Despite the effects of 60 hours with no sleep and physical tasks that would put self-doubt in the fittest Soldiers' minds, quitting was never an option for Capt. Mark Gaudet and 1st Lt. Tim Nelson.
Not that it's ever an option for the two 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division officers and not that it's ever an option at something like the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Georgia.
The annual event draws the most physically and mentally tough Ranger course graduates from across the Army in a three-day event to see who can last and cross the finish line with the most number of points gathered from categories like land navigation, marksmanship, foot march with a 60-pound rucksack, rope climbing and rappelling, helocast and swim, rope drop and buddy run. This year's competition was from April 15-17, and Gaudet, an infantryman representing the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, and Nelson, a tanker representing the 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, finished in fifth place out of 51 teams -- the highest ever for a Fort Riley team.
The two finished first in two big events: the foot march and the buddy run. Their time on the former earned them the prestigious Russell B. Rippetoe trophy.
Also representing the "Big Red One" and Fort Riley were 2nd Lt. Deaven Miller, 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., and Staff Sgt. Gustavo Medrano, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 63rd Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div. First Lt. Todd Sullivan, 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 2nd ABCT, served as the alternate.
BEST IN THE DIVISION
The buddy teams were selected after the division hosted a competition to determine who would represent the Big Red One and Fort Riley. Gaudet and Nelson, who competed together on last year's Fort Riley Ten Miler Team, finished first and were paired.
Gaudet's and Nelson's individual strengths proved to be the key to the team's success. Nelson's positive attitude and competitive drive made the competition a good experience, Gaudet said.
"Having partners equally as hyper-competitive makes for a strong team," he added.
Gaudet, a 30-year-old native of Bingham, Maine, was the most motivated, competitive person with whom Nelson said he'd ever competed.
"And that's saying a lot since I was a competitive athlete," said Nelson, a 26-year-old native of Augusta, Wisconsin. "He pushed me hard in practice every day, and never lost focus of his overall goal of winning the competition. It was inspiring being paired with someone with such drive."
And focus was a challenge during the grueling competition. Nelson talked about a point during the night road march where, at about mile 14, he was delirious and started seeing things.
"A lot of people just start shutting down," Nelson said. "There are no fans at that point, no adoring fans out cheering you on at 2 in the morning in the middle of a dirt road in Fort Benning, and you feel pretty sorry for yourself."
Gaudet would allow Nelson to take short walking breaks as needed, but didn't allow him to become complacent, Nelson said.
"In the end, his motivation and drive are what kept me running and allowed us to win that event. If this had been an individual event, I surely would have struggled so much more."
Gaudet, who took command of the "Iron Ranger" battalion's Company B on April 21, said not finishing the competition or getting cut midway through was not an option. Nor was it ever considered.
"We were there to win and we knew how many people were counting on us to represent 1ID," he said. "It was very motivating knowing how many people were watching the live stream and pulling for us."
Among those in attendance to cheer on the competitors at Fort Benning were Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr. and Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph C. Cornelison, 1st Inf. Div. command team, and Col. Timothy Hayden, 1st ABCT commander. The commanding general was among the Gaudet's and Nelson's biggest fans, loudly cheering and taking photos and video with his phone.
"I just couldn't be more proud of these guys," Grigsby said April 21 at Fort Riley when recognizing the five Best Ranger competitors with awards.
The spirit of the division and the Army isn't in the tanks and the Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Grigsby told the five men.
"You know what it's about," he asked, pointing to them.
"You are brave, responsible and on point for our nation and we could not be more proud of you," he added. "Now the challenge is can we get No. 1 next year?"
It's a challenge Gaudet and Nelson said was possible.
"I think with another year of training, with the same partner, I think we could make a run at it," Nelson said. "Definitely."
CALLING ON PARTNERSHIPS
This competition was the epitome of teamwork, Nelson said.
"No matter how strong you are, in this competition you will struggle at times," he added. "You need that partner to lean on and you may have to be their support in the very next event. You can't help but grow close to and respect someone who endures this kind of pain with you."
For competitive Soldiers like Gaudet and Nelson, an overall fifth-place finish was great, though "still a little disappointing," Gaudet said. "But still great."
The four teams of Soldiers that finished ahead of them, representing the Army National Guard, Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade, Maneuver Center of Excellence and 25th Infantry Division, had experience in the competition, Nelson said. Gaudet participated last year when he was attending the captain's career course at Fort Benning, and said this year, he felt more physically prepared, but less when it came to skill work.
Twenty-six percent of the Best Ranger participants are former competitors, according to information from the competition's website.
That physical preparation was a team effort that extended beyond the boundaries of Fort Riley. The five Best Ranger competitors went hard starting in January with two-a-day, six-day-a-week sessions on post and at Kansas State University.
They trained with Phillip Vardiman, an association professor, and his staff in K-State's Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health; Ian Connole, K-State's director of Sport Psychology, and his staff; and Scott Trausch, a sports dietitian and nutritionist with K-State Athletics; and Mike Howard from Fort Riley's Wellness Center. There, they endured weekly recovery workouts, mental training that focused on staying in the moment and performing through discomfort, meal planning and visualization and motivation techniques.
Other training included weekly 10-15-mile runs, ruck marches and pool sessions.
MEETING THE CHALLENGE
Gaudet wanted to compete to push his body and mind to a place that is seldom reached, and to test himself against the toughest Soldiers in the Army.
"I compete for my family, my partner, my unit and to win," he said.
It also puts everything into perspective, Gaudet said. If his body can continue to go on no sleep, very little food, then when he's in the field and he's getting a little bit of sleep and a little bit of food, "you can always tell yourself 'this isn't so bad. I've been in a lot worse conditions.'"
The challenge helped Nelson recognize his limitations and push past them. That is the best way he grows as a person, he said, and that translates directly into his job as an Army leader.
"It helps put everything into perspective," he added. "What may have once seemed incredibly challenging and stressful now seems manageable."
Nelson was grateful for the experience, and hoped seeing two Fort Riley Soldiers perform at a high level motivated someone else to pick up the gauntlet and remember there was always room for individual achievement and being the best Soldier he or she could be.
"I think that life is all about pushing your own limits and boundaries," Nelson said. "I think that people are generally capable of so much more than we even realize. … In a competition like this you are forced to stare your own weaknesses and existence in the face with nothing but your body and your mind to rely on. The amazing thing about this is that when most people are faced with a seemingly insurmountable task, they rise to the occasion."
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