Best Ranger 2006 starts April 21

[agonyea]

Best Ranger contest nears
Grueling events wear teams down over 60 hours
BY MICK WALSH
Staff Writer
In one week, the 23rd renewal of the grueling, three-day Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition starts at Fort Benning.

Set your alarms early for April 21 if you want to watch the first event. The show begins at 6 a.m.

The competition runs through late Sunday, with a formal awards ceremony scheduled for April 24.

Of the 23 two-man teams that started the 2005 competition, only 11 finished. Capt. Corbett McCallum and Sgt. 1st Class Gerald Nelson, then members of the 4th Ranger Training Battalion, finished first.

Only twice since it began in 1982 has the Best Ranger Competition been scrubbed. The first time was in 1991 because of Desert Storm; the second was in 2003 because of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The competition challenges two-man Ranger 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 competition is conducted with no tasks or events announced prior to the competition. In the past, these events have included weapons firing, extended road marches and land navigation courses, Ranger skills and parachute jumps. All events are timed and competitors score points for each completed event. Both team members must complete each task.