25th ID Team Wins Best Ranger Title

by Nick Duke

For the first time since 1995, a team representing the 25th Infantry Division took home top honors at the David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition (BRC), which was held 11-13 April at Fort Benning, Ga.

The two-Soldier team of 2LT Michael Rose and 2LT John Bergman were able to come from 13th place after Day 1 to win the BRC.

Fifty teams started the competition, but roughly half of those teams were still standing at the end. At the conclusion of the event, 26 teams were able to cross the finish line that marked the end of nearly 60 consecutive hours of physical activity.

This year’s event included numerous challenges, including some that competitors said almost took them out of the competition.

“That road march on Day 1 was the most challenging event that we had,” said SFC Steven Sparks, who represented the National Guard as part of Team 35. “By the time we got done with day land navigation, I was already cramping. My partner looked at me and told me we had to get through it to get to Day 2, so we just kind of put our head down and got to the finish line ”

The competition challenges two-man teams in events that test their physical conditioning, Ranger skills and team strategies. The events are purposely scheduled back-to-back and around the clock for 60 hours, allowing little time for rest and meals. The road march was just one event in a competition that also included buddy runs, obstacle courses, a 200-meter swim, a combat water survival assessment, stress shoots, night stakes, day stakes, night orienteering, and a spot jump.

Read more about the 2014 BRC at: http://www.army.mil/article/124103/25th_Infantry_Division_team_wins_Best_Ranger_Competition/.

(This article was adapted from two articles by Nick Duke, who is a staff writer for Fort Benning’s Bayonet & Saber newspaper.)

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