Recognizing the need for a highly trained and mobile reaction force, after the activation of 1st Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Creighton Abrams, directed the activation of a second battalion-sized Ranger unit in the fall of 1973. The 2D Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry was activated at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, Oct. 1, 1974.
In February and March 1975, a group of cadre was trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, and formed a solid core of leaders capable of instilling Ranger values and doctrine into the first volunteers of the battalion. In April 1975, the battalion conducted its first training event and progressed from individual to team, squad, platoon and company training, and culminated with an externally evaluated battalion Army Training and Evaluation Program in December 1975.
At the completion of the ARTEP, the chief of staff of the Army declared the 2D Ranger Battalion "worldwide deployable." This marked the start of a series of rigorous training events conducted worldwide and under varied environmental conditions. The "new era" of Ranger training began in 1980 and focused on special operations tactics, techniques and procedures.
On Oct. 25, 1983, 1st and 2D Ranger Battalions conducted a low-level, 500-foot parachute assault on Point Salinas Airfield (now Maurice Bishop International Airport) on the island of Grenada during "Operation Urgent Fury." Their mission was to restore democracy to the island and rescue American students at the True Blue Medical Campus. First and 2D Battalions seized Point Salinas Airfield, and later 2D Battalion conducted follow-on air assault operations at the Calivigny Barracks, eliminating remaining pockets of resistance.
On Dec. 20, 1989, the entire 75th Ranger Regiment participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama. 2D Battalion, along with Companies A and B, 3rd Battalion, conducted a parachute assault on the airfield at Rio Hato, neutralized the Panamanian Defense Force 6th and 7th Rifle Companies and seized Gen. Manuel Noriega's beach house. After the successful assaults, the Rangers conducted follow-on special operations in support of Joint Task Force South.
In September 1994, 2D Battalion deployed to Haiti in support of Operation Uphold Democracy.
In December 1996, while training at the Jungle Operations Training Center in Panama, the battalion quelled rioting inside Cuban refugee camps during Operation Safe Haven.
After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, 2D Ranger Battalion continuously has supported the Global War on Terrorism.
In March 2002, 2D Battalion deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and conducted numerous air assaults, raids, patrols and ambushes against enemy forces.
In December 2002, Company C and elements of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2d Battalion again deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In February, the remainder of the battalion deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This period marked the first time in the history of the modern Rangers that a Ranger Battalion executed numerous historic missions in two theaters of operation.
2D Battalion was first to have boots on the ground in Baghdad and established a base of operations. 2D Battalion later participated in operations to capture or kill known terrorists. From November to December 2003, the battalion again deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Rangers hunted the enemy to the most remote regions of Afghanistan. Unhindered by extreme altitudes and bitter cold, the battalion conducted mountain patrols at altitudes of 9,000 feet, mobile patrols through major population centers, air assaults and direct action raids against heavily defended enemy objectives. 2D Battalion has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and conducted air assaults, raids, combat patrols and other special operations.
The battalion deployed multiple times in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom until 2010. The battalion continued to deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
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