On the first day of the Army’s most elite combat engineering competition, the winning team made an error that could have knocked them out of running.
For a swimming task, the pair forgot to swim the entire length of the lane, skipping out on 100 meters of the event.
Despite being upset and confused, 1st Lt. Bryce Sullenger said the duo “knew we had to brush it off our shoulders and move on to the next event.” And move on, they did.
Representing the 75th Ranger Regiment, Sullenger and his partner, 1st Lt. Christopher Barrett put aside the setback and won first place out of 42 teams at the Best Sapper Competition, held last week at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
The event brings together two-person teams from across the force to compete in a strenuous multi-day assessment of physical fitness, technical skills and grit. Competitors participate in lanes that test their mountaineering, steel cutting, breaching, marksmanship and reconnaissance skills, among others.
This year, teams moved up to 65 miles over the course of the competition, which started on April 20th and concluded on April 23.
In the Army, combat engineers — often referred to as sappers — support infantry units by clearing explosives, breaching obstacles and making sure front-line troops are able to maneuver.
The competition is modeled on the Army’s Sapper Leader Course, a grueling weekslong school with a high attrition rate that covers combat engineering tasks like demolitions, rappelling, land navigation and small unit tactics.
Soldiers of all ranks from different specialties can enter the competition but priority is given to teams with two members who have successfully completed the school and earned the Sapper tab, a patch worn on the left shoulder sleeve of the uniform.
The Army launched the Best Sapper Competition in 2005 and it has been held nearly every year since.
This was the second year in a row that the Regiment took home the gold.
Eve Sampson is a reporter and former Army officer. She has covered conflict across the world, writing for The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press.