The Ranger tab is one of just four patches that are authorized for permanent wear because they are classified as skill tabs (the other three are Special Forces, Sapper, and President’s Hundred). Award of the Ranger tab is authorized to both U.S. and foreign military personnel, as well as to U.S. civilian personnel, who have successfully completed a Ranger course at the United States Army Infantry School conducted at Fort Moore (formerly known as Fort Benning). Completion of Ranger School is a requirement for Soldiers seeking to become members of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
The 60-plus day Ranger Course is divided into three phases—Darby, Mountain, and Swamp—structured in a way that introduces Ranger tactics and techniques while building up the students’ physical capabilities. (A fourth phase, Desert, was removed from the course during the 1990s.) Graduation rates fluctuate around the 50 percent range, a percentage that would undoubtedly be significantly lower if the Army did not conduct various competitions and use other selection methods to ensure only the most physically and mentally capable applicants are allowed to take part in the course.
Some World War II veterans are eligible for the Ranger tab without having completed the Ranger course because their service was de facto evidence of their ability to perform at the high levels demanded by the Rangers. Specifically, the tab is awarded to any person who earned a Combat Infantry Badge during the war while serving as a member of a Ranger Battalion (1st through 6th), the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) and 475th Infantry Regiment, famously nicknamed “Merrill’s Marauders.” The tab is also authorized for wear by any person who successfully finished a Ranger Course conducted by the Ranger Training Command (before October 1951).