Best Ranger Competition ends for 2012
Photo from the Fort Bragg Patch by Kelly Twedell
Usually COB6 writes these posts, but since he’s at his undisclosed location these days, it’s up to me. Luckily, Beretverde reminded me of the competition this last weekend at Fort Benning as reported in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer;
The team of Master Sgt. Kevin Foutz and Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Payne of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command headquartered at Fort Bragg won the David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition Sunday at Fort Benning, but the loudest cheers from the crowd watching were for 1st Lt. Austin Riker.
Riker, who was paired with Staff Sgt. Justin VanZant, were not among the top teams, but nobody’s efforts were more appreciated.
Riker was competing in the grueling three-day event just seven months after being wounded in Afghanistan. He was hit by shrapnel and received a second Purple Heart. His first came when he was wounded and suffered a serious back injury also in Afghanistan.
Finishing second in the competition was the Ranger Training Brigade (Fort Benning) team of Staff Sgt. Raymond Santiago and Staff Sgt. Chad Acton. In third was the team of Staff Sgt. Matt Madiar and Sgt. 1st Class Zach Phillips of the National Guard.
All NCOs in the top teams this year. Where have all of the studly officers gone?
Category: Military issues
Give me two years, I’ll be there.
That LT deserves a lot of respect. I would give a minimum trainup time of at least a year for the BRC with a fresh body, and this dude did it in less than seven months after being wounded. That’s impressive.
That’s the stuff that gives me goosebumps!