FORT BENNING, Ga. (April 15, 2018) -- Only 16 teams remain during the third and final day of the 2018 Best Ranger Competition April 15 at Fort Benning, Georgia.
After the day stakes on the second day, only the top 16 teams continued with the multi-day challenge that began in the morning April 13 with 51 teams.
Those 16 teams were flown by helicopter to Dahlonega, Georgia, where the Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade conducts the mountain phase of Ranger School. There the teams conducted night orienteering.
The David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition was organized in 1982 to determine the best Ranger in the Ranger Department, but has since expanded to include all Ranger-qualified Soldiers throughout the entire Army and other willing Ranger-qualified service members from sister services. The competition tests the team members' physical abilities, mental agility, and technical and tactical skills under stressful conditions throughout three days with no scheduled sleep.
Points have been tallied, and as of 8:30 a.m. April 15 the top competitors are as follows:
-- Team 23: Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Allen, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Rolfes, Airborne and Ranger Training Brigade
-- Team 32: Capt. Matthew Thwaites, 1st Lt. Kendall Ward, 75th Ranger Regiment
-- Team 33: 1st Lt. Jeremy Dettmer, Cpl. Tyler Taormina, 75th Ranger Regiment
-- Team 22: Sgt. 1st Class Michael Roggero, Staff Sgt. Michael Browne, ARTB
-- Team 41: 1st Lt. Chris Smith, Sgt. Aditya Singh Sehrawat, 25th Infantry Division
Competitors were scored on many events, including a buddy run, a body armor run, obstacle courses, weighted carries, a swim, weapon ranges, and more on the first day. After a night of marching and night stakes, teams competed in the Spartan Run at Dekkar Strip and in day stakes at Todd Field for the second day.
On the third day of Best Ranger, the teams are scheduled to run the Darby Queen obstacle course at Camp Darby, to perform a helocast into Victory Pond, where they will make a raft out of a poncho, perform water survival, and perform a final buddy run to Camp Rogers where the competition began.
Final updated cumulative point results are scheduled to be posted in the afternoon April 15 on the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning's news page and to MCoE and Fort Benning social media.
More Best Ranger Competition stories will be published to Benning News on the Army News Service as the contest progresses April 15. To learn more, visit www.army.mil/benning.
For photos from the Best Ranger Competition, visit www.fortbenningphotos.com/Infantry-Brigades/Airborne-Ranger-Training-Briga/Ranger-School/Best-Ranger-Competition/2018-Best-Ranger.
For live updates from the competition, visit the Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning on social media, like us at www.fb.com/fortbenningmcoe or follow us at https://twitter.com/fortbenning.
Related Links:
Benning News on the Army News Service
PHOTO COLLECTION: 2018 Best Ranger Competition
Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning Twitter page
2018 Best Ranger, Day One: "35th Best Ranger Competition makes running start from Camp Rogers"
Maneuver Center of Excellence and Fort Benning Facebook page
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