Tempest414 wrote:
So are the Rangers not sitting somewhere between the SF and Paras.
It's a good question as for using 'catchy' names.
Backtracking a little bit, as for the naming conventions (beg, steal and borrow?)
Rangers 1942; fashioned along the lines of UK commando units
"Green Berets" - The Army Special Forces were established in 1952,
- that makes it another 10 yrs, before the Navy SEALs, and
- 25 years before Delta Force.
These (all but the first one) are all SF... we hear the Rangers will operate (or be able to) 'SF like'
- in the alphabet soup/ naming conventions, it is worthwhile to remember that every other modern U.S. special operations unit in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines was established after 1977
Before we go back to the question by @Tempest (the US Army SF, separate from their Rangers, have had "AB" attached to the units names ever since their formation), it may be worthwhile to consider what preceded 'Air Assault' before the US Army started to consider helicopters as accessible/ expendable as their Jeeps before that, namely what air cavalry was formed to do/ achieve:
"Air cavalry missions typically consisted of
making visual reconnaissance of enemy positions with several scout helicopters and helicopter gunships, then
airlifting a platoon of infantry assigned to the air cavalry unit into battle against the enemy.
Other air cavalry helicopters provided fire support to the assaulting platoon, much as assault helicopter companies provided support to ground units during combat assault operations. In addition to such missions, air cavalry teams performed general reconnaissance missions..."
As we don't have/ can't field the whole plethora of specialised units, the above may help in tracing what our new 'Ranger' and less new 'Airmobile' might add, in the way of capabilities(?)
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)