Bob Crowder once put it, "A Ranger is an officer who is able to handle any given situation without definite instructions from his commanding officer, or higher authority.
This ability must be proven before a man becomes a Ranger. Stephen F. Austin assumed his late father's contract as empresario, or developer of settlements in the Mexican province of Tejas. He was authorized to recruit settlers from the U. Austin was to be rewarded for his services with land, titles and military powers over the colony.
His colony, and those proposed by other empresarios, would serve to reinforce Mexico's claim to Texas and act as a buffer between the hostile Comanche Indians and Hispanic settlements at San Antonio de Bexar and Laredo. By , the settlements suffered frequent raids by the Comanche, Tonkawa and Karankawa Indians.
Under Mexican law, Austin was authorized to form a militia to ward off Indian raids, capture criminals and patrol against intruders. In May, while Austin was in Mexico City, his lieutenant, Moses Morrison, used this authority to assemble a company of men to protect the Texas coast from the Tonkawa and Karankawa Indians. After returning to Texas in August of , Austin asked for an additional ten men to supplement Morrison's company. He called for "ten men The wages I will give said ten men is fifteen dollars a month payable in property.
During Austin's day, companies of men volunteered and disbanded as needed. Some served for days and others for many months. The official records show that these companies were called by many names: ranging companies, mounted gunmen, mounted volunteers, minutemen, spies, scouts and mounted rifle companies. By whatever name they were known, these units performed the same ranging duties. These early Texas Ranger had multicultural roots.
Company rolls show that Anglos, Hispanics and American Indians served in all ranks from private to captain. Their tools and tactics were suited to the rugged frontier, and they provided their own horses and equipment.
One writer said that a Texas Ranger could "ride like a Mexican, trail like an Indian, shoot like a Tennessean, and fight like the devil. Texas Rangers often served as volunteers since government offers of payment rarely materialized.
In , as the movement for Texas independence was about to boil over, a council of Texas representatives created a "Corps of Rangers" to protect the frontier from hostile Indians. They were required to furnish their own arms, mounts, and equipment. Settlers rebelled against the Mexican government in over increasing dissatisfaction with the Mexican government and the suspension of immigration from the U.
The Texas Rangers played an important but little known role in this conflict. They covered the retreat of civilians from the Mexican army in the famous "Runaway Scrape," harassed columns of Mexican troops and provided valuable intelligence to the Texas Army.
The only men to ride in response to Col. William B. Travis' last minute plea to defend the Alamo were Rangers who fought, and died, in the cause of Texas independence. He came to San Antonio in and within three years held the rank of Ranger Captain. Hays built a reputation fighting raiding Indians and Mexican bandits.
An Indian who rode with Hays and his men called the young Ranger Captain "brave too much". Hays' bravado was too much for many a hostile Indian or outlaw. In dealing with persons deemed a threat to Texas, Hays helped establish another Ranger tradition--rugged toughness mixed with a reliance on the latest technology.
Colt had invented a fragile. No longer would his men have to pause in battle to reload single-shot pistols and rifles while the Indians continued firing arrows. Colt built his reputation on the use of his weapons by the Texas Rangers. One of Hays' men, Samuel H. Walker, made some suggestions for improving the pistol which Colt adopted during the Mexican War. Produced in , the new six-shot revolver weighed nearly five pounds and was called the Walker Colt.
In , within a year of Texas' admission as the 28th state of the Union, the United States and Mexico were at war. Walker joined one of several Ranger companies that were mustered into federal service to function as scouts. The Rangers fought with such ferocity in the war they came to be called "Los diablos Tejanos" -- the Texas Devils.
The luck Walker had after Mier did not hold. He was killed in the fighting. For the next decade after the Mexican War, the Rangers existed primarily as volunteer companies, raised when the need arose and disbanded when their work was done. During the Civil War, with thousands of Texans off fighting with the Confederate Army, frontier protection was afforded by a "Regiment of Rangers.
The backbone of home front security was still the volunteer "ranging" company, whose members operated on the "legal authority" of the pistols they carried on their hips or the rifles swinging in their saddle holsters. After the war, the Legislature passed a bill creating three companies of Texas Rangers but a bill to provide funding failed.
Financial support for state law enforcement in the early 's was sporadic. For all practical purposes, there were no Texas Rangers for nearly a decade after the war. During this time, law enforcement was handled by a highly political and roundly hated organization known as the State Police. Texas, like other Southern states, was in the throes of reconstruction and any authority, civil or military, was distrusted.
The force eventually was disbanded. Following the upheaval of the Civil War and Reconstruction, The Frontier Battalion was organized in to create a permanent military force to protect the Texas frontier. Led by Major John B. Jones with six companies of 75 men each, the Rangers were tasked with defending the frontier from Indian raids.
But by the end of the s, as tribes were forced out of Texas, the Indian threat had largely disappeared and the frontier seemed secure.
The Rangers turned their attention from Indians to crime fighting in an increasingly lawless state. They stopped feuds, tracked cattle rustlers, and apprehended outlaws throughout Texas. In , a court ruling determined that only commissioned Rangers had full police powers, including the authority to make arrests. As a result, the force was abolished and reorganized in In the 's, Rangers preserved law and order in Big Bend mining towns, tracked down train robbers and even were called on to prevent an illegal prize fight from taking place on Texas soil.
The promoters of the storied Fitzsimmons-Maher bout finally had to settle for staging the boxing match on an island in the Rio Grande. In , the Rangers scouted , miles; made arrests; returned 2, head of stolen livestock to the owners, assisted civil authorities times and guarded jails on 13 occasions.
