Forging a Special Operations Force: The US Army Rangers

Forging a Special Operations Force: The U.S. Army Rangers details the origins and development, combat philosophy, and key engagements of America's elite fighting force. Structured topically, the book gives a chronological review of the history of the Ranger from the 17th century to the present day, with special attention paid to the establishment of the 1st Ranger Battalion in the post-Vietnam era—the origins of the elite fighting force that exists today.

Authored by a lifetime soldier who served in combat with the 75th Ranger Regiment, this book is replete with information garnered from dozens of interviews with the individuals who created the initial Ranger Force. By integrating the words and firsthand accounts of these founding fathers, the work offers insights unavailable elsewhere. Additionally, the author delves into the unique psyche of the soldiers who volunteer for—and are accepted into the ranks of—the ‘Rangers’.

Dominic J. Caraccilo is the COO for a security firm in Charlotte, NC. He was most recently the Director for IT Operations at Facebook and a regional director for Amazon.com. His first post-retirement position was as a consultant for the United Arab Emirates Land Forces leading their training and readiness transformation process. Caraccilo served for over 27 years as a commissioned officer and was selected for brigadier general before retiring as a colonel in 2011. He has experienced 65 months of combat over 7 combat tours. In combat he commanded an 82nd Airborne company in Desert Storm, a 173rd Airborne battalion in a combat parachute assault in Northern Iraq and a 101st Airborne Brigade combat team in South Baghdad at the height of the insurgency. He was also the Operations Officer for the 101st Airborne as they controlled MND-N in Iraq and the Executive Officer for the 75th Rangers in Afghanistan during the initial assault in OEF in 2001. He served as the Executive Officer to General Ray Odierno for USF-I in Baghdad before serving in his final assignment as the Deputy Commander for the 101st Airborne Division and Acting Senior Commander of Fort Campbell. He has a Doctorate in Business Administration, Global Economy and Leadership from CalUniversity, as well as an Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College, a Master of Engineering from Cornell University in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the US Military Academy at West Point and served as an assistant professor for systems engineering at the US Military Academy at West Point. He is also a graduate of the War College, Marine Corps and Army Staff Colleges. He is the author of a number of books including: Beyond Guns and Steel: A War Termination Strategy (Praeger, 2011); Achieving Victory in Iraq: Countering an Insurgency (Stackpole 2008); Surviving Bataan and Beyond (Stackpole 1999 and 2005); and The Ready Brigade (McFarland, 1993). He has been married to his wife Karen for 30 years and they have three children: Robert, Jacob and Jenna.