The 75th Ranger Regiment is not a SOF group. They are are highly elite light infantry force that is assigned to SOCOM and conducts special operations in support of SOCOM missions. The training is different because of the different products that are being sought. Ranger School is a ball busting course designed to strip you of comforts and mimic the stresses of combat through sleep deprivation and a lack of caloric intake. In this environment, Ranger students learn the necessity of planning details and value of rehearsals ad naseum to make missions successful. A leave no stone unturned style of leadership is developed that allows students to lead successful patrols despite the stumbling actions of their platoon mates. While I never did SFAS, from all of my friends' experiences, it is designed to stress individuals to their physical limits in its three weaks and to expose those who are unable to be team players under stressful situations. Once a soldier has been selected, then the emphasis is to build upon that soldiers' physical fitness and qualifications that were screened in his application (GT score = general aptitude and intelligence, DLAB = language aptitude, etc.). The end state of SFQC and the follow on training is an operator capable of both detailed planning and the capability to interact on missions independent of higher command but within the intent and purpose of their mission. So, I'd say that while the Rangers would fall in comfortably within the direct action spectrum of the SF mission, SF teams cover much more ground in their FID, SR, UW, and CT missions. In other words, they are both elite in their own rights. I don't know enough about SFOD-D to answer your second question. I only know one person who's in Delta (he grew up in Ranger Battalion) and one person who completed their assessment but wasn't selected (he received an advanced land nav certificate - LOL!). I do know that there is a book by a retired CSM that talks about the assessment course, but I don't know the title. That may contain some answers to your second question. However, I wouldn't get too wrapped around the Rangers vs. SF question. They both have different missions, although they share some of the spectrum of special operations. Also, you'll find plenty of SF guys that grew up in Ranger battalion and then went SF when they met the eligibility requirements such as rank, etc. Hope this helps.

Which of the two groups would be the better way to go if you wanted to be in SFOD-D?

GOP, I don't know. Never been in Ranger Regiment or Group before. I think that the biggest hurdle is being able to pass the assessment course physically. From that point on, it is more of a psychological thing - how do you handle challenge after challenge, what is your attitude, how do you interact as a member of a very small team. I do know that many of the skills are unimportant in selection - shooting, close quarters combat, etc. These are skills that can be trained - the right candidate will pick these up quickly with the amount of the time on the range that Delta spends. If you are looking at trying to get assigned to SFOD-D down the road, I'd come in on a Ranger contract. This will give you a flavor of the spec ops community and a chance to interact with some of the Delta guys. You can stay in Ranger Regiment, move to the infantry community, or go SF. Once you meet eligibility requirements for Delta assessment, you can do that. If you do decide to do that, the one thing that my friend who just completed the assessment wish he had done is do more off road foot marching. He was in incredible shape, having spent his final 9 months in Iraq lifting six days a week, foot marching, and running. However, while he had no problem with the ruck and distances, doing the navigation on the steep West Virginia terrain forces you to roll your feet a lot more to meet the terrain, and resulted in lots of blisters where his feet hadn't gotten a work out to toughen up on the smoother terrain he had trained on. I don't know if that was what you were looking for, but as an outsider, that's the best I can do.

Just an guess but I'd go the Ranger route. The GB spend a lot of time learning specialties like comm, engineering, languages. My impression is that Delta, like ST-6, takes a more direct and abrupt approach to their missions. It's very focused, like the Rangers. You might also want to consider going the SEAL route or the Marine Recon route. They also provide a good background for a Delta type mission. Now there may be political considerations that preclude going the non-Army route.

It's not a requirement to come from either Group or Regiment to go Delta. There is a monthly recruiting seminar at Ft. Bragg for members of the 82nd. Of the guys I know in 1st SFOD-D, half are from Group or Regiment, and the other half are from the 82nd. I'm sure there are guys from other units as well. The Delta philosophy is kinda ..."I don't care where you come from or what you did there, what can you do for us right here, right now?"

