European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 6, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Capt Michael Shrelda above Ortefa Atu Danta on Tho Flat Day of pre Ranger training. Sgt. Al Wam Amant loft of Kirch Gina Garmany Mana a Machona gun at dual. Staff sgt Laa Clark right Danglea from a a Hoptar Hun Drada of fast above a Garman format Ranger mystique a training regimen intended to test heart and Hoo Wuhs amps photo by Vince Crawley by Vince Crawley staff writer its one of the toughest most mysterious rites of passage in the world. Those who endure the 72-Day . Army Ranger school at fort Benning ga., return with a preference for lean haircuts a Crescent shaped Quot Ranger Tab Quot that stays on their uniforms for the rest of their military careers and a Warrior attitude that follows them for the rest of their lives. Quot i just want to prove that i can do it Quot says pfc. Matt Koehler 19, an infantry sniper from Baum older Germany. Quot i want to push myself As far As my body can take  to that end Koehler was one of 22 troops mostly infantrymen who recently volunteered to slog through a grueling two week Quot pre Ranger Quot course patterned after the real thing. Those who graduate get a couple of Days off then Are whisked across the Atlantic to immerse themselves in the mysteries of Georgia. Sgt. Sean menches on the other hand exudes the Confidence of someone who has nothing left to prove. A we re a step above the rest but i  be arrogant about it Quot said the 25-year-old communications sergeant who went through the fort Benning course in 1988. After spending some time training kuwaiti liberation troops before the persian Gulf War the san Diego native became a member of the 1 St army dives Long Range surveillance detachment. Aside from practising to operate up to 100 Miles behind enemy lines the detachment sergeants gather in Wil Flecken Germany four times a year to test the Mettle of division troops who be volunteered to become rangers. Quot everyone says the army a pretty much changing to Ranger style leadership Quot menches said. Quot Ranger school s supposed to be the finest leadership the army has to offer. Everyone who goes through there has the Confidence to  still he said Quot its not Complex. It s really Basic. I m no physical stud but i had enough heart to get through  heart is one of three code words that rangers use most. The second is Quot Hoo Wuh Quot a word which has never been properly spelled with a meaning that s equally hard to pin Down. The other word is a four letter expletive that sgt. Kirk Hines describes As Universal. Quot it has so Many possible meanings Quot he said and Many of these apply to the Rigours of Ranger Dom. About two dozen people from the division Volunteer for each class said capt. Michael Shields commander of the detachment which recently moved from Wil Flecken to Derheim. But Quot we be never sent More than 13 to Ranger  there is no quota he said. Those who meet the Mark Are the ones who pass. The course is about hard physical work marching Long distances under heavy loads and leadership under stress a which the detachment sergeants describe As Quot Basic infantry  the fort Benning school produces Quot Tough competent leaders Quot Shields said and his pre Ranger course serves to Weed out those who Don t have  Quot if they can pass our Standard Here in the Hills of Wil Flecken Quot he said Quot  have no problems in the Flatland of fort  army wide Only about 30 percent of those who go to Benning actually graduate and Wear the Ranger Tab said it. Col. Jim elder. But for those who survive the weeding out process at Wil Flecken the graduation numbers have been closer to 70 percent said elder who commands the division s 501st military intelligence in the Parent unit for the Long Range surveillance detachment. Quot this is a decision making kind of class. If there Are any doubts you Are going to quit Here Quot said staff sgt. Tobias Rodriguez another Baum older infantryman trying to earn his Ranger Hood. Quot the body la let you know it wants to quit and the mind has to say keep going Quot for Many Ranger school is a Way of fighting Back against the uncertainty of troop cuts in a shrinking army. Quot got to reach for something Quot said spec. Michael Manley out of Giessen Germany. Quot in the army today you have to go out and reach far or you ainu to Gonna last  staff sgt. William Douglas called Ranger school Quot a major career move. The army s shaking. You need to be prepared to get ahead some Way and this is one of the ways i  the majority of younger soldiers wants to get out anyway said Douglas 25, an infantry squad Leader originally from Eustis Fla. But those interested in military careers Are wondering Quot am i going to be Able to stay in As Long As i planned Quot he said. The quest for wearing the Ranger Tab Quot takes a person with a lot of intestinal fortitude and the will to