Ranging

Wrong. That’s not how it works at all.

Tom Cotton is Ranger-qualified. He was never an Army Ranger. Definitionally, an Army Ranger is someone who is in or who has served in the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Benning, Ga. That’s all.

In fact, you can be in the 75th Ranger Regiment and not go to Ranger school (though you are expected to) and still be called, you guessed it, a Ranger.

See here for more info.