>>1) The US Army Rangers have, from what I have read, tougher training then the Green Berets. Is this true, and if so, how are the Green Berets more elite?<< Questionable claim. You can enter the Ranger Regiment on a Ranger contract as an off-the-street recruit with a Ranger contract and be a Ranger infantryman within about four months, the majority of that being simply infantry OSUT and airborne school. You do have to make it through RIP, which is run in-house, by the regiment, but that's only a couple weeks. Of course, as a newly minted Ranger infantryman it will be understood by your chain of command that you are now ready to learn your job, rather than know it. This does not have anything at all to do with Ranger School, which you will likely not be looking at attending until you are an E-4, possibly even an E-4 looking at promotion to E-5. SF currently allows for the same sort of thing, via the 18-Xray program, but even if you go one of the shorter routes (18B or 18C) your initial training is still going to be in excess of one year before you are considered minimally qualified enough to go to a team . . . where your chain of command is also going to regard you as now suitable for job training, rather than a subject matter expert. In either case, once you actually get to your unit, you're going to be training hard and often, both with internal unit events and possibly going off to schools and the like. >>2) If your goal is to be in Delta force, which of the two organizations would be the better choice to get to Delta? The Rangers work with Delta force alot as a blocking/security force, and the Green Berets are more of a classical special ops group.<< And, as someone else pointed out, Delta doesn't care if you were a leg pastry chef in your previous military career if you can make it through their selection process and get picked up by the unit. A few years ago, I would suggest a Ranger contract as a means of getting on the trail leading towards Delta, but now with the 18X program I don't know that it makes any difference if you try to go the Ranger route versus the SF route if you want to enlist into the USASOC community. Either route gives you a leg up in terms of getting into Delta (and either means that you will likely spend some time downrange in Afghanistan, Iraq, or both before you get around to trying out for Delta -- something to consider) -- not because they will cut you some slack or give you extra points, but simply because you'll be in superb shape, be up to speed on land nav, and not be too terribly surprised by the sort of stuff they throw at you.

>>Just an guess but I'd go the Ranger route. The GB spend a lot of time learning specialties like comm, engineering, languages.<< Most Delta operators who do not come out of the Special Forces community end up going to one of the 18-series MOS schools to pick up a Special Forces MOS after they get to the unit.

Horse, Great points - my suggestion was to join on a Ranger contract, as you can then move to SF once you meet the different gates (rank, scores, etc.) if you are still interested in pursuing that. To me, it leaves the most options open while still exposing you to SOCOM and its mission. However, coming in on a non-Ranger contract means that you'll have to compete for a slot to Ranger School just to have a chance to compete later on down the road to get into Ranger Regiment from the outside. It can be done, as I had a few NCOs who did so, but some of that is just plain luck, as having a 1SG, CSM, or commander that served a long time in Regiment and can vouch for you is how the guys I knew were able to get assigned to Regiment.

>>Great points - my suggestion was to join on a Ranger contract, as you can then move to SF once you meet the different gates (rank, scores, etc.) if you are still interested in pursuing that. To me, it leaves the most options open while still exposing you to SOCOM and its mission.<< I'd have to agree that it is probably the best approach to getting your foot in the door with USASOC/SOCOM. I would think it is probably the better venue, as well, for your typical 18 or 19 year old soldier to learn his craft than in an SF Group, since the 75th is more structured and regimented than the environment on most ODAs (mileage may vary, of course, depending on the command environment and NCOs).

Yeah, i think that book is by CSM Eric Haney and it would probably help you out for preparing for the 1st SFOD-D selection course, but probably not a great deal. I think a new soldier has to assume that he will be denied by delta and therefore should go the route(either ranger, SF, or airborne infantry) that he would like to fall back on. I don't mean have a defeatist attitude about the selection, but face it only a small sample makes it, and these are rangers and green berets and Seals trying out, so keep that in mind. You can't go wrong with the 75th because you can go to the 5th group for example from there and possibly to Delta. BCT-Inf AIT-Airborne-RIP-PLDC and on there are a great deal of schools to go to