This video is of the “Best Ranger Competition” held at Ft. Benning, Georgia. What you will see here reveals the incredible skills, strengths, and determination of our modern American soldiers—indeed, the best of the best.
The competition covers three days and nights of difficult tests of strength, endurance, and the ability to keep going against the odds. It involves two-man teams representing various units in the United States Army. They reveal the kind of training that Army Rangers go through and what makes them one of the elite units of our United States military.
There are many so-called “elite” units in our Armed Forces, and, in this era, they are made up of young men and, increasingly, women who are stronger, smarter, intelligent, and capable of dealing with the increasingly more difficult realities of modern warfare. They are truly warriors of a different caliber.
The Best Ranger Competition was designed to imitate some of the terrains and situations that Army Rangers went through in some of their most famous wartime encounters and battles during WWII. It was done in honor of our WWII veterans. Two WWII veterans actually had the honor of firing the first shots to start the three-day-long event at the 2019 Best Ranger Competition.
As an old man now, with my active duty and combat experience over five decades in my past, I am constantly impressed by the physical and mental qualities of our modern American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Coastguardsmen, and Marines. The quality of these young men and women, the attitudes they bring to their service, makes one proud. The young men you will see in this video are great examples of what I am talking about here.
This event is a serious test, and the winners are truly among the elite in the Army today. It is done for fun, yet it is a significant revelation of our U.S. Army’s current elite troops. I think you will be as impressed as I was in watching this.
To the teams who competed in the Best Ranger Competition, we say you truly do “Lead the Way.” To the 101st Airborne team who won the competition, we say, you met your “Rendezvous With Destiny.” Hooah!