I Will Always Endeavor

I Will Always Endeavor
by
James Dietz

Following Operation URGENT FURY by 1st and 2nd Ranger Battalions in Grenada in 1983, the Department of the Army ordered the re-activation of 3rd Ranger Battalion. On 3 October 1984, at York Field, the Secretary of the Army, the Honorable John O. Marsh, presented the battalion colors to Lieutenant Colonel William Ohl, officially re-activating the 3rd Ranger Battalion. This re-activation along with the formation of the 75th Ranger Regiment Headquarters brought the combined Ranger Force to its highest level since World War II.
On 20 December 1989, 3rd Battalion participated in Operation JUST CAUSE in the Republic of Panama. Alpha and Bravo Companies along with 2nd Ranger Battalion seized Rio Hato airfield, while Charlie Company along with 1st Ranger Battalion seized Torrijos/Tocumen Airfield. The battalion executed a low-level night time parachute assault on both airfields, receiving their baptism under fire. The battalion executed numerous follow-on ground combat operations to include Charlie Company’s seizure of La Commandancia (Manuel Noriega’s headquarters) in Panama City.
In October 1993, the battalion was involved in one of the most intense combat operations since the Vietnam War. Bravo Company and elements of the battalion headquarters, as part of Task Force Ranger, deployed to Mogadishu, Somalia in August 1993 to conduct Operation GOTHIC SERPEANT in support of United Nations Operation in Somalia II. Task Force Ranger’s mission was to capture General Mohammad Farah Aideed and destroy his insurgency network. On 3 October, exactly nine years after reactivation, Task Force Ranger conducted a daring daylight air assault raid to capture two of Aideed’s top aides. As Task Force Ranger was beginning to withdraw from the objective, several of the helicopters loitering overhead received intense ground fire from insurgents, and two were shot down. Maneuvering under intense enemy fire, Task Force Ranger moved on foot to secure both crash sites. Out-numbered almost 10 to 1, Task Force Ranger held off the surrounding enemy for over 18 hours. Six Rangers paid the ultimate sacrifice that day and fifty-four others were wounded.
In October 2001, 3rd Ranger Battalion was called into action again to spearhead Operation ENDURING FREEDOM, America’s initial response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. On 19 October 2001, elements of 3rd Battalion conducted the battalion’s second combat parachute assault onto Objective RHINO, a remote desert airfield in southern Afghanistan. 3rd Battalion’s initial action in America’s War on Terrorism once again proved that "Rangers Lead the Way!"
In March of 2003, 3rd Ranger Battalion was once again deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism, this time for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and the initial invasion of Iraq. While deployed, 3rd Ranger Battalion conducted two night parachute assaults deep into the Iraqi western flank, as well as numerous crucial ground offensive combat operations, assisting the coalition’s attack North to Baghdad and beyond into the Sunni Triangle.
During eight years of America’s War on Terror from October 2001 to October 2009, 3rd Ranger Battalion has continued to find, fix, and finish enemies of our country during 14 combat deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
This limited edition print is a portrait that depicts the transformation of 3rd Ranger Battalion over the past 25 years. Though the Ranger at his core remains the same, his uniforms, equipment, and mobility platforms have evolved drastically over the last two and a half decades. The portrait shows a Ranger element, comprised of 3rd Battalion Rangers from every major combat engagement the battalion has seen over the past 25 years, moving tactically to an objective. This portrait is full of detail at every level, touching Rangers from all eras.
For the last 25 years, 3rd Ranger Battalion has remained at the tip of the spear forging a new and storied history in modern special operations warfare. Today’s Rangers of 3rd Battalion continue to always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of 3rd Battalion and the Rangers who have filled its ranks over the past 25 years.
"I WILL ALWAYS ENDEAVOR..." was created in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the modern-day 3rd Ranger Battalion from 3 October, 1984 to 3 October, 2009 and is dedicated to all 3rd Battalion Rangers past, present, and future.