US Military Names Its Newest Top Warfighters

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The US Army recently held two competitions devoted to Army Ranger skills and marksmanship—and two new teams came out on top.

The United States military is arguably among the best in the world, and its warfighters proved it this month. Two United States Marine Corps snipers took the top prize at the International Sniper Competition. That comes a month after another pair of soldiers won the US Army Special Operations Command’s International Sniper Competition.

Closer to home, two US Army Rangers became the most junior enlisted team to win the service’s Best Ranger Competition earlier this week.

A Specialist Won the “Best Ranger Competition” for the First Time Since 2006

The US Army Rangers are already noted for being an elite force—and this month they held their Best Ranger Competition, a grueling three-day physical, technical, and cognitive competition held at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Spc. Caleb Godbold and Sgt. Drew Schorsch, both assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment, came out on top, marking the sixth consecutive year that the unit has placed first in the competition.

“Ranger school is widely viewed as the Army’s premier leadership and small unit tactics course,” the Army Times explained. “The monthslong course has a high failure rate and its graduates earn a coveted Ranger tab—worn on the left shoulder sleeve of Army uniforms—that shows the soldier completed the school.”

The Best Ranger Competition is now open to two-man teams of “Ranger-qualified” members from across the United States Armed Forces, and consists of three-day, 60+ hour endurance events. Though the competition predominantly takes place within the Army, it can include participants from other branches, including the Air Force Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) members.

The event, which was first held in 1982 as the Lt. Gen. David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition to honor the Ranger legend, continues to “salute” the best two-man or “buddy” team in the Ranger Department.

Teams from the 75th Ranger Regiment took the top three spots, but that wasn’t a case of favoritism. Although 61 teams began this year’s competition on April 10, each was evaluated on its cumulative performance, and the field was narrowed to only the top teams remaining in the running on the final day.

“Godbold is the first specialist to win the event since 2023,” Task & Purpose reported, noting that specialists had previously earned the top spots in 1988, 1996, and 2006. Specialist is one of the lowest ranks in the US Army, above Private First Class and below Corporal.

The US Marine Corps Has the Best Marksmen in the World

Another pair of enlisted men also scored a win at Fort Benning. US Marines Staff Sgt. Tyler Johnson and Sgt. Spencer Harrell took home the top prize at the International Sniper Competition.

It was just the second win for a Marine Corps team, and the first since 2009.

“Hosted annually at Fort Benning, the International Sniper Competition brings together elite two-man teams from across the US military and partner nations. Over multiple days, competitors are tested in unknown distance engagements, target detection, stalking, and high-stress shooting scenarios designed to replicate real-world combat,” the USMC Shooting Team explained on a Facebook post.

As a joke, Johnson and Harrell included a 24-pack of Crayola crayons next to the trophy while posing—a nod to the tongue-in-cheek stereotype of dim-witted Marines mistaking crayons for food.

The two-man sniper team competition was open to the United States military and partner nations. Teams “were identified only after all teams have been assessed through a gauntlet of rigorous physical, mental and technical events testing a range of sniper skills including, but not limited to, long range marksmanship, observation, reconnaissance and reporting abilities, and abilities to move with stealth and concealment,” explained the US Army, which hosted the competition at Fort Benning, as part of its annual “Infantry Week.”

The US Army Special Operations Command hosted another shooting and marksmanship event, the International Sniper Competition, in March at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Following five days of completion, the Army Special Operations Command team was named the winner.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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