Oregon as an unpaid intern on a Grizzly Adams picture. By the end of that three-week gig, he was the Best Boy Grip and shortly received an invitation to Tinsel Town to work on a real Hollywood production. Click here to continue reading.

Brandon Young is a former US Army Ranger with four combat rotations to Afghanistan. He has spent more than 25 years building and leading teams in the military, corporate healthcare, and nonprofit sectors. Brandon has built partnerships with some of the world’s most iconic brands, including Nike, Walmart, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Amazon. He is the recipient of the Quest Diagnostics Regional Excellence Award for Commercial Leadership for his work in cancer diagnostics. Click here to continue reading.