The MOG Mile, The Ranger Creed And Spiritual Wellness

Publisher’s Note: Chaplain (Colonel-Retired) Steven L. Berry serves as the Spiritual Fitness and Wellness Director for Three Rangers Foundation. This foundation provides the US Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment and veterans of affiliated supporting units the best experts, advice, and assistance in every aspect of the transition journey; spiritual, physical, behavioral, employment, financial, legal, family, and education.

Faith & Fitness Magazine supports the Three Rangers Foundation and the work of Steven Berry in helping Rangers to become physically and spiritually stronger.

I encourage you and your friends to get involved with them initially via their Three Rangers Foundation Virtual Mog Mile Event and then continue your involvement with them by regularly praying for them and connecting directly with Steven to make yourself available to Rangers in your community as both a workout partner and a Christian friend.

In the late Summer of 1992, then-President Bill Clinton deployed a Special Operations Task Force (Task Force Ranger) to Mogadishu, Somalia, to capture Somali warlord Mohammed Farah-Adid. The bulk of that Task Force was composed of American Rangers from the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. On 3-4 October 1993, Task Force Ranger became embroiled with Somalia militiamen in an overnight gun battle. The intensity of it was likened, at the time, to the most intense firefights in Vietnam. (This story is captured and told in Mark Bowden’s best-selling book, “Blackhawk Down,” as well as in the major motion picture, by the same name.)

On the afternoon of 3 October 1993, Task Force Ranger boarded Army helicopters for what was expected to be a “textbook” raid to capture two of Adid’s lieutenants. Using rocket-propelled grenades, Somalia militiamen shot down two US Blackhawk helicopters. That turned a planned raid into an unexpected rescue mission. Driving that change of mission was the galvanized commitment of American Rangers to “never leave a fallen comrade.”

When the US and Pakistani relief convoy arrived on the morning of 4 October to relieve the battered Ranger force and return them to the Mogadishu Olympic Stadium, there was only enough room in the armored vehicles for the dead and severely wounded. The walking wounded and the few unscathed Rangers would move from the helicopter crash site to the Olympic Stadium on foot – a distance of about a mile – all the while still under attack from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. At the end of the battle, 18 Americans were dead and 73 were wounded, and one was captured. To those moving by foot on the morning of 4 October, that relatively short but lethal distance between the helicopter crash site and the Olympic Stadium became known as “The Mogadishu Mile.”

THE RANGER CREED – GOALS AND CHOICES

The American Ranger is unique in American military history with roots dating to Benjamin Church during “King Philip’s War (circa 1675). Trained in Northern Ireland and Scotland by British Commandos during World War II, the new American unit was quick to adopt a name already steeped in American historical significance: Rangers. From North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, and the South Pacific, the name “Ranger” became closely associated with an ironclad commitment to excellence.

Modern Rangers subscribe to an ethos that is captured in a six-stanza document called “The Ranger Creed.” Memorized and internalized from Day One as a Ranger, the Ranger Creed is at once aspirational and inspirational, providing the vision to always aim for the highest goals, as well as shaping the will to seek self-betterment daily. From dawn to dusk, the Ranger Creed stands to inform and shape the life choices of Army Rangers.

For Task Force Ranger in the streets of Somalia on those deadly days in October 1993, the Ranger Creed was on full and panoramic display. Uncommon valor quickly became a common attribute, and utter selfless sacrifice for others was plain for all to see. “I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy, and under no circumstances, will I ever embarrass my country” (5th stanza of the Ranger Creed) forced them, with no second thoughts, to move to the helicopter crash sites. “Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong, and morally straight . . .” (3rd stanza of the Ranger Creed) motivated them to prepare beforehand for the fight that would surely come, and when it did, to fight like Furies for one another. This was the Ranger Creed in operation for Task Force Ranger.

ENERGETIC VISION – UNWAVERING COMMITMENT

Following their service as members of Task Force Ranger, some of its members determined to provide an opportunity for fellow Ranger Veterans to move beyond the streets of Mogadishu, empowering them to achieve lifelong success. From their energetic vision came Three Rangers Foundation (threerangersfoundation.org), a non-profit organization (501 (c) 3.) aimed at providing the best experts, advice, and assistance in every aspect of the transition journey to civilian life, whether it be spiritual, physical, behavioral, financial, or vocational.

With this mission in full view, Three Rangers Foundation is proud to host, from September 4 through October 4, its annual commemoration of the gallant men of Task Force Ranger and the original “Mogadishu Mile,” or, simply, “The MOG MILE.” All proceeds (registration fees, t-shirts sales, etc.) go directly toward enabling Three Rangers Foundation to assist Ranger Veterans, who are transitioning from life in the 75th Ranger Regiment to return to civilian life as valuable and productive citizens; citizens who will bear the same unwavering commitment to excellence as always.

Learn how you can participate:

Rangers Lead the Way!