US Army Ranger Association

Ranger Assistance Program

USARA established its Ranger Assistance Program (RAP) in 2010 for the purpose of providing immediate, short-term financial assistance to active duty and veteran Rangers, as well as their immediate family. Hard times are an inevitable part of life, and in keeping with the objectives set forth in its Constitution, USARA is dedicated to helping those Rangers and Ranger families that need assistance getting back up after being knocked down. The RAP is intended to provide emergency assistance, financial and otherwise, in an effort to ensure that every Ranger is afforded the opportunity to take a knee, get a sip of water, return to the fight, and drive on to the Ranger objective.

The RAP is wholly funded by donations from USARA members as well as individuals and corporations that support the Ranger community. USARA’s Ranger Assistance Officer is charged with ensuring that the funds donated to support this important mission are put to their maximum effective use. Accordingly, although the RAP is able to assist Rangers and their families with many short-term needs, it cannot provide long-term funding, insolvency protection, or assistance when other forms of financial relief (such as insurance or liquidation of nonessential assets) are available.

The following are examples of circumstances when the RAP has been able to provide assistance:

• Payment of invoices owed for uninsured repair of automobile necessary for Ranger to get to work.
• Payment of monthly mortgage bill in order to ensure that Ranger’s home is not in default when pending medical bills are likely to force an insolvency proceeding.
• Payment of flights for active-duty Ranger and his family to attend funeral when flights would be cost-prohibitive.

The following are examples of circumstances when the RAP has been unable to provide assistance:

• Payment of a portion of medical bills when it is clear that the Ranger will be unable to pay the remaining expenses.
• Payment of legal expenses associated with divorce.
• Payment of past due rent owed when Ranger possesses non-essential assets that could be liquidated to pay amount owed, but he prefers not to sell or liquidate them.

USARA Michael B. Ranger Legacy Scholarship

The USARA Michael B. Ranger Legacy Scholarship Program is a memorial to selfless service and contributions made to our country by USARA members. These awards are given in their honor. This program provides an opportunity to provide financial assistance to qualified dependents of USARA members in furthering their education. The Scholarship Committee seeks to award scholarships to applicants displaying the potential for a degree in higher education, whether it is technical, university or professional. Each year the Scholarship Committee evaluates the scholarship applicants and selects the most outstanding submissions to be awarded a USARA Legacy Scholarship.

POLICY: Provide financial grants to students who are currently or plan to attend an accredited college, university, or higher technical trade school as a full-time student.

1. The USARA Legacy Scholarship Program is not an entitlement or automatically approved. The scholarship is awarded to qualified dependents, as defined below, of USARA members based on merit.
2. USARA grants Scholarship awards annually based on funds available; applicants must apply each year and no recipient may exceed four awards. The maximum cumulative amount any individual may receive shall be $5000.
3. Siblings may apply and be awarded scholarships, but the Scholarship Committee reserves the right to prioritize awarding available scholarships to multiple families.
4. All efforts are made to avoid appointing members to the Scholarship Committee that are likely to have family members apply. However, if it is discovered that a Scholarship Committee member is related to an applicant, the committee member must excuse himself from rating or discussing the applicant.
5. If the applicant has been awarded a scholarship and for any reason decides not to study as planned, the scholarship must be returned in full. If time allows, the next qualified applicant may then be awarded a scholarship.
6. If the awardee is faced with a medical condition and cannot continue at school, all efforts should be made by the student to obtain a refund and return the unused portion to USARA. He/she may apply again at a later date. The awardee must send a letter from a doctor to the Scholarship Committee.
7. Scholarship awards funds are to assist with academic expenses at the attending University/School and are disbursed directly to the individual awardees to assist with tuition, books, fees, supplies, and room and board

FUNDING: The scholarship program depends on voluntary donations from USARA members and public donations. The number of Scholarships awarded annually will vary. However, the scholarships will generally not exceed $3000 nor be no less than $1,000 per individual award.

ELIGIBILITY: Applicants must be a Qualified Dependent of the USARA member.

1. Qualified Dependent is defined as a child; grandchild or great-grand child of a USARA member (included those legally adopted) who is under the age of 30 at the beginning of the academic year. Spouses of Active Duty soldiers are also defined a Qualified Dependents, provided the soldier is a USARA member as defined below.  In addition, the applicant:

• Must have a minimum GPA of a 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale.
• Must be, or plan to be, a full time student or part-time student who must work during school (Part- time students are expected to take at least 9 semester hours or equivalent and be working or to furnish an acceptable reason to the Scholarship Committee, in order to be / remain eligible for the USARA Legacy Scholarship). The program does not apply to second undergraduate degrees or graduate level courses.

2. USARA Member for this program is defined as:

• An individual who at the time of scholarship application has been a Regular Member (Annual or Life) of USARA in good standing for a minimum of one year prior to the application submission; or
• A deceased Regular Member (Annual or Life) of USARA who was in good standing at the time of his death.
• Honorary and Associate USARA members do not qualify for purposes of this program.