In , the Frontier Battalion faded along with the frontier; but by July of , the Legislature passed a new law concerning the Ranger service. The force, to be organized by the governor, was created "for the purpose of protecting the frontier against marauding or thieving parties, and for the suppression of lawlessness and crime throughout the state.
They did not even have a standard badge. The law authorized for Ranger companies of a maximum of 20 men each. The career of Company B. McDonald, and a book written about him, added much to the Ranger legend, including two of its most famous sayings. When sent to Dallas to prevent a scheduled prizefight, McDonald was greeted at the train station by the city's anxious mayor, who asked: "Where are the others?
There's only one prize-fight! Since the days of the Mexican War, Rangers had had occasional work to do along the long, meandering Rio Grande, but the emphasis on the river increased in with the outbreak of revolution in Mexico.
Generally easy to ford, the Rio Grande had never been much more than a symbolic boundary. Some of the violence associated with the political upheaval in Mexico crossed the river into Texas. And on the title page of Paine's book on McDonald are 19 words labeled as Capt. McDonald's creed: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'. Ramos was carrying a copy of the Plan of San Diego, a revolutionary manifesto supposedly written and signed at the South Texas town of San Diego.
Versions of the plan call for the murder of all white citizens over 16 years of age. The goal was an independent republic, which might later seek annexation to Mexico. Raids from both side the the border quickly escalated into guerilla warfare. John J. Pershing in pursuit of Villa. Texas responded, as it had so many times in its history, by raising Ranger companies.
At the time the Texas Ranger Force was very small, and incapable of maintaining law and order along the border. The Texas Legislature by authorizing mass inductions and the "overnight" creation of new Ranger companies. Hispanic, as well as Anglo, Texans served in these units. The Ranger force grew to its largest level, but the lack of training and controls were evident.
Some of the new companies upheld the law while others functioned as vigilante groups incensed by raids from Mexico. These Rangers were were given orders and wide powers to keep the hostilities in Mexico from washing across the river into Texas. Crime Scene Investigations. More about Field Operations. Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program.
Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program The Unsolved Crimes Investigation Program provides Texas law enforcement agencies with resources for investigating unsolved murders, or what appear to be serial or linked cases. More about Unsolved Crimes Investigations. Contact Information. Forensic Imaging Specialist. For example, a male between 20 and 29 years of age, weighing lbs will need to row 2, meters in less than 9 minutes.
Other applicants can choose between the Concept 2 Rower exam and the three event exam of push-ups, sit-ups, and running. For example, a male between 25 and 29 years of age will need to do 54 crunches in two minutes, complete 49 push-ups and run 1.
Pass the written test. On the road to becoming a Texas Ranger you will need to take and pass a written examination. Passing this test will qualify you to become a State Trooper, which in turn will qualify you to become a Texas Ranger. This written test will gauge your competency in a few key areas and will determine if you are ready to eventually become a Texas Ranger. Keep some of the following information in mind when preparing for your written test: You will be tested on reading comprehension.
Your grammatical skills and knowledge will be tested. The test has a section on basic mathematics. Undergo your interview. Once you have met all requirements, have worked as a Texas State Trooper and have been selected to become a Texas Ranger, you will attend your interview.
This interview will take place before a board of interviewers who will have the final say when regarding your acceptance into the Texas Rangers. Keep some of the following interview tips in mind before your scheduled appointment: You may be asked hypothetical questions about situations a Texas Ranger might encounter.
For example, you might be asked how you would handle a certain criminal investigation or certain aspects of one. You will likely be asked about how you handled difficult situations in your past professional experiences. You might also be asked if you are able to speak Spanish. Part 3. Discover the main duties of a Texas Ranger.
No matter which specific duties you may be assigned as a Texas Ranger there will be some that are common to any Ranger. Understanding the main function and duties of the position can help you get a better view of what is required of a Texas Ranger. As a Ranger, you will: [7] X Research source Work with other departments and organizations.
Look into missing persons, abductions, suspicious deaths and unidentified bodies. Work on cases involving corruption or misconduct of public officials. Protect the governor and other state officials. Investigate major crimes such as murder, robbery, sexual assault, burglary, theft and fraud. Find out which programs you will work with. The Texas Rangers are a specialized group of law enforcement personnel. However, they tackle a wide range of serious criminal and security issues.
Knowing more about the programs that the Texas Rangers are involved in can help you better judge if the position is right for you. Expect to function in some of the following programs as a Texas Ranger: [8] X Research source Unsolved crimes.
Public Corruption. Major cases. Border Security Special Operations Group. Consider the Specialized Operations Group programs. These threats are generally presented by organized crime, terrorists, or drug trafficking groups. Being a part of the Texas Rangers, the SOG is tasked with preventing and dealing with any immediate and critical issues presented by these dangerous groups.
Take a moment to learn more about the following sub-groups that make up the SOG: [9] X Research source Special weapons and tactics SWAT takes on issues such as hostage situations or barricaded suspects. The crisis negotiation team will work to resolve conflicts with potentially dangerous individuals or groups. Joint Operations and Intelligence Centers will work to inform the Border Security Operations Center of any intelligence that can be used to stop illegal arms, cash, or drugs from crossing the border.
The bomb squad is highly trained to assess, disarm, and investigate any explosive device threats. The Texas Ranger Reconnaissance Team operates covertly to investigate and disrupt drug cartel activities. The Special Response Team serves high risk warrants and deals with both hostage situations and barricaded suspects. Be ready for training. Exactly what training you will be required to undergo will vary depending on your exact role in the Texas Rangers.
However, you will be required to have certain amounts of training based on a yearly basis. Many positions will have very specific training programs that you will need to attend. These training courses will keep your skills fresh and allow you to do your best as a Texas Ranger.
Depending on your function you may learn specialized skills such as investigative hypnosis. You cannot.
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