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First Army Soldiers to compete for Best Ranger

Photo By Staff Sgt. Tanjie Daniels | Sgt. 1st. Class Chris Dumont (right), Sgt. 1st. Class Samuel Melendez (center), and...... read more read more

FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES

10.26.2020

Courtesy Story

First Army

The Best Ranger Competition is a grueling three-day event that’s held annually at Fort Benning, Georgia. It stars 50 two-man “buddy” teams, competing for the prestigious title of Best Ranger.

The event is open to all qualified Rangers, but each Infantry Division is allocated a select number of teams, so battalions within a division must first battle it out to represent for their division in the competition.

The top Ranger candidates to go represent First Army are Capt. Jake Jensen, an intelligence officer assigned to 3rd Battalion 315th Regiment, 177th Armored Brigade; Sgt. 1st.Class Chris Dumont, an infantryman assigned to 2nd Battalion, 357th Regiment, 189th Infantry Brigade; and Sgt. 1st. Class Samuel Melendez, who is the alternate, also an infantryman assigned to 3rd Battalion, 395th Regiment, 188th Infantry Brigade.

Though the competition may only be three days, the train up is approximately six-months long. The First Army candidates will train at home stations, Fort Stewart, and Fort Benning.

While here at Fort Stewart, the candidates trained five-days a week for two weeks.

Jensen said, a typical day may include interval training to increase speed, a two-hour gym workout, a swim workout, and one to two ruck marches.

“It equates to about six-hours a day of physical activity,” Jensen said. It’s pretty consistent each day of the week just split up into different exercises.”

Although the training plan is pretty intense, it’s nothing new, Melendez said.

“For me, the training plan that we’re on is the similar to how I trained in Ranger School," he said. “The only difference is the duration.”

Not only did the candidates working on the physical training element but they also utilized the weapons ranges for marksmanship, worked on Ranger tasks and drills, Ranger stacks and land navigation.

The Best Ranger Competition involves tests of physical fitness to include multiple obstacle courses, ruck marches, running, and swimming, along with mystery events. It also includes land navigation and marksmanship events.

“What’s tricky about the Best Ranger Competition is, to some extent you know there are events that will always be there because they are part of the ranger tradition such as the Darby Queen Obstacle Course, but there are also a lot of mystery events,” Jensen said.

When asked why they wanted to participate in such a grueling event, Dumont said, “I get to test myself and test as a team with whomever I’m paired with, against some of the best competitors the Army has to provide.”