FORT BENNING, Ga. — The Army National Guard team that took top honors in last year's Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition returned to Fort Benning, Georgia, April 7-9 to defend their title in this year's competition, finishing in third place.
"This year the competition had the most stacked teams with four previous winners and it showed," said Army Capt. Robert Killian, with the Colorado Army National Guard. Killian, along with teammate Army Staff Sgt. Erich Friedlein, of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, won last year's competition, the first time an Army Guard team took first place in the competition's history.
But the additional challenges are a natural part of the competition, said Killian.
"We're out here for the competitive aspect, [so] we are all pushing each other that much harder every year," he said.
The event, now in its 34th year, showcases the high-endurance athleticism of the Ranger-qualified competitors, as well as testing their tactical and technical skills in time-sensitive situations. Over the course of the 60-hour competition, competitors covered more than 60 miles while taking part in a variety of physically and mentally challenging events, said competition officials.
For Friedlein, the approach to this year's competition included a hard-driving spirit that didn't rest on last year's historic win.
"Even though we won last year, I came into [it with] the mindset that I didn't, because I don't want to be complacent," he said, adding that an effective team effort was important.
"Individual efforts are great," Friedlein said. "There are times that I may not have felt so well, but I had Capt. Killian to keep on pushing me."
Killian and Friedlein stood in the top 10 teams throughout the competition, an accomplishment that Killian attributed to capitalizing on the talents of each team member.
"We blend well," Killian said, about he and Friedlein. "[Staff] Sgt. Friedlein brings the technical aspect and I bring more of the physical aspect."
This year's competition featured 18 events, including a body armor run, sling load recovery, a stress shoot, Helocast, urban assault course, night land navigation course and concluded with a buddy run. By the end of the first day, officials cut 27 of the 53 competing teams for not scoring high enough to continue on, with five more teams dropping due to medical issues.
The Army Guard fielded four teams in this year's competition, with three finishing among the top 20. In addition to Killian and Friedlein's third place win, other Army Guard teams ended the competition in 10th and 18th place.
For Sgt. 1st Class Troy Conrad, of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard and part of the 10th-place team, this year's competition was an exercise in adapting, especially in the land navigation event.
"It's moving from Point A to a usually known Point B," Conrad said, "but this year the timeline was down, which means we had to cover more miles in a shorter time. Because of where we were sitting in the contest, we knew we had to push harder."
Conrad's teammate, Staff Sgt. Luke Katz, of the Nebraska Army National Guard, credited teamwork to their finish among the top 10.
"We learned to work with each other," Katz said. "We knew exactly what we had to do and if we had flaws we would work things out. If we had started arguing, it would turn to chaos, and it would all fall apart."
For Sgt. 1st Class Sean Smith, with the New York Army Guard and part of the team that placed 18th, the "cumulative aspect of the competition" proved to be the most challenging.
"These single events add up over time and it wears on you," Smith said. "It's like any other challenge – getting enough water, resting when you can, pacing yourself, having a strategy and attacking each obstacle as hard as you can."
Smith credited the same mental and physical stamina required to earn the Ranger tab with helping him get through the competition.
"Your body will do whatever your mind tells it to do," he said.
For Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Kepner, the command sergeant major of the Army Guard, that dedication and stamina was meant something larger.
"What this [competition] does is bring out the best in our Soldiers, focusing on warrior tasks and physical fitness, and making them examples that truly helps our Army's level of readiness," he said. "My hats off to these warrior-athletes who chose to take on this grueling competition."
For Killian, 53 teams pitted against each other in soldierly competition had a two-fold purpose.
"At the end of the day," he said, "we are still professionals – defending the country, and upholding the warrior ethos."