Camp Rudder Camp James E . Rudder ( Camp Rudder ) is host to the third and final phase of a nine week training course , dubbed the " swamp phase " , of the U . S . Army Ranger School . The camp is located on the Eglin Air Force Base reservation , co - located with Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field # 6 / Biancur Field , approximately fourteen miles northwest of the main Eglin AFB airfield . The Florida Ranger Camp was established November 15 , 1951 , by then Major Arthur " Bull " Simons who was named the Commander of the Amphibious / Jungle Training Committee at Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field # 7 / Epler Field , which was the initial location of the camp . Colonel Simons was later the commander of the prisoner of war rescue attempt on Son Tay , North Vietnam . The Florida Ranger Camp remained at Field Seven for 20 years until it was moved to Field Six in January 1970 . The current Camp Rudder was named for Major General James E . Rudder , USA in June 1974 . MG Rudder commanded the 2d Ranger Battalion when it scaled the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc , France , during the 1944 D - Day Normandy invasion . History . Biancur Field , Eglin Auxiliary Field # 6 , was named for 1st Lt Andrew Biancur , USAAF , a test pilot of the Medium Bombardment Section of the 1st Proving Ground Group , killed in crash of a prototype YP - 61 - NO Black Widow , AAF Ser . No . " 41 - 18883 " , c / n 711 , on 8 January 1944 at Eglin Field . Biancur Field , as Eglin AFB Aux Field # 6 , remains the airfield portion of Camp Rudder and was previously used by the U . S . Navy ' s Training Squadron 4 ( TRARON 4 or VT - 4 ) at nearby Naval Air Station Pensacola in the early 1960s for strike pilot training . The squadron aircraft were T2J Buckeyes and Biancur was used for Field Carrier Landing Practice ( FCLP ) touch - and - go landing s before student pilots were allowed to land on board the training carrier of the period , the USS " Antietam " ( CV - 36 ) . Meals for the sailors on TAD ( Temporary Assigned Duty ) at Biancur were supplied by the U . S . Army Rangers at Field 7 . With the advent of the more advanced T - 2C Buckeye and TA - 4J Skyhawk II and the retirement of Antietam to be replaced by the aircraft carrier USS " Lexington " ( CVT - 16 / AVT - 16 ) , VT - 4 shifted FCLP operations to Outlying Field Choctaw ( OLF Choctaw ) , A Navy airfield formerly known as Eglin AFB Auxiliary Field # 10 , to the west of Camp Rudder . With the Navy ' s departure , all Biancur Field operations passed over to the Army . Over the years , twenty - four Army Ranger students have died while in training at Camp Rudder , including four who died in a 1955 training accident , two Ranger students who died of hypothermia in January 1977 , and another four who died of exposure during cold - weather flooding in February 1995 . The 1995 accident was blamed on several factors , including a sudden rise in the water level on Boiling Creek coupled with other unexpected weather changes , such as fog that delayed rescue efforts . Since 1995 , more sophisticated measures have been put into place that cast an elaborate , yet invisible , safety net around the students . As students plan ambushes and negotiate swamps , field ambulances are posted minutes away . Evacuation helicopters and rescue boats are on standby and are constantly advised of changing conditions . Before students enter the water , divers check out conditions . An elaborate system to monitor weather and water conditions and depths exists at every step in the exercise . Training remains tough for the men who aspire to be the Army ' s most elite warriors . The Army has also placed more emphasis on protecting Rangers during training . Camp officials say that with lessons learned from a training accident in 1995 , and more resources thanks to allocations from the U . S . Congress , the danger of training casualties has been greatly reduced .