He got grudging but genuine concurrence from the Rangers. I could have hugged him. Because at that moment I knew we’d win. And we did. That commitment—to fighting, and winning, the kind of war we were in, not the one we wanted—showed up again in Iraq and Afghanistan.
* * *
In June 1996 I relinquished command of the 2nd Rangers and we moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for a fellowship at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government instead of attending the Army War College.
Harvard was a tremendous opportunity to explore subjects I’d been too busy to consider while in troop units and to meet a collection of bright faculty and students. I’d expected Harvard to be full of antimilitary sentiment, but instead we received compelling questions and thoughtful looks, as if we were rare animals they’d never seen up close.
And our family life was good. Annie rented an apartment for us close to Harvard Square and got a job at the Kennedy School. There was time to explore Boston, watch the Red Sox, and take occasional trips to elsewhere in New England. Sam’s hockey season was in full swing, and we spent evenings and Saturdays watching him play.
* * *
On June 23, 1997, I returned to the Rangers. I assumed command of the Ranger regiment in a ceremony on the main parade field at Fort Benning. As it did every two years, the entire regiment had come to Benning for the occasion, with the change of command preceded by several days of athletic and team-building events. Rangers from earlier eras, from those who had landed at Anzio or climbed Pointe du Hoc to those who had fought in Mogadishu, gathered for a reunion . They were bound together by a shared history and values, best reflected in the Ranger Creed.
The Ranger Creed is a six-stanza summary of Ranger values that was adopted in 1974 with the formation of the 1st Ranger Battalion at Fort Stewart. One of the first requirements I was given when I joined the regiment in 1985 was to memorize the creed and to recite it each day at physical training. Memorably, parachute-laden Rangers also shouted it out inside aircraft in the final minutes before the regiment’s combat jump into Panama in 1989.
But it was most poignant at ceremonies where it began with a predesignated Ranger somewhere in the formation loudly stating, “The Ranger Creed, repeat after me.” The Ranger then recited the first stanza of the creed, breaking it into short phrases that were repeated by every Ranger present.
“Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of my Ranger regiment.”
To be heard, the Ranger yelled out each phrase, and Rangers on the field and in the audience repeated them either loudly or quietly to themselves. Some were lost in thought—they all knew the words by heart. The Ranger only kept them in cadence.
For the second stanza another Ranger, normally in another part of the formation, took over, giving a sense of spontaneity.
“Acknowledging the fact that a Ranger is a more elite soldier who arrives at the cutting edge of battle by land, sea, or air, I accept the fact that as a Ranger my country expects me to move further, faster and fight harder than any other soldier.”
The third stanza evoked strong emotions.
“Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight, and I will shoulder more than my share of the task, whatever it may be, one hundred percent and then some.”
Often very young Rangers were selected to lead stanzas, a daunting experience in front of two thousand fellow Rangers and a large audience. On one occasion a young Ranger began the fourth stanza: “Gallantly will I show the world that I am a specially selected and well-trained soldier.”