Dick Couch - Sua Sponte: The Forging of a Modern American Ranger

SUA
SPONTE

Other Titles by Dick Couch

Nonfiction

THE WARRIOR ELITE:

THE FORGING OF SEAL CLASS 228

THE US ARMED FORCES NUCLEAR-CHEMICAL-BIOLOGICAL

SURVIVAL MANUAL

THE FINISHING SCHOOL:

EARNING THE NAVY SEAL TRIDENT

DOWN RANGE:

NAVY SEALS IN THE WAR ON TERRORISM

CHOSEN SOLDIER:

THE MAKING OF A SPECIAL FORCES WARRIOR

THE SHERIFF OF RAMADI:

NAVY SEALS AND THE WINNING OF AL-ANBAR

A TACTICAL ETHIC:

MORAL CONDUCT IN THE INSURGENT BATTLESPACE

Fiction

SEAL TEAM ONE

PRESSURE POINT

SILENT DESCENT

RISING WIND

THE MERCENARY OPTION

COVERT ACTION

ACT OF VALOR (NOVELIZATION)

SUA
SPONTE

The Forging of a Modern
American Ranger

DICK COUCH

BERKLEY CALIBER, NEW YORK

BERKLEY BOOKS

Published by the Penguin Group

Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

Copyright 2012 by Dick Couch

Jacket design by David S. Rheinhardt

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FIRST EDITION: July 2012

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Couch, Dick, date.

Sua sponte : the forging of a modern American Ranger / Dick Couch.1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN: 978-1-101-58508-5

1. United States. Army. Ranger Regiment, 75th. 2. United States. Army. Ranger Regiment,
75thRecruiting, enlistment, etc. 3. United States. ArmyCommando troopsTraining of.
4. Special forces (Military science)United States. I. Title. II. Title:
Forging of a modern American Ranger.

UA34.R36C68 2012

356.16750973dc23

2011038693

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ALWAYS LEARNING

PEARSON

This book is dedicated to all special operations training cadresthe veterans who take time from their operational units to cycle back through the training commands and pass along their experience, their wisdom, their culture, and their values to the next generation of special operators. Through their dedication and professionalism, each generation of these special warriors prepares for the mission a little better, gets to the fight a little quicker, and executes on target just a little more skillfully.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A writer, even a former special operator turned writer, does not easily enter the closed and private world of a Special Operations Forces (SOF) components selection and assessment. Modern special operators have a very formatted and tradition-bound approach to choosing who will and will not become one of their own. So it is with those who will and will not soldier with the 75th Ranger Regiment. For allowing me free and unprecedented access to their selection and training venues, Id like to thank the Regimental Commanding Officers and Regimental Command Sergeant Majors who allowed this to take place during their tenure of command: Colonel Richard Clarke and Command Sergeant Major Chris Hardy; Colonel Eric Krilla and Command Sergeant Major Richard Merritt. And my thanks to the Regimental Deputy, Colonel Bill Ostlund, who served both of those commanders and was most helpful to me. Id be remiss if I neglected to mention their boss, Lieutenant General Frank Mulholland, Commander, U.S. Army Special Operations Command. For my time with the Ranger Training Brigade, Id like to thank Command Sergeant Major Dennis Smith. For my time with the 1st Ranger Battalion, Im indebted to Lieutenant Colonel Mike Foster and Command Sergeant Major Nicholas Bielich, who made me most welcome at 1/75. And for all the many cadre noncommissioned officers in charge (NCOICs), cadre sergeants, company commanders, company first sergeants, platoon leaders, platoon sergeants, squad leaders, fire-team leaders, and individual Rangers; thank you all for so graciously making time for me as you trained the warriors and as you yourselves prepared for war. You held me to standard and taught me of the high standard that is a way of life for those who serve in the 75th Ranger Regiment.

Rangers Lead the Way!

SUA SPONTE.

Latin for of their own accord.

Describes an action taken on ones own initiative and
without formal permission from or the approval of higher authority.
Also the motto of the 75th Ranger Regiment.

FOREWORD

H ow does an organization recruit, train, educate, develop, and motivate professional Soldiers the caliber of Sergeant First Class Leroy Petry? Sergeant Petry was recently awarded the Medal of Honor. He was also a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment, one of the most prestigious special operations units in the U.S. military. Sergeant Petry remains on active duty as a Regimental Ranger, even though he lost his right hand in the action for which he was awarded the medal. Sergeant Petrys Regiment has been in continuous combat since November 2001, with approximately one-third of the Regiment deployed overseas at any given period. Yet despite this arduous deployment cycle and the rigorous physical and mental standards for selection, this Regiment does not lack for volunteers. Nor does it lack for experience. It has one of the highest reenlistment rates in the U.S. Army.

Sua Sponte is a must-readfor the military historian, for the young man considering volunteering for the Regiment, or for anyone wanting to understand what it is to soldier with the 75th Rangers. For those scrolled Rangers, past and present, it will bring back memories of what forged their foundation as one of Americas premier warrior-leaders. Dick Couch, a renowned former Navy SEAL with an enviable combat record, was granted unprecedented access to the regimental selection process and training venues. As an embed with the 1st Ranger Battalion during its prerotation work-up, he was able to document how Rangers prepare for modern combat deployment. His chronicle of the rigorous training that develops a young Soldier into a young, apprentice Ranger is detailed, accurate, and captivating without compromising issues the Regiment wishes not to divulge for security reasons. Dick expands his account to address the selection process for new and returning officers and noncommissioned officers who wish to serve as leaders in the 75th Ranger Regiment. There are no double standards in the Regiment when it comes to physical and tactical skill requirements for senior leader; the selection process differs from that of the junior Soldiers, especially during the leadership- and psychological-assessment phases.