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Best Ranger kicks off at Benning

FORT BENNING, Ga. — The stage is set for another three-day demonstration of mental endurance, physical strength and searing pain among contestants in the annual Best Ranger Competition.

Forty-nine teams began the day at dawn Friday with a four-mile buddy run and a headlong dive into the challenging Darby Queen obstacle course.

The starting point was a departure from all recent competitions, which have kicked off at Malvesti Field near the Ranger Training Brigade with push-ups, sit-ups and a crawl in cold water under low-slung barbed wire in the worm pit.

The grueling, 60-hour competition was first held in 1982 and has only been canceled twice — once during Desert Storm in 1991 and at the start of operations in Iraq in 2003.

Several other changes will mix things up this year, including a canoeing event down the Chattahoochee River in Columbus that begins at 2 p.m. Sunday. Contestants will cross the finish line about 4 p.m. Sunday at the Freedom Hall terminal at Lawson Army Airfield, where thousands of soldiers pass through each year while deploying and redeploying to and from Iraq.

The competition has taken a turn to reflect the current operational environment in the war zones. It now includes combat lifesaving events under the threat of simulated suicide bombings and smoke, and stress shoots where soldiers fire a variety of weapons while simultaneously run and carry out other tasks.

On Saturday morning, after the first night foot march of the event, those left standing will go on to Ranger day stakes at Todd Field for a variety of events that test soldiers’ warrior skills.

Here is the roster of soldiers who began the Best Ranger Competition on Friday morning.

• 1. Staff Sgt. Mitchell Tisserand

Capt. Aaron Chonko

5th Ranger Training Battalion

• 2. 1st Lt. Randall Stanford

Staff Sgt. James Hoffman

Warrior Training Center

• 3. Master Gunnery Sgt. Charles Padilla

Sgt. Chris Baumgartner

U.S. Marine Corps

• 4. 1st Sgt. Jerimiah Gan

1st Lt. James Lostroscio

3rd Infantry Division

• 5. Sgt. 1st Class Derek Wise

Sgt. David Paul

25th Infantry Division

• 6. Staff Sgt. Matthew Royalty

Sgt. Thomas Hershfield

6th Ranger Training Battalion

• 7. Sgt. Michael Malchow

Sgt. Jesse Collins

75th Ranger Regiment

• 8. Staff Sgt. Brandon Farmer

Staff Sgt. Luke McDowell

75th Ranger Regiment

• 9. Capt. Eric Lo

1st Lt. Mason Ward

101st Airborne Division

• 10. Maj. Craig Gendreau

Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Wall

95th Civil Affairs Brigade

• 11. Capt A. Britton Crafton

Spc. Skirik Tyler

1st Battalion, 29th Infantry

• 12. 1st Lt. Travis Stutes

Sgt. Andres Lazo

Joint Readiness Training Center

• 13. Capt. Stephen Magennis

Capt. Todd Tompkins

Maneuver Captains Career Course

• 14. Staff Sgt. Matthew Delisle

Sgt. 1st Class Oracio Pena

3rd Infantry Division

• 15. Staff Sgt. Raylan Heck

Staff Sgt. Adam Angrisanio

6th Ranger Training Battalion

• 16. Sgt. Edward Killmeier

Spc. Michael Pierce

75th Ranger Regiment

• 17. Cpl. Matthew Healy

Sgt. Keith Pierce

75th Ranger Regiment

• 18. 1st Lt. Matthew Keaton

Capt. Daniel Stephens

101st Airborne Division

• 19. Maj. Pete Kranenburg

Sgt. 1st Class John Przytulski

1st Special Warfare Training Group

• 20. Sgt. 1st Class Blake Simms

Sgt. 1st Class Chad Stackpole

4th Ranger Training Battalion

• 21. Master Sgt. Walter Zajkowski

Master Sgt. Daniel Jenkins

U.S. Special Operations Command

• 22. Master Sgt. Eric Turk

Sgt. Maj. Jesse Boettcher

U.S. Special Operations Command

• 23. Maj. Jose Salinas

Maj. Edward Sedlock

199th Training Brigade

• 24. Capt. Burton Eissler

Capt. Anthony Smith

199th Training Brigade

• 25. Capt. Ronald Garberson

Capt. Anthony Aguilar

U.S. Special Operations Command

• 26. Staff Sgt. Benjamin Hunter

Staff Sgt. Ian Hunter

75th Ranger Regiment

• 27. 1st Lt. Grant Barge

Capt. Robert Killian

10th Mountain Division

• 28. Sgt. Jeremy Billings

Cpl. Troy Jenkins

75th Ranger Regiment

• 29. Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Vazzana

Capt. Jason Hetzel

95th Civil Affairs Brigade

• 30. Staff Sgt. Michael Mutchie

Staff Sgt. Miguel Antia

4th Ranger Training Battalion

• 31. Capt. Michael Carrion

Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Cook

5th Ranger Training Battalion

• 32. 1st Lt. Chris Migliaro

Sgt. 1st Class Jordan Martell

4th Infantry Division

• 33. 1st Lt. Lauren Gore

1st Lt. Benjamin Juvinall

1st Infantry Division

• 34. Staff Sgt. Anthony Fuentes

Capt. David Cochrane

6th Ranger Training Battalion

• 35. Staff Sgt. Timothy DeLeon

Sgt. Grant McGarry

75th Ranger Regiment

• 36. Capt. Josh Norton

Staff Sgt. Chris Malone

3rd Infantry Regiment Old Guard

• 37. 1st Lt. Anthony Kivlehan

1st Lt. Alex Armstrong

4th Infantry Division

• 38. Sgt. Eric Johnson

Sgt. Joshua A.H. Jobe

95th Civil Affairs Brigade

• 39. Capt. Ryan Hamel

1st Lt. Derrick Anderson

3rd Infantry Regiment Old Guard

• 40. Staff Sgt. Zenas Shrestha

Staff Sgt. Tony Eshoo

4th Ranger Training Battalion

• 41. Sgt. Alan Leggitt

Capt. Daniel Talmadge

Joint Readiness Training Center

• 42. 1st Lt. Thomas Halverson

1st Lt. Michael Luth

4th Infantry Division

• 43. Sgt. 1st Class Cedric King

Staff Sgt. Rommel Hurtado

199th Training Brigade

• 44. Capt. Lloyd Wohlschlegel

1st Lt. Raymond Kuderka

25th Infantry Division

• 45. 1st Sgt. Robert Carter

Capt. Samuel Linn

2nd Infantry Division

• 46. Sgt. 1st Class William Greenwood

Staff Sgt. Jeremy Cook

75th Ranger Regiment

• 47. Capt. Cully Neal

Capt. Michael Hamilton

1st Infantry Division

• 48. Sgt. 1st Class Mark Breyak

Sgt. 1st Class Steve Fields

Special Warfare Group NCO Academy

• 49. Capt. John Burkhart

Capt. Micah Niebauer

199th Training Brigade