Growing up in 3rd Ranger Battalion, the Big Four were constantly stressed and evaluated throughout all phases of training. These skills were how the Regiment plied their trade and were the backbone of the unit’s training and mission execution.

If you couldn’t keep up physically you got smoked until you thought your eyes were going to bleed, and then you were released for standards (RFS, reassigned according to the needs of the Army).

If you couldn’t form up with your team in a stack and clear a room properly, conduct battle drill 1A, or any of the other six battle drills without causing harm to yourself or another member of your team, no one would trust you and didn’t make it in Battalion.

If you couldn’t patch-up a buddy by properly applying a tourniquet, throw in a nasal cannula, or dress a wound with an Israeli bandage, then how were you ever going to save your ranger buddy’s life on the battlefield?

What if you couldn’t shoot an E-type five meters to your front?

We all know psyops has its place on the battlefield, and correct me if I’m wrong, but no war has ever been won by dropping pamphlets, handing out candy, or giving hugs to one another. Wars are won by dropping bombs and placing lethal effective fires into the flesh, bone, blood, and organs of the enemy.

Marksmanship is the key to taking the pressure from the Big Four. More recently the 75th Ranger Regiment has moved to the Big Five, which encompasses the aforementioned and mobility. Jack Murphy explains the history and the change to the Big Five in his article The Evolution of the 75th Ranger Regiment (pt. 2): Selecting and Building a Ranger.