The Official US Army Ranger Handbook: Full-Size Edition

Q: Who is this book for?

A: Soldiers, Ranger candidates, military professionals, outdoor and survival enthusiasts, historians, writers, and readers who want a broad reference to the skills and doctrine associated with U.S. Army Rangers. It is particularly useful for anyone interested in small-unit tactics, fieldcraft, leadership, and demanding military operations.

Q: What does the handbook cover?

A: It covers leadership, operations, fire support, communications, demolitions, movement, patrols, battle drills, military mountaineering, machine-gun employment, urban operations, waterborne operations, mounted patrols, aviation, and first aid. The result is a wide-ranging field reference rather than a book focused on a single combat skill.

Q: Is this mainly for people attending Ranger School?

A: Ranger candidates are an obvious audience, but the handbook is useful much more broadly. Its treatment of patrols, movement, leadership, battle drills, communications, fire support, first aid, and other field skills makes it valuable to military readers and anyone studying how small units operate under demanding conditions.

Q: Is this a survival manual?

A: Not in the conventional sense. It contains fieldcraft, first aid, movement, navigation-related skills, and other material that can interest survival-minded readers, but its primary purpose is military. The emphasis is on leading and operating small units effectively rather than wilderness survival for its own sake.

Q: What makes the Ranger Handbook different from a general Army field manual?

A: Its strength is the way it brings many essential small-unit skills together in a single reference. Rather than examining one subject in isolation, it reflects the Ranger emphasis on leadership, disciplined fieldcraft, rapid decision-making, and the integration of multiple combat skills during demanding operations.

Q: Does the book contain practical drills and procedures?

A: Yes. The handbook includes battle drills, patrol procedures, movement techniques, communications, fire-support considerations, mountaineering, urban and waterborne operations, and other practical material designed to be learned, rehearsed, and applied rather than simply read as theory.

Q: Is this the current 2017 edition?

A: Yes. This edition presents the 2017 Ranger Handbook rather than the older 2011 version that is still commonly reproduced. That makes it the better choice for readers who specifically want the later edition.

Q: Is this useful to civilian readers?

A: Yes, provided they are interested in military doctrine and fieldcraft. The book gives civilian readers direct access to the terminology, organization, techniques, and problem-solving approach used in Ranger training, making it valuable for research, writing, historical study, outdoor interests, and serious study of small-unit operations.

Q: Why choose the full-size edition?

A: This edition is presented in the original 8.5 × 11-inch format and runs to approximately 370 pages. The larger page size gives the dense text, diagrams, tables, and instructional material substantially more room than compact reproductions, making it easier to study and use as a reference.