Ranger School—what is it supposed to be? and is it that?
An RFI à propos of today’s thread which mentions that “The Advanced Leader Course is likely to undergo an overhaul, and more NCOs will be headed to Ranger School…”—in the present day and the recent past, what is Ranger School supposed to be? and is it that?* My first impression from afar is that its main purpose would seem to be to provide assurance to graduates of what they are physically and mentally capable of should the rubber ever hit the road. But the school bills itself as a leadership school, and given the division of the curriculum into phases there would seem to me to be some emphasis on skills acquisition (though in my experience people learn better when they aren’t semi-comatose and their stomach isn’t shrunken to the size of a walnut). I also get the impression that it serves as a vetting procedure for would-be career officers. I realize that I could be incorrect as to all of the above, and if I am (or am not) and anyone on the forum is willing to let me know I would be much obliged.
*If you’re wondering why I’m wondering: I’ve been working on figuring out historic Cherokee settlement patterns for a few years now. Ranger School popped up on my radar a couple of winters ago when I was doing some surveying and site walkovers in White County. Sautee Valley to the NE of Yonah Mountain was the location of a couple of early 18th century Cherokee settlements.