Secretary of War Pete Hegseth hosted a pair of U.S. Army Rangers at the Pentagon today, following the soldiers having won the Army's 41st Annual David E. Grange Jr. Best Ranger Competition earlier this year.
Hegseth invited Army Capt. Kevin Moore and Capt. Griffin Hokanson — both from the 75th Ranger Regiment, and both of whom were first lieutenants at the time — to the Pentagon via social media, shortly after the two secured victory at the competition, April 13.
Hegseth said he wanted to invite the soldiers to Washington because they exemplify the warrior ethos, a topic of which's restoration the secretary highly prioritizes within the War Department.
"I think how you prepare is indicative of how you might perform, and preparing by performing at the highest level is exactly what we would want everybody to aspire to," Hegseth said after meeting with the Rangers in his office.
He went on to say that the best of the best Army Rangers and the Best Ranger Competition embody the highest level of competition, and that bringing the Rangers to the Pentagon was a way to showcase excellence.
"That's what it is: excellence … Our enemies know what we're capable of … [and] these two captains embody that," he added.
Both Moore and Hokanson agreed that the annual event is directly linked to the warrior ethos.
"I think competition is an extremely important part of that warrior ethos, driving everybody to higher levels and greater heights," Moore said, adding that he thinks the competition works to make the Army, as a whole, better.
"For me, the warrior ethos is being an expert in your craft. And, as members of the [75th] Ranger Regiment, I feel like … that warrior ethos has always been there; and I think you can see that by the Ranger Regiment's performance in the Best Ranger Competition," Hokanson said.
Prior to meeting with Hegseth, the two Rangers received a roughly 45-minute, private tour of the Pentagon that heavily focused on the Army's history.
"The Pentagon tour, it's great. Coming from the Ranger Regiment, you kind of reflect on what the [Regiment's] been doing over the past 20-plus years, going back to the terrorist attacks that sparked our conflicts that we've lived through," Hokanson said.
"I was a history major in college … [so] