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Soldiers eye Best Ranger prize

FORT BENNING, Ga.— Sgt. Jeremy Billings took a rare, albeit much-deserved, respite during the Best Ranger Competition on Saturday afternoon.

He had just finished an event called the “Tri-Tower Challenge,” an obstacle course combining three Herculean climbing activities: a towering rock-climbing wall (which he subsequently repelled down), a rope-ladder and, finally, a knotted rope-climb.

As he caught some wind in the shade with his 75th Ranger Regiment teammate Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Beck, Billings reflected on their performance thus far.

“Things are going pretty good,” he said. “We’re sitting in second place right now, trying to keep our standing … and looking forward for tomorrow. Day three is our strongest point, and I know we can probably come out there with a strong second.”

Sunday marks the final leg of the three-day competition, a grueling affair in which soldiers hump more than 60 miles, often with 60 pounds of gear on their back, and complete a dizzying array of combat-related activities.

The latest standings were not immediately available Saturday evening. For updated scores and rankings, visit the Ranger Training Brigade’s Web site.

Twenty-eight teams enrolled in the competition, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary. But only 14 were left standing after the first night. Once again, the “Road March” — a nighttime trek of 18 miles following a day’s worth of exhausting events — eliminated many a worthy competitor (two dozen, to be exact). The hike is normally 30-odd miles, but was shortened this year after teams began suffering heat-related cramps and exhaustion.

“Day 1 was the roughest Day 1 I have experienced,” said Billings of Team 9. “Last year, it was pretty easy. I did 24 miles, and it was easier than this year on the road march. It was hot; I know teams weren’t drinking water enough. It’s just heat cramps.”

On average, only slightly more than half of the teams who sign up complete the competition.

Saturday night featured “Orienteering,” a nocturnal navigation course in the woods — an event on the minds of competitors throughout the day. Teams were to plot 30 points on a map, then pick the best strategy to locate as many of the points as possible within an eight-hour window from sundown to first light.

“That’s what everybody is thinking about now,” said 1st Lt. Tyler Patterson, who partnered with 1st Lt. Lloyd Wohlschlegel to form Team 21 representing the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii. “It’s going to be a big graded event, so it’s going to be the last thing that’s probably going to put the top five [competitors] … into the brackets.”

Earlier Saturday, Patterson and Wohlschlegel boarded a Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle, or ICV, to be ferried to a stress shoot, a marksmanship activity designed to test a soldier’s ability to retain accuracy under duress. The teams sprinted between targets, each of which featured different weapons, from a .45-caliber pistol to a shotgun to an AK-47 assault rifle.

Competitors are expected to begin crossing the finish line between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. Check back with Army Times later today for coverage of this evening’s dinner event at which winners of the road march and land navigation events will be recognized. The winning team will be recognized and awarded a pair of Colt .45 pistols during a ceremony Monday afternoon at which Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey will speak.

See the original roster of teams competing in Best Ranger:

http://www.armytimes.com/projects/army/bestranger/08/teams/.

Check out reporter Brendan McGarry’s blog from Benning:

http://www.militarytimes.com/blogs/notebook/.

Read previous story:

• Road march eliminates 12 teams in Best Ranger