Army Rangers: Thoughts and History of the Crest and Beret

Via Billy

I have the one on the left.

The Rangers of the US Army are clearly one of the finest fighting forces in the world, and is a unit and concept almost uniquely American, with its genesis well before American independence, even unto the days when the colonies were barely established and before they achieved any sense of cohesion.  Despite the viability of the idea, the main nemesis that it has fought for its identity and survival has never been an enemy on the battlefield, but has instead been its parent Army.  It is an axiom that large organizations abhor elites and that applies doubly so to the military, and examples abound in the ebb and flow of the history of the Rangers.  (I am not too fond of the term 'elite'; I prefer 'specialized' – maybe it's just my Marine background.)

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