FORT BENNING, GEORGIA
OK, Team 41 did not win the 38th annual Best Ranger Competition. They finished 14th place, but if you know what’s involved in this three-day ordeal, you understand why merely finishing the event counts as a win. On Saturday night, they completed a land navigation exercise, then started Sunday morning at the Warrior Training Center obstacle course.
It is safe to say that more than 90% of the U.S. population Bob’s age could not complete even that one event, let alone do it near the end of a three-day competition during which the participants maybe got a total of three hours sleep. Sheer exhaustion takes its toll, and in one of the final events — at Red Cloud Range, where they shoot the big stuff — Bob had a brain-freeze and suddenly couldn’t remember how to clear a jam on the .50-caliber machine gun. However, he did score a direct hit with the anti-tank weapon, so there’s that much to brag about. And the video of the epic “don’t break the box” episode now has 300,000+ views on Twitter.
This is what your NCOs mean when they say, “We can get it done fast, just don’t ask how, sir/ma’am.” This is awesome lol https://t.co/QEGHJpeIHj
— ian ?? (@ChemicalFire) April 10, 2022
This is one million percent the guy you want in a gun fight. https://t.co/fW71ipdnlC
— Scott (@ScottJStephens) April 10, 2022
It doesn’t matter what team I lead, this is the type of person I want on it! H/T to SSG McCain. https://t.co/bX2I655pA2
— Pete Keough (@Pete_Keough) April 10, 2022
At last night’s awards dinner — the chicken was excellent — we found ourselves in line behind one of the teams from the 101st Airborne Division and struck up a conversation. One of the team members remembered Bob being his instructor at the Mountain Phase of Ranger School. So then I checked on my phone and realized this guy was a first lieutenant, a West Point graduate. Our boy is training future generals.
Very proud of him. Rangers Lead the Way!