View source for Robert Rogers' 28 "Rules of Ranging"

{{Short description|Rules and guidelines for guerrilla warfare}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}
[[Image:RobertRogers.jpeg|thumb|An artist's interpretation of Rogers]]
[[Image:Rangers-pointe-du-hoc.jpg|thumb|U.S. Army Rangers storm the cliffs at [[Pointe du Hoc]] on [[Invasion of Normandy|D-Day]], June 6, 1944]]
'''The 28 "Rules of Ranging"''' are a series of rules and guidelines created by Major [[Robert Rogers (soldier)|Robert Rogers]] in 1757, during the [[French and Indian War]] (1754–63).
The rules were originally written at [[Rogers Island (New York)|Rogers Island]] in the [[Hudson River]] near Fort Edward. They were intended to serve as a manual on [[guerrilla warfare]] for [[Rogers' Rangers|Rogers' Ranger company]], a 600 strong contingent whose members were personally selected by Rogers.
The rules were the result of Rogers' blend of Native American tactics and his own innovative combat techniques, ideas that were considered revolutionary by military standards of the time. Combined with intensive training and [[live fire exercise]]s, these rules created a mobile, well trained force that was capable of living off the land around it in order to sustain itself for long periods of time.
Ranger commander Lt. Colonel [[William Orlando Darby|William Darby]] read the rules to the [[1st Ranger Battalion (United States)|1st Ranger Battalion]] prior to action during World War II, and a modified version of the rules is followed by the [[75th Ranger Regiment (United States)|75th Ranger Regiment]] to this day, which are considered to be the model and "standing orders" for all Ranger activities.
==Publishing the rules==
As Rogers personally selected volunteers to form the first company of Rangers, he wrote a Plan of Discipline containing 28 guidelines that he found useful from experience.<ref> {{cite book|title=Journals of Major Robert Rogers|publisher=Joel Munsell's Sons|date=1883|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXqlHwLIaP8C}}</ref>
The [[75th Ranger Regiment]] formally adopted these rules, along with Rogers' 1757 Standing Orders, in the 1950s. The Rangers still use these guidelines in the modern day.<ref>[https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN3039-TC_3-21.76-000-WEB-1.pdf Ranger Handbook, April 2017, Page 20]</ref>
==See also==
* [[Combat tracking]]
* [[Long-range reconnaissance patrol]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Rogers |first=Robert |title=Journals of Robert Rogers of the Rangers |year=1765 |publisher=Joel Munsell's Sons }}
* Military-info [https://web.archive.org/web/20220817111921/http://www.military-info.com/freebies/roger.htm page] Retrieved March 10, 2007
* Rogers Rangers [https://web.archive.org/web/20220331073649/http://rogers_rangers_pa_co.tripod.com/id6.html page] Retrieved March 10, 2007
* Wesclark [https://web.archive.org/web/20221214005024/http://wesclark.com/jw/rogers_r.html page] Retrieved March 10, 2007
* Fox News [https://web.archive.org/web/20141216060811/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/06/06/amateur-archaeologists-find-skeletons-at-army-ranger-birthplace/?sPage=fnc.science/archaeology article] on archaeology on Rogers Island, Retrieved March 10, 2007
==External links==
* [https://youtube.com/c/MajorRobertRogersRanger A semi fictionalised account of the adventures of Major Robert Rogers during the American Revolution]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20220817111921/http://www.military-info.com/freebies/roger.htm A copy of the original rules and a short paragraph written by Rogers, taken from his journal published in 1765]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20221121163704/http://www.rogersrangers.org/rules/index.html The original rules can also be found here]
{{United States Army Rangers}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Rogers' 28 Rules of Ranging}}
[[Category:Irregular military]]
[[Category:United States Army Rangers]]
[[Category:Guerrilla warfare handbooks and manuals]]