Is This the Hardest Physical Contest in the World?
August 13, 2025 in News
Is This the Hardest Physical Contest in the World?
The United States Army, in business now for more than 250 years, comprises more than 450,000 soldiers. Of those, about a third are in combat arms, serving in armor, artillery, engineering, cyber, and aviation units. Some 56,000 are in the infantry, the “Queen of Battle,” serving in units such as the 82nd Airborne Division and the 4th Infantry Division. These are the soldiers who go to battle on foot (or, in the case of Airborne units, by parachute—at least on occasion). Among them are some of the most physically fit humans on the planet—the soldiering equivalent of Olympic decathletes.
These are the sort who choose to attend Ranger School, the grueling 61-day Army course at Fort Benning, in Georgia, that is meant to push the body, and the spirit, substantially past the breaking point. Only about half of those who start Ranger School eventually finish, some after trying repeatedly. The most elite of those who graduate, the 1 percent of the 1 percent, show up each April to compete in what’s known colloquially as the Ranger Olympics.
This event is not well known. It is not televised. Not one participant is sponsored by Nike. But the Best Ranger Competition may be the hardest physical competition in the world. Fifty-two teams of two soldiers each start the Ranger Olympics. Over the course of three days, the field is narrowed as soldiers march and run dozens of miles, crawl through obstacle courses, and navigate swamps at night. They carry 50 pounds in their rucksacks, climb 60-foot ropes, and sleep, at most, for four hours at a time. All told, the average competitor burns more than 30,000 calories.
These soldiers are, pound for pound, the fittest, most trained, and most disciplined the world has ever known. They are also, nevertheless, part of what President Donald Trump has called our “woke military that can’t fight or win.” Trump has vowed to remake the armed forces, eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts and excoriating generals (many of whom served in combat) as losers. His secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, has moved to push trans service members out of the military (“No more dudes in dresses,” he said in a speech this spring) and has suggested that women should not serve in combat.
https://dnyuz.com/2025/08/13/is-this-the-hardest-physical-contest-in-the-world/
