Rookie, old pro stand tall in Best Ranger competition

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By Michelle Tan
Times staff writer

FORT BENNING, Ga. — Determination and months of training brought 26 teams to the 2006 Best Ranger Competition.

In the end, after 60 painful hours of competition, a 22-year-old rookie and a veteran who placed second in the 2004 competition stood triumphant.

Spc. Mikhail Venikov and Sgt. 1st Class John Sheaffer of the 75th Ranger Regiment raised their rifles in victory Sunday as they crossed the finish line at the end of this year’s David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition here.

“I can’t describe first place,” said Sheaffer, who competed in 2004. “It’s awesome.”

His buddy agreed.

“Now that it’s done, I feel great,” Venikov said. “All the pain goes away.”

The soldiers credited their win to their coaches and a simple strategy of taking “one event at a time,” Sheaffer said.

This year’s Best Ranger featured a relatively open field of 52 competitors, only eight of whom had competed in the past. The competition is notorious for being cruel to rookies, and it’s rare for a first-timer to win. Of the 26 teams, only 15 completed the three-day test.

Competitors push themselves in a variety of events, including an 18-mile road march, a 12-hour night orienteering course, the mile-long Darby Queen obstacle course, tomahawk throws, weapons assembly and the crowd-pleasing Prusik climb. The competition ends with an almost three-mile buddy run.

Ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have affected participation, said Col. Clarence Chinn, commander of the Ranger Training Brigade.

Typically, 33 percent to 40 percent of participants have competed before, and “experience makes a huge difference,” he said.

Also, 42 of this year’s 52 competitors are combat veterans, Chinn said.

“It’s important to talk about what these soldiers represent and who they represent,” he said. “The Best Ranger Competition is a combat-focused, military skills competition that showcases Army Rangers. … Rangers have never failed their country.”

The two-men teams are the focus of the competition, Chinn said.

“That’s how it is in combat, too,” he said. “We fight for each other. We count on each other.”

Staff Sgt. William Jarrel and his teammate, Sgt. 1st Class Mark Johnson, of the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, were eliminated during the punishing road march on the first night of the competition.

“We just wanted to come down here and try out best,” said Jarrel, who wants to compete again next year. “It’s just one of those things you want to see if you can do it.”

Capt. Joshua Eaton and Capt. Wesley Davidson, of the 11th Infantry Regiment, placed second in the competition. Both are first-time competitors.

“I feel great,” Eaton said after completing the competition. “Just a chance to compete with the guys that are here … and to finish the competition with them is great. The guys who got first are animals.”

Eaton credited Davidson for their team’s success.

“If it wasn’t for teamwork we probably wouldn’t have made it through the first day,” he said. “We just wanted to come out and finish.”

Jessica Viands cheered on her husband, Sgt. 1st Class Steven Viands, and his teammate Sgt. 1st Class Travis May of the 4th Ranger Training Battalion as they claimed fourth place.

“I can’t believe how much he’s endured,” she said. “Just looking at their faces, you can see the exhaustion. I’m just really proud of him.”

Her husband is very competitive, which is fitting for a Best Ranger competitor, said Viands, who wore a T-shirt bearing the last names of her husband and his teammate.

“There are definitely no slackers in this [competition],” she said.

SFC Viands is a first-time competitor, but May competed last year. He didn’t finish because of an injury sustained during the spot jump and road march.

“I never like leaving anything unfinished,” said May about why he came back this year.

One of the spectators at this year’s – and every year’s – competition was retired Lt. Gen. Grange.

“It’s a very, very high honor, the highest honor I can think of,” Grange said about having the competition named after him. “I’ve been a soldier all my life. I can’t think of anything better.”

It’s important for people to see what Best Ranger is all about, Grange said.

“The Rangers really set the bar,” he said. “The heart and soul of the Army are the Rangers, the Ranger soldier, the Ranger ethic, the Ranger mystique, almost. There’s so much goodness here. That is the essential part of all this.”

Best Ranger Competition 2006

How they placed:

1st: Spc. Mikhail Venikov and Sgt. 1st Class John Sheaffer; 75th Ranger Regiment; 1,304 points.

2nd: Capt. Joshua Eaton and Capt. Wesley Davidson; 11th Infantry Regiment; 1,200.5 points.

3rd: Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Young and Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Pittman; 75th Ranger Regiment; 1,184 points.

4th: Sgt. 1st Class Steven Viands and Sgt. 1st Class Travis May; Ranger Training Brigade; 1,170.5 points.

5th: 2nd Lt. Donovan Duke and 2nd Lt. John Agnew; 11th Infantry Regiment; 1,164 points.

6th: Capt. Trace Trudell and 1st Lt. Patton Nix; U.S. Army Special Operations Command and 25th Infantry Division; 1,066 points.

7th: Sgt. Keith Pierce and Spc. Bradley Spearing; 75th Ranger Regiment; 1,038 points.

8th: Spc. Andrew Wallace and Sgt. Matthew Carey; 75th Ranger Regiment; 1,012 points.

9th: Spc. Grady Smalling and Sgt. Thomas Payne; 75th Ranger Regiment; 990 points.

10th: Capt. Craig Polston and Capt. Peter Kim; 29th Infantry Regiment; 957.5 points.

11th: Sgt. 1st Class Robert Allen and Sgt. 1st Class John Guadalupe; Ranger Training Brigade; 844 points.

12th: Sgt. 1st Class Danny Tejeda and Capt. Larinzol Davis; 29th Infantry Regiment; 786 points.

13th: Sgt. 1st Class Allen Leonard and Sgt. 1st Class Nathaniel Sebren; Ranger Training Brigade; 709.5 points.

14th: Capt. Stephen Murphy and Capt. Todd Bzdafka; U.S. Special Operations Command; 665.5 points.

15th: Sgt. Joseph Defer and Spc. Joshua Huff; Ranger Training Brigade; 651 points.