Inside the Army’s 3-Day Contest of Skill and Grit

An elite group of soldiers pushed themselves to the limit in a trial of strength, endurance, and skill known as the Best Ranger Competition.

Soldiers competing in the 2026 Best Ranger Competition enter a shooting event at Fort Benning, Ga., on April 10, 2026. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

FORT BENNING, Ga.—It was about two hours before sunrise on the morning of April 10 when 122 soldiers in 61 two-man teams from across the Army stepped up to the starting line of one of the world’s toughest military competitions: a three-day test of strength, teamwork, technical proficiency, and determination.

Many competitors had trained for nearly a year and had already beaten some of the best soldiers from their respective units just to get to the starting line of the Best Ranger Competition, which is considered the Olympics of Army infantry skills.