Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The team roster is getting more and more interesting!

A quick run through the current team roster shows a number of competitors who have competed before, a team traveling from Guam (!) a team of Marines from Camp Pendleton, Ca. There are also two teams representing the 25th Infantry Division that are coming from Iraq, where they are currently deployed.

Friday, March 20, 2009

A full field for this year's competition?

The preliminary team list is being put together and it is starting to look like there may be a full field of 50 teams at the starting line on May 8.
Fort Benning's weekly newspaper, the Bayonet, will be publishing a special 2009 Best Ranger Competition supplement that will hit news stands the day the competition kicks off.
You can read the Bayonet and watch BenningTV online. Go to http://www.benning.army.mil/ and follow the Public Affairs links.
View My Milblogging.com Profile

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

2009 Best Ranger Competition

Two-man U.S. Army Ranger teams will compete in the annual David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning May 8 through 10, 2009.
The first event is scheduled to start at 6 a.m. May 8.
The formal awards ceremony will be held May 11.
The three-day competition will challenge the two-man Ranger teams in events that will test their physical conditioning, Ranger skills and team strategies. The events are purposely scheduled back-to-back and around the clock from the start of the competition to the finish line.
Conducted on a “come as you are” basis, no tasks or events are announced prior to the competition. In the past, competitors have faced events such as rock wall climbing, rappelling, weapons firing, rope bridges, extended road marches and land navigation courses, Rangers skills and parachute jumps.
All events are timed and competitors score points for each completed event. Both team members must complete each task. It is estimated that each competitor will cover upwards of 60 miles on foot over the course of the weekend.
The Best Ranger Competition was established in 1982 and has been compared to Ironman and Eco-Challenge competitions.
Of the 29 teams that started the 2008 competition, only 16 finished.
For more information, call the Public Affairs Office at (706) 545-3512 or (706) 545-2211.
####

Benning TV coverage of the 2008 competition is available on line at https://www.benning.army.mil/PAO/fbtv/video122/index.htm.