In 1986 the 75th Ranger Regiment, which was granted the lineage of the World War II Ranger battalions and Merrill's Marauders, was established as elite airborne light infantry trained for short-duration missions. The Rangers have increasingly been tasked with supporting the "Tier 1" special-missions units of the Army's Delta Force and the Navy's SEALs, by inserting with them to set up cordons around their targets to guard them from enemy interference. During the "Long War" in Afghanistan and Iraq the distinction between the mission types became blurred, and eventually the Rangers earned responsibility for their own operational zones and targets. Today their capabilities and missions have expanded greatly, in an intimate relationship with Joint Special Operations Command. This book, written by an expert on modern Special Forces units and the operations they undertake, tells the story of their evolution in battle. It is fully illustrated with photographs and full-color artwork of the uniforms, equipment, and vehicles used by the US Army Rangers. Book jacket.