Photo Of The Day – Throughout a 19-day course, Airmen were tested on their ability to perform land navigation, ambush, react to contact and squad attacks. Along with those assessments, the students went on runs and marches of different distances – all leading up to a 12-mile ruck march two days before graduation. Above you see Ranger Assessment Course students fire on opposing forces during a simulated react to contact near Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, in 2019.

Twenty-three Airmen from across the Air Force recently converged on a training camp for a three-week Ranger Assessment Course. The Airmen who pass the Ranger Assessment Course gain more than a ticket into Ranger School and knowledge on Army tactics – they learn to lead.

Airmen speed past the finish line after running two miles for a Ranger Assessment Course through the hills of a training camp near Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii

1st Lt. Reece Hudgeons, Ranger Assessment Course student, instructs his squad to get into position during a react to contact with opposing forces near Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, May 23, 2019.

Ranger Assessment Course students are instructed on the prime locations for an ambush during training near Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, May 23, 2019. Twenty-three Airmen from across the Air Force recently converged on a training camp for a three-week Ranger Assessment Course May 12-31, 2019.

Senior Airman Kimball Butler, Ranger Assessment Course student, dons his night vision gear and prepares for a simulated ambush during training near Schofield Barracks, Oahu, Hawaii, May 23, 2019

Below: Checking the feet is important, even in the dark.

A Ranger sign hangs up inside at a training camp near Schofield Barracks.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Hailey Haux