Best Ranger Competition

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]

  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. ^ "Past Competition Winners". Best Ranger Competition. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022.