Scheaffer and Venikov 2006 Best Rangers

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Scheaffer and Venikov 2006 Best Rangers

By Spec. Stephen Kretsinger
April 24, 2006

FORT BENNING, Ga. (Army News Service, April 24, 2006) – The 2006 Best Ranger Competition has ended and a team has been declared the winner of the event here today.

Sergeant First Class John Scheaffer and Spec. Mikhail Venikov, both from the 75th Ranger Regiment, took first place honors with a final score of 1304.

Second place was awarded to Capt. Joshua Eaton and Capt. Wesley Davidson from the 11th Infantry Regiment; and third place went to Sergeants First Class Brandon Young and Jeremiah Pittman from the 75th Ranger Regiment.

The final day began at the end of a long night land navigation course at Camp Darby. Only 15 teams from the original 26 remained after the night land navigation course.

At the start of the day the contestants faced the grueling Darby Queen obstacle course. The course is 1.2 miles long, has 26 challenging obstacles, and has many steep inclines and declines.

The obstacles included belly crawls, 3-inch round monkey bars, balance beams with logs that roll back and forth, several single-rope bridges, and many difficult structures to climb.

One such structure was an A-frame with many rungs up and down both sides. The Rangers were required to alternate climb over and under the rungs as they navigated the obstacle. Another was the Skyscraper which required teams to scale a four-story structure that widen a little at each story.

After the Darby Queen, challengers headed to Hurley Hill where they faced the water confidence test.

High above the water, contestants navigated a beam which held a two-step Ranger sign. Once across, the Rangers were required to cross a single-rope obstacle that led them to a wood Ranger tab. Once they touched the tab, they dropped into the water and swam to shore.

The next step of the water confidence test was to grab a 15 pound pulley, climb a ladder and ride a slide-for-life back down into the muddy water of Victory Pond. Once ashore, they tagged their teammate, the Ranger buddy could do the same course. Total times determined the event winner.

Next was a helocast and swim to shore. The Rangers were brought above the lake in a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. The Rangers jumped from the helicopter with a raft they had constructed out of their rucksacks and ponchos. They then swam to the far end of the lake, about 450 yards, and carried the raft up a hill to finish the event.

All that remained was a three-mile run to the finish line where friends, family and supporters cheered the contestants and welcomed them back to Camp Rodgers.

Out of 26 teams, only 15 finished the 60-hour course. This number is up from last year when only 13 finished.

Finishing up the day was the Super Supper were guests and contestants were treated to a barbecue dinner, and the results were announced. Several sponsors donated prizes for all the participants equaling thousands of dollars worth of merchandise.

The official presentation of the 45 caliber pistol traditional victory prizes were awarded to Scheaffer and Venikov this morning at Fort Benning’s Ranger Memorial.

For more on the 2006 Best Ranger competition, Click Here.

Editor's note: Spec. Kretsinger is assigned as an Army photojournalist with the 10th Public Affairs Operations Center.