This thesis examines the ability of the US Army's Ranger Regiment to generate combat power during forced entry operations. This study examines the National Security Strategy requirements for force projection and forced entry as well as those same mandates in the National Military Strategy. After illustrating the national and military requirements mandating the existence of a ready and capable forced entry unit, four case studies of recent Ranger operations will be analyzed. The four historical cases selected are Operation Eagle Claw, Operation Urgent Fury, Operation Just Cause and UNOSOM II. These operations were chosen because of their relevance and similarity when compared to the most likely employment scenarios envisioned by the current Ranger Regimental Commander. This study will analyze each operation using the elements of combat power (maneuver, firepower, protection and leadership) as a framework and will determine if the forced entry unit in each vignette was capable of generating sufficient combat power for success. Further analysis is done to determine if the amount of combat power generated by the Ranger forced entry capability is sufficient to expect future success. This study concludes that the current Ranger forced entry capability does not generate enough combat power to reasonably guarantee success in all likely future scenarios. The conclusion is that the addition of an armored vehicle package is a solution that would allow the Ranger Regiment to deploy sufficient combat power during forced entry and associated missions.

ADA 367716 Approved for public release; Distribution is unlimited. The opinions and conclusions expressed herein are those of the student-authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College or any other governmental agency. (References to these studies should include the foregoing statement.)