Last week, I was in Fort Benning, Georgia, attending the Best Ranger Competition as a member of the media.  The three days of events was something far more than I had anticipated.  While I was there to learn more about Ranger training, tactics, and culture for my writing projects, what I found instead was a bastion of pure patriotism and Americana.

The Best Ranger Competition is a three-day test of mental and physical endurance undertaken by two-man Ranger teams from a number of divisions and commands of the U.S. Army.  The participants push themselves for long hours both day and night, undertaking feats to test not just their stamina, but their ability to think and solve problems. 

On day one, before the break of dawn, the teams go on a run for nine miles, carrying an 50 lb bag of sand on their shoulders.  From there, in full uniform, they swim a pond, then undergo a grueling obstacle course, climbing tall obstacles, swimming in mud under barbed wire, etc.  They run to another set of physical challenges, then board helicopters and are taken to an urban combat center, where they are dropped on the roof of a building they then clear.  There's no break for the weary. They move out carrying 50 lb ammunition canisters, climbing several walls, then mount an urban assault on another structure.  All of this before noon!

What follows is team and individual shooting on the firing ranges — everything from pistols to shotguns to machine guns.  Then, wearing full combat gear, they run to where they do their night bivouac.  

Day two, in the sweltering Georgia sun, they do CrossFit, push weight sleds, test-fire Javelin missiles, treat wounded soldiers — who are then run outside of the stadium and helicoptered off.  The Ranger participants then set up and aim a mortar, throw axes, and execute three steel barrier breaches.  They travel to the river in Columbus and zip-line across to Alabama, where they then kayak downriver three miles and go back to base and night orienteering.

The final day consists of climbing a massive prusik tower, rappelling down, running a two-mile obstacle course, and doing more firing on various ranges.  They are then helicoptered over a lake and dropped in the water, climb a pole some 75 feet above the water and walk across it, crawl out on a line, and drop back into the water.  From there they come ashore, climb another tower, zip-line across the lake, then hike out wearing full gear again.  The end of the competition is a two mile sprint in full gear to the U.S. Infantry Museum.

This is not a sporting event.  It is the greatest motivational event I have ever experienced.  Rain or shine, the participants trudge on.  There are no complaints, only teamwork.  It gives you a high degree of comfort knowing that these guys are out there, protecting our freedoms.  

There is no big cash prize at the end of all of this.  There's no great reward beyond recognition.  Just being permitted to take part is all of the participation trophy that these attendees need.  What they get from this is bragging rights, the ability to say they are among the best of their peers.  The men who undertake these endless feats push themselves far beyond where normal people could go.  It is as much a test of mental stamina as it is physical.  This year's first-place winners were Cpt. Luke Ebeling and Spc. Justin Rein, representing the 75th Ranger Regiment.  Frankly, anyone who even attempted to compete was a winner of sorts.

Strangely, there is no massive stadium filled with tens of thousands cheering.  Those who come are close family members and veterans.  Their numbers are not legion, but they are almost as dedicated as those on the field.  They are there, cheering on their loved ones, following them from firing range to obstacle course.  They count the hits on the range, time the speed of their loved ones as they take on each new hurdle.  

In a world where we watch almost cartoony shows like American Ninja Warrior, the Best Ranger Competition stands out as something much more.  This is both truly American and genuine.  People win by being the best.  It seems untainted by wokeness and forced diversity and inclusiveness.  This is a sporting competition that rivals almost any put on television. 

So why is this event not televised?  Why hasn't Netflix picked it up as a yearly series?  Is it because it glorifies the military?  Because guns are involved?  Or is it because there is little chance of inflicting a woke agenda?  I don't know, but the questions demand some sort of answer. 

You don't have to have served in the military to be captivated by what you experience at this event.  It is well worth seeing an untainted contest that both thrills and inspires.  It is purely American.

Blaine Pardoe is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author canceled by one of his publishers in 2022.  He is a regular contributor to a number of conservative sites.  His conservative political thriller series, Blue Dawn, includes A Most Uncivil War and the newly released Confederacy of Fear.  This series tells the story of the violent overthrow of the government by radical progressives.  His bestselling military science fiction series, Land&Sea, includes Splashdown, Riptides, Storm Surge, and Flotsam of War.