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Spec ops duo wins Best Ranger Competition

FORT BENNING, Ga. — The Army’s toughest competition ended Sunday with a two-man team from U.S. Army Special Operations Command in first place.

Master Sgt. Walter Zajkowski, 34, and Maj. Liam Collins 36, crossed the finish line at the Best Ranger Competition at 5:30 p.m., leading a pack of 21 teams that survived the annual 60-hour endurance event.

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2007 Best Ranger Competition

Team after weary team, the 42 sweat-drenched competitors who made it through the odyssey approached the white banner while hundreds of friends, family members and Ranger Training Brigade soldiers cheered them on. In a dramatic show of camaraderie, the seven teams representing the 75th Ranger Regiment crossed the finish line en masse, their rifles raised above their heads, an inspired gesture of brotherhood that left score keepers pondering how to determine whose feet crossed the line first.

The Zajkowski-Collins team took the lead after the first 24 hours and never dropped out of first place, but did not come in among the top teams in the final buddy run.

Since operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Best Ranger Competition has evolved from a contest centered on skills perfected within the Ranger and special operations communities to one where competitors are challenged on the skills all soldiers learn and use every day on the battlefield.

This year’s competition was marked by having the highest number of teams at the starting point in the last five years, and with an unusually high number of teams making it through the biggest eliminator — the 24-hour road march on the first night.

Of the 39 teams that began at 6 a.m. on Friday with the Ranger physical readiness assessment, 27 made it through the road march. Six of those were eliminated because the contest can only have a maximum of 21 on deck for the second and third days of the competition.

Aside from a broken foot, a blown knee and pulled hamstring, the competitors suffered few injuries of significance.

2007 Best Ranger Competition final results:

1. Team 29, Maj. Liam Collins, 36, and Master Sgt. Walt Zajkowski, 34, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

2. Team 25, Capt. Andrew Farina, 27, and Capt. David Uthlaut, 27, 25th Infantry Divison, Hawaii.

3. Team 19, Sgt. 1st Class Billy Pouliot, 30, and Sgt. 1st Class Adam Nash, 30, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

4. Team 18, Staff Sgt. Michael Broussard, 23, and Sgt. Luke McDowell, 22, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

5. Team 23, Sgt. Nathan Anderson, 28, and Sgt. Andrew Wallace, 27, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

6. Team 35, Capt. Jeff Soule, 27, and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Hoffnagle, 30, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.

7. Team 33, Staff Sgt. Shayne Cherry, 23, and Sgt. Jeff Decker, 26, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

8. Team 21, Sgt. Brandon Farmer, 22, and Spc. Aaron Werner, 23, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

9. Team 4, Capt. Bruce Hoffman, 38, and Sgt. 1st Class Dan Jenkins, 33, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

10. Team 24, Sgt. Jeremy Heinlein, 23, and Sgt. Thomas West, 22, 25th Infantry Division, Hawaii.

11. Team 34, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Hack, 29, and Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Higley, 31, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.

12. Team 7, Staff Sgt. Blake Simms, 28, and Capt. John Spencer, 31, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.

13. Team 9, Staff Sgt. Brandon Greenway, 23, and Command Sgt. Maj. Doug Greenway, 47, U.S. Army Infantry Schools, Fort Benning, Ga.

14. Team 37, Capt. John Ulsamer, 26, and Capt. Jim Wiese, 11th Infantry Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

15. Team 41, Sgt. 1st Class Eric Turk, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C., and Sgt. 1st class Isaac Grunewald, 30, 11th Infantry Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

16. Team 32, Cpl. Jody Chandler, 21, and Staff Sgt. Fernando Gonzalez, 26, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

17. Team 5, Sgt. 1st Class Travis Lloyd, 32, and Staff Sgt. Jeff Nail, 29, 5th Ranger Training Battalion, Camp Merrill, Ga.

18. Team 10, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Weisensel, 29, and Sgt. 1st Class Joe Williams, 30, Henry Caro Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Fort Benning, Ga.

19. Team 36, Staff Sgt. Jason Diaz, 24, and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Scott, 28, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.

20. Team 22, Spc. Jeremy Billings, 22, and Spc. Raul Romero, 24, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

21. Team 31, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Allen, 32, and Sgt. 1st Class Calvin Owens 39, 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Fort Benning, Ga.

Related reading

21 teams left after Day 1 at Ranger competition (April 21)

Ranger teams begin 24-mile nighttime march (April 20)

39 teams hit the dirt (April 20)

Father-son team hope to make history (April 19)

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