Tier One vs. Tier Two U.S. Army Rangers - What’s the Difference?

The United States Army Rangers are one of the most capable and lethal fighting forces in the entire world. As the Army's premier direct-action raid force, there’s a reason why almost everyone has heard of their motto, “Rangers Lead the Way”. 

But what if we told you that within the highly renowned 75th Ranger Regiment lies a mysterious, secretive unit that executes some of the world's most covert operations. That would be the Regimental Reconnaissance Company, the Army Rangers’ Tier One unit. That’s right, the 75th Ranger Regiment has a Tier One unit that matches up with the likes of Delta Force and SEAL Team 6.

But why do the Rangers have a Tier One unit? What are the differences between a Tier Two Ranger and a Tier One Ranger? And what do both bring to the table in the world of SOF?

Keep reading, and we’re going to answer all of those questions and much more in this blog post.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: THE DEFINITION OF THE “MILITARY TIER” SYSTEM

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: WHO ARE THEY?

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: MISSIONS

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO TRAINING

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: CONCLUSION

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: THE DEFINITION OF THE “MILITARY TIER” SYSTEM

Before we dive into the differences between the Army Rangers and the RRC, let’s make some things clear. First, while the RRC is a part of the 75th Ranger Regiment, specifically the Special Troops Battalion, for purposes of this blog post, we will be referring to them as two separate entities. Secondly, outside of the Tier One units, military units don’t really refer to themselves by their numbered tier. You don’t see the 75th Ranger Regiment referring to themselves as a Tier Two unit, and you probably won’t see the RRC refer to themselves as a Tier One unit either. The tier system is generally an unsaid or unwritten way of “organizing” or marginalizing military units. In a nutshell, the Tier Two and Tier One terms are more for simplicity’s sake. The Army Rangers and RRC are more accurately represented by their respective missions, purposes, and funding. 

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: WHO ARE THEY?

A U.S. Army Ranger is someone who has been put to the test both as a soldier and as a person. They’re the tip of the spear, having undergone a strict selection process in order to have the honor of being a Ranger. While there’s a multitude of MOS’s that are in the Regiment, those that are combat oriented, such as an 11B Ranger, have extensive combat training and experience to make them some of America’s finest warriors on the battlefield.

A Ranger in the RRC takes things a step further. Not only are they everything a Ranger is, but they’re uniquely trained to operate in some of the world’s most secretive, high stakes missions - a very demanding environment indeed. With a selection process modeled after other Tier One units, they are built to execute the toughest missions out there with confidence, professionalism, and valor. 

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: MISSIONS

The Army Rangers are a lethal, agile, and flexible fighting force, capable of conducting many complex joint special operations missions. They focus on three types of missions: Special Operations raids, Forcible Entry operations, and Special Reconnaissance. Special operations raids are designed to seize, destroy, or capture enemy goods and locations while delivering maximum surprise and shock. Forcible Entry operations can include things such as taking over air fields, and Special Reconnaissance is essentially gathering intel on the enemy. Rangers have an emphasis on small unit tactics, and deploy often, but for shorter durations than conventional units because their OpTempo is so high. 

RRC, on the other hand, mainly does what is in its name: Reconnaissance. While that might not seem like much on the surface, don’t get it twisted. For starters, this isn’t your typical recon. The missions they conduct are highly classified. You won’t be reading about them in your local newspaper. RRC operators are often tasked with performing reconnaissance for the other Tier One Units in JSOC, which requires a higher level of intel, analysis, and proficiency to ensure that ops run smoothly. They can be required to travel long, and we mean LONG, distances with upwards of 100 pounds of gear in order to accomplish mission needs.

While RRC operators still conduct raids, forcible entry ops, and other facets of SOF that you’d expect from a Tier One unit, you could say they’re less of a brute fighting force like the Rangers are. While both forces are methodical in what they do, an RRC operator is going to have some different skills and training under their belt compared to a Ranger in a Ranger Battalion. This is where you’ll see the big distinction between a “Tier One Operator” and a “Tier Two Operator”.

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

What do we mean by that? Well, an RRC operator is almost certain to be an Army Ranger who has years and years of experience in the Regiment, with several deployments under their belt. They’ve excelled as a Ranger, and were hand picked based on their individual traits, leadership skills, and their ability to stand out amongst their peers. That’s not to say an Army Ranger isn’t also seasoned and experienced, there’s plenty of Rangers who serve their time without going for RRC and still are the best of the best.

But with different missions come different skills. Again, virtually every RRC operator is a Ranger. Rangers can receive training and serve as shooters, snipers, medics, breachers, combat divers, you get the deal. The training at RRC turns things up a notch, and turns the RRC operator into a jack of all trades, where they can learn interrogation techniques, surveillance, computer hacking, demolition, and whatever else JSOC might need from them at any given moment in time.

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: TIER ONE vs. TIER TWO TRAINING

The Army Ranger pipeline is a bit shorter than most SOF forces pipelines. In fact, they’re pretty much the only SOF force that can train you up to speed and send you to the battlefield within a year of starting basic training. But don’t think that the pipeline is easy just because you can go down range a bit faster than other SOF communities. To get into the 75th Ranger Regiment, you have to pass two main courses: First up you can attend RASP 1 or RASP 2, which is dependent on your paygrade. RASP is the filter the Regiment uses to weed out those who don’t make the cut or don’t want to be there. Upon completion, you’ll get the tan beret and the Ranger scroll. Keep in mind: over half of those who try out don’t make it past RASP.

Next, you also have to pass Ranger School, where you get the highly renowned Ranger Tab. Not every soldier who gets their Ranger tab is a Ranger, but every Ranger gets their Ranger Tab. 

Okay, now what about RRC? While RRC does accept people from other communities, for the purpose of this blog post, we’re going to assume the individual is already an Army Ranger. First, a prospective RRC operator will have to serve as a Ranger for quite some time and earn their salt in the community, like we mentioned before. Then, they’ll have to apply for RRC selection and be greenlit to try out. RRC candidates will go through a two week initial selection in an undisclosed area, where they will do long-distance, advanced land navigation while rucking with around 60-70 pounds of weight.

Even though everyone who attends this course is in great shape, it still proves to be very challenging. Each day, they can easily expect to cover over 12-18 miles of mountainous terrain, as well as conduct some fast-paced ruck marches. To top that all off, there’s an event where they must ruck roughly 30-40 miles, but the actual distance is never disclosed. 

And if that wasn’t enough, they go through a series of psychological evals, interviews, and must pass a review board to move on to the next portion of training. Yeah, that’s just phase 1. Phase 2 is going through and completing the 29 week Recon Training Course. Here, candidates will learn the skills they will use to operate as JSOC’s reconnaissance asset. Candidates will build the foundations of an RRC operator by learning skills such as military free-fall, advanced communications, digital photography, computers, photo editing, fieldcraft and stalks, infiltration and exfiltration methods, close-air support, advanced driving techniques, demolitions, advanced medical techniques, and tactical man-tracking.

TIER ONE VS. TIER TWO U.S. ARMY RANGERS: CONCLUSION

Tier One or Tier Two, Ranger or not, at the end of the day, Army Rangers and RRC operators are invaluable assets to the world of special operations. While an RRC operator might receive more in-depth training in certain areas, don’t walk away from this blog post thinking that an RRC operator is automatically “better” or more badass than an Army Ranger. Both go above and beyond for our country and are a force to be reckoned with. Rangers lead the way!

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