Reflections On A Career With The Ranger Regiment: The 19th Command Sergeant Major Of The Ranger Regiment

CSM(R) Curtis Donaldson grew up in Bedford, Pennsylvania, on the family farm with his sister and brother. He learned the value of hard work, tending to cows, horses, and pigs as part of his daily chores. He participated in 4H in high school, as well as running track, wrestling, and playing soccer. He remembers being asked what he wanted to do with his life in 7th grade, 9th grade, and 12th grade, and by the time he was in 9th grade, he wanted to be an Army Ranger. He remembers seeing commercials on TV for the Rangers and was aware of the fight in Mogadishu, Somalia. His cousin, Clay, a combat engineer, also influenced his decision to join the Army, and he did so on June 14, 1996, signing up for the Delayed Entry Program with a Ranger Contract. He remembers the competence of his Drill Sergeants and notes that he was fit and used to hard work, so Basic Training was not a challenge. Following Basic, he completed Airborne School and the Ranger Indoctrination Program (RIP – now RASP). He remembers seeing his first Rangers and noting that they were very fit, pressed, shined, and unfriendly. In Airborne School, he nurtured a “healthy respect for heights,” and remembers running in boots. RIP was “brutal” because it was “survival of the fittest.” Once he reported to 3rd Platoon of C Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, it took him a year to get to Ranger School. In C Company, he filled a variety of roles, including Machine Gun Crew, Team Leader, Squad Leader, Weapons Squad Leader, and Anti-Tank Squad Leader. He remembers being at home when the attacks on September 11, 2001, occurred and receiving a phone call from one of his buddies who told him to turn on the TV. His response was, “I’ll see you at work.” That began an intense period of training and rehearsal focused on a variety of contingencies. By late September, the Rangers were ready to go, and CSM(R) Donaldson remembers boarding civilian contracted jets in BDUs (Battle Dress Uniform) and changing to DCUs (Desert Camouflage Uniform) in-flight. In the air, they also received their target packets. They staged in Oman, in the same hanger that was used for Operation Eagle Claw (Iran Hostage Rescue). In the staging area, it was “all business,” with repeated PCCs, PCIs, drills and rehearsals. Conducting static load training, he recalls, was painful because they were so heavy with all the gear they were carrying. He describes the jump on the night of October 19-20, 2001, and the subsequent airfield seizure. He recalls that the Regimental Sergeant Major allowed the Regimental Chaplain to take his seat on the jump because the Chaplain had missed the jump into Panama. He reflects on what he knew at his level and how his role fit into the larger operation. In March 2003, he jumped into Iraq at the Haditha Dam, staging out of Saudi Arabia. He describes some of the problems related to combat jumps, including the weight the jumpers carry, the chaos, and other issues. During this jump, he injured his back, but he carried on, considering himself lucky to be able to continue the mission while other Rangers suffered jump injuries that required evacuation (he even won a competition running the stairs at the dam with an injured back). He briefly describes some of his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, highlighting the differences between operating in those two countries and the differences between leading in Special Operations units and conventional airborne units. His experience bookended the Nation’s involvement in Afghanistan, and he describes collapsing the footprint at Bagram Airfield in 2020 and the withdrawal, where 700 people departed in the final hour. Near the end of the interview, he reflects on the changing standards for being in the Ranger Regiment, comparing ROP, RIP, and RASP. CSM(R) Donaldson describes RASP as the “best thing to happen to the Regiment” because it involves continuous validations for positions of higher responsibility in the Regiment. Finally, he reflects on the changing type of Soldier in the Regiment. He also notes that the high OPTEMPO creates a need for Rangers with families to seek a harmony, stating “when you’re home be home.” He also states that Mogadishu set the stage for modern Special Operations, commenting “I served with some really good guys.” He ends by giving advice to Cadets: “Be competent, be a good human being, and care for your Soldiers.” He also respected the Lieutenants who took the time to counsel him as an NCO, noting that the best counseling sessions were the ones in which advice was reciprocated between the Officer and the NCO.