1st Ranger Infantry Company ( United States ) The 1st Ranger Infantry Company ( Airborne ) was a Ranger light infantry company of the United States Army active during the Korean War . As a small special forces unit , it specialized in irregular warfare . Organization . With the successful development of the Eighth Army Ranger Company as a " test " unit for the United States Army to bring back Army Ranger units ; additional Ranger companies were ordered . The companies were small light infantry special forces units which specialized in infiltration and irregular warfare . The new 1st Army Ranger Infantry Company was formulated based on the Table of Organization and Equipment documents of Ranger units in World War II , all of which had been deactivated . The 1st Ranger Infantry Company was organized into three heavily - armed platoon s . A headquarters element of five men oversaw the platoons . Each platoon comprised 36 men in three squad s , two assault squads and one heavy weapons squad . Each platoon was also furnished with 60mm M2 mortar s , M20 Super Bazooka s , and M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle s . One sniper was designated for each platoon , with the remainder of the troops equipped with M1 Garand and M2 Carbine rifles . They were authorized two vehicles ; an M38 Jeep and an M35 2½ ton cargo truck . Overall , the company was far more heavily armed than both the Eighth Army Ranger Company and standard infantry companies . Like the other numbered Ranger companies , its organization called for five officers and 107 enlisted men in three platoons . The troops for the Ranger company were to be Airborne qualified , so the Ranger Training Center heavily recruited troops from the 82nd Airborne Division and 11th Airborne Division who had already completed United States Army Airborne School . In spite of this , only one Ranger operation in the conflict ever required an airborne landing . They initially wore a black and gold scroll as a shoulder sleeve insignia , but that insignia was later redesignated the Ranger Tab and the Rangers adopted a black , red and white scroll similar to that unofficially worn by Ranger Battalions in World War II . History . Origins . With the 25 June 1950 outbreak of the Korean War , the North Korean People ' s Army had invaded the Republic of Korea ( ROK ) with 90 , 000 well - trained and equipped troops who had easily overrun the smaller and more poorly equipped Republic of Korea Army . The United States ( U . S . ) and United Nations ( UN ) began an intervention campaign to prevent South Korea from collapsing . The U . S . troops engaged the North Koreans first at the Battle of Osan , being badly defeated on 5 July by the better - trained North Koreans . From there , the U . S . and UN saw a steady stream of defeats until they had been pushed back to the Pusan Perimeter by August . At the same time , North Korean agents began to infiltrate behind UN lines and attack military targets and cities . UN units , spread out along the Pusan Perimeter , were having a difficult time repelling these units as they were untrained in combating guerrilla warfare . North Korean special forces units like the NK 766th Independent Infantry Regiment had seen great success in defeating ROK troops , prompting Army Chief of Staff general J . Lawton Collins to order the creation of an elite force which could " infiltrate through enemy lines and attack command posts , artillery , tank parks , and key communications centers or facilities . " All U . S . Army Ranger units had been disbanded after World War II because they required time - consuming training , specialization , and expensive equipment . With the defeat of the NK 766th Regiment at the Battle of P ' ohang - dong , and the strength of U . S . infantry units in question , U . S . commanders felt recreating Ranger units was essential . In early August as the Battle of Pusan Perimeter was beginning , the Eighth United States Army ordered lieutenant colonel John H . McGee , the head of its G - 3 Operations miscellaneous division , created a new experimental Army Ranger unit , the Eighth Army Ranger Company . In the meantime , the Ranger Training Center was established at Fort Benning , Georgia . Of a pool of 5 , 000 applicants , the Ranger Training School selected 22 officers and 314 enlisted men for the first three Ranger companies . A fourth , all African - American company was organized several days later . The 1st Ranger Infantry Company ( Airborne ) was organized on September 29 , 1950 , assuming the lineage of A Company of the 1st Ranger Battalion . It had an initial strength of 120 men under the command of Captain John Striegel . The Rangers trained extensively in reconnaissance , long - range patrols , motorized scouting , setting up roadblock s , land navigation , camouflage , concealment , and adjusting indirect fire . They undertook frequent live fire exercise s , many at night , simulating raids , ambushes and infiltrations . The Rangers trained 60 hours per week and ran each day and frequently held speed marches , which were considered traditions for Ranger training from World War II . In spite of a 30 percent dropout rate , most of the men completed the course and graduated 15 November 1950 . The Rangers were then sent to Camp Stoneman , California . Ten days later on 25 November , they sailed for Japan to be moved to the front lines in the Korean War . Korean War . The 1st Ranger Company undertook equipping in Sasebo , Japan before arriving in Pusan , South Korea where they were trucked to the 2nd Infantry Division on 23 December , where they would be attached . The 2nd Infantry Division , which was south of Seoul , had been badly mauled in the Battle of the Ch ' ongch ' on River earlier in the month , and were rebuilding . The company was attached to the 23rd Infantry Regiment , causing animosity as food and water were in short supply . The company began front line patrols on 26 December , and in the course of these patrols began suffering casualties , including one four - man patrol which was captured by Chinese troops and subsequently died or went missing in prison camps . Striegel contracted severe hepatitis and was evacuated , replaced on 6 January 1951 by Lieutenant Alfred Herman , his executive officer . The next day , 7 January , the company was moved with the 2nd Division to Wonju , where the Chinese advanced against the division in the First and Second Battles of Wonju . The 1st Ranger Company fought in this battle , first conducting night patrols to screen Chinese movements , then destroying bridges to slow the Chinese advance as the 2nd Infantry Division lost the town . As the Chinese attempted to advance , the Rangers were employed as a counter - infiltration force , conducting defensive patrols and burning vacant buildings to stem the Chinese advance . As the bitter cold and snow hampered actions around Wonju , the Rangers were also employed as forward observer s and snipers , as their nighttime movement was limited . The Rangers began conducting frequent long range patrols , frequently coming into ambush and relying heavily on artillery and supporting units to cover them , and instead fought few engagements on their own . On 16 January the company conducted its first mission as a single unit , a probe north of the front lines to scout Chinese positions . The division used the rangers as a scouting force ahead of a planned counteroffensive .