DATE: April 3, 2025 3:32:24 PM CDT

Best Sapper Competition set to commence April 25

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (April 3, 2025) — The 18th Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers Best Sapper Competition runs April 25 through 28, and showcases many of the capabilities of the Army’s elite combat engineers.

Seventy Soldiers, in 35 teams of two, will complete a series of tasks, including special steel cutting, mountaineering, a wire obstacle breach, marksmanship, timber cutting techniques, bridge reconnaissance, utilizing handheld mine detectors and a Bangalore breach.

According to competition organizers, some of the Best Sapper events are spectator friendly. The opening ceremony will be held at 9 a.m. April 25 at Nutter Field House, those with access to Fort Leonard Wood are invited to attend. Sappers will be flown into Roubidoux Park by helicopter at 9 a.m. April 26 for a series of physical tests – this is the only event open to the public. The mystery event at 9 p.m. April 26 on Gerlach Field and the X-mile Run ending at TA 147 April 28 are also spectator friendly, for those with access to Fort Leonard Wood. Spectator guidance and team standings are scheduled to be posted daily at https://www.facebook.com/BestSapper.

The winners of the 2025 Best Sapper Competition will be announced at 10 a.m. April 29 in Nutter Field House, during the closing ceremony.

In 2005, the Army Engineer Regiment launched the inaugural Best Sapper Competition to showcase the regiment’s elite Sapper leaders.

To see photos of last year’s competition, visit https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortleonardwood/albums/72177720315550118/.

For more information, visit https://www.army.mil/sapper/bsc.html.

Last year’s competitors run out of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Waynesville’s Roubidoux Park where the 2025 Best Sapper Competition begins with a fitness test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 80 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains nearly 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.

Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.