survive Quot Douglas said. Quot you can be weak or you can be Strong but if you be got a lot of heart you can make  Douglas had to pass a monthlong Quot pre pre Ranger course Quot before he even got a Chance to go to Wil Flecken. He said the motto at the pre pre course was Quot you done to have to like it but you got to love it. And you got to really really want  Quot if you really want something you be got to pay the Price Quot added spec. Jose Carmona another pre Ranger student. His previous assignment was in Panama where his infantry battalion suffered two killed and eight wounded in the 1989 raid against Manuel Noriega s troops. Quot the army is just selecting a few Good men Quot said Carmona who comes from Fajardo puerto Rico. Quot and this is a Way to be part of the  he also wants to be a Ranger Quot so people would look at me and say a this Guy is hard Quot rangers have not always been so fashionable in military circles. Quot like their special forces Brethren the rangers were regarded with suspicion by the conventional mediocrity Quot wrote Geoffrey Barker a former Green Beret and author of concise history of . Army special operations forces. Green berets Are special forces troops who among other things act As military advisers with foreign armies. Rangers who Wear Black berets tend to be used As at loft and below Mourao Kolera Ara lifted out of a of meet and eat Down in a Clearing. Done to try Thea at Home. A a Quot Kin army Shock troops. Their dangerous missions usually mean going into combat before the first wave of regular troops. It was rangers who climbed the Cliffs of Pont do hoc against withering German gunfire on a Day in world War ii. Two Ranger battalions were decimated at Anzio. And few realize that rangers were the ones who parachuted into Grenada in the 1983 Island invasion. They secured Airport runways so that the 82nd airborne div could land safely without having to make a dangerous combat jump. Army brass forbade them to Wear their Black berets in the 1950s, Barker wrote. However Quot few members of the non Volunteer Hierarchy ventured into the almost inaccessible rugged Ranger training areas Quot in order to Check out what kind of hats the troops were sporting. The rangers get their name from Quot Rogers rangers Quot a group of 600 frontiersmen led by maj. Robert Rogers in the French and Indian War. Adopting the stealth self sufficiency and camouflage techniques of the american indians they became legendary guerrilla fighters. The 1st army div Long Range detachment in t a regular Ranger outfit so its members just Wear camouflage Caps instead of combat helmets or Black berets. But they say they still Lead a Remote life Cut off from much of the rest of the division that in combat might be far behind them. Quot it takes volunteers Quot Shields the detachment commander said of his unit s Mission. Quot it s not for everybody because its a dangerous Mission and we pick the  nearly All his troops Are paratroopers and most Wear Ranger tabs. Pvt. Stuart Reynolds said there Are Only two other american detachments like his in Europe so the unit often trains with elite troops from other european armies. While the pre Ranger students were out running night patrols members of the Long Range detachment camped in a Remote part of the Woods and practising survival without sleeping bags stuffed leaves in their uniforms to keep warm through the German night. During the Day they Hung from ropes under helicopters and held tree climbing contests. They also debated shooting flares at trucks on a nearby Highway and joked about the time they filled their commander s toothpaste tube with Tabasco sauce. Quot our whole company s about the size of a platoon and the sergeants Aren t really like other sergeants Quot said Reynolds who joined the army because his three Brothers and Sisters Quot took All the College  not yet a Ranger he Hopes to earn his Tab before he leaves the divison. He s been picked to carry the military radio during the next unit training exercise a task that Means carrying a Rucksack weighing 80 to 100 pounds. Quot for someone who Only weighs 130 pounds it s really hard to go up and Down mountains Quot Reynolds said. Being a Ranger is such a lofty goal for these men that failing to reach it can be a fierce disappointment. Quot it really hurts Quot said sgt. William Baguero a student who did t pass one of the physical fitness tests and was thus dropped from the course. Quot i let myself  of tha 22 who showed up for the latest pre Ranger course two did t make it through the first Day. Five More were gone by the end of the first week and instructors said they had doubts about the Quot heart Quot of several More would be rangers. Baguero said he wanted to try again. Quot i be already got my foot in the door. Just got to finish opening up the door to step on  n Page 14 the stars and stripes wednesday May 6, 1992 the stars and stripes Page 15