U.S. Army Capt. James McClare and 1st Lt. Anthony Day participating in the 2016 Best Ranger Competition.

The David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition is an annual competition held in Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning), Georgia, hosted by the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade. It is a two-man team competition where competitors must be active military who are Ranger Qualified.[1]

The Best Ranger Competition was first held in 1982.[1] The first competitions were limited to Ranger units, but from 1984 onwards it accepted teams from throughout the Army.[2] As of 2018, the competition involves 50 two-man teams, mostly from the 75th Ranger Regiment and the ARTB, but also including a Coast Guard team.[3] The competition takes 62 hours and involves tests of physical fitness, including runs and marches, and of marksmanship. The exact composition of events changes yearly.[3]

Mike Rose is the only service member to have won BRC three times, having won each time he has entered. At Rose's first win in 2014, he entered as a 2Lt. while with the 25th Infantry Division, his partner was 2Lt. John Bergman - Together making them the youngest winners. In 2017 while with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Rose (now a Captain) entered and won with MSG. Joshua Horsager. (Horsager was the oldest winner at 39). In 2019 Rose again partnered with John Bergman (now a Captain), this time representing the 101st Airborne Division. In 2019 the rules were modified to allow contestants only a maximum of 3 entries over their career, making Rose's achievement technical impossible to beat.

Five people have won BRC twice; Paul Scurka; Eric Turk; Walter Zajkowski; Timothy Briggs; (each with different partners each time); and John Bergman; who was Mike Rose's partner for two of Rose's three wins.

Sergeant Major Thomas Payne, who won the 2012 competition as a Sergeant First Class, had his Distinguished Service Cross upgraded to the Medal of Honor. He was presented the Medal of Honor by President Donald Trump on September 11, 2020, the 19th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.[4]

The 2020 Competition was scheduled to be from April 16–18 but due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, officials decided to cancel the 2020 event but with plans to continue with the 2021 competition.[5]

List of past winners

Year[5] Soldier Soldier Unit
1982 SFC Philip Sebay SFC Charles Light 3rd Ranger Company, Benning Ranger Division
1983 SSG Michael Tilson SSG Kevin Connell 2nd Ranger Company, Mountain Ranger Division
1984 SGT David Bazemore III SGT Gregory Georgevitch 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
1985 SSG Harvey Moore, Jr. SGT Paul Scurka HHC, 75th Ranger Regiment
1986 SGT Paul Scurka SGT Bart Sexton HHC, 75th Ranger Regiment
1987 SSG Joe Ullibari SGT Ross Wilson 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
1988 SGT John Schlichte SPC Karl Schlichte 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
1989 SGT Guy Fichtelman SGT Mike Sonnenschein 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
1990 SSG Mark Sheehan SSG Bobby Beiswanger 4th Ranger Training Brigade
1991 Canceled due to Operation Desert Storm.
1992 SFC Tom Wilburn AFC Alven Brashier 5th Ranger Training Brigade
1993 CPT Blain Reeves SSG Erik Wilson 4th Ranger Training Brigade
1994 CPT Edward Garcia 1LT Michael Richardson 82nd Airborne Division
1995 SSG Eric White CPT Michael Trisler 25th Infantry Division
1996 SSG Jeff Struecker SPC Isaac Gmazel 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
1997 2LT Jay Hansen 2LT Chris Robershaw 101st Airborne Division
1998 SFC Eric Riley SSG Thomas Smith 4th Ranger Training Brigade
1999 SSG Kevin Teran SSG Jim Moran Ranger Training Brigade
2000 2LT Mark Messerschmitt 2LT Ahern Infantry Officer Basic Course Detachment
2001 GYSGT Keith Oakes SFC William Patterson 5th Ranger Training Battalion
2002 CPT Duane Patin SSG Daniel Jenkins 5th Ranger Training Battalion
2003 Canceled due to the Invasion of Iraq
2004 SSG Colin Boley SSG Adam Nash 75th Ranger Regiment
2005 CPT Corbett McCallum SFC Gerald Nelson 4th Ranger Training Battalion
2006 SFC John Sheaffer SPC Mikhail Venikov 75th Ranger Regiment
2007 MAJ Liam Collins MSG Walter Zajkowski United States Special Operations Command
2008 SSG Shayne Cherry SSG Michael Broussard 75th Ranger Regiment
2009 SFC Blake Simms SFC Chad Stackpole Ranger Training Brigade
2010 MSG Eric Turk MSG Eric Ross United States Special Operations Command
2011 MSG Eric Turk MSG Walter Zajkowski United States Special Operations Command
2012 MSG Kevin Foutz SFC Thomas Payne United States Special Operations Command
2013 SFC Raymond Santiago SFC Timothy Briggs Ranger Training Brigade
2014 2LT Michael Rose 2LT John Bergman 25th Infantry Division
2015 SFC Timothy Briggs SFC Jeremy Lemma Airborne & Ranger Training Brigade
2016 CPT Robert Killian SSG Erich Friedlein Army National Guard
2017 MSG Joshua Horsager CPT Michael Rose 75th Ranger Regiment
2018 SFC Joshua Rolfes SFC Anthony Allen Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade
2019 CPT Michael Rose CPT John Bergman 101st Airborne Division
2020 Cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
2021 1LT Vince Paikowski 1LT Alastair Keys 75th Ranger Regiment
2022 CPT Joshua Corson CPT Tymothy Boyle 75th Ranger Regiment
2023 SPC Justin Rein CPT Luke Ebeling 75th Ranger Regiment

References

  1. ^ a b "The Competition". US Army. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  2. ^ Leonard, Chuck (April 11, 2018). "Military Matters: Annual Best Ranger Competition returns to Ft. Benning". WTVM. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b Myers, Meghann (April 13, 2018). "Best Ranger competition kicks off with first Coastie, Army Cyber teams". Army Times. Archived from the original on 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Sergeant Major Thomas P. Payne to receive the Medal of Honor from President Trump on 9/11/2020". US Army. Archived from the original on 18 May 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Past Competition Winners". Best Ranger Competition. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022.

External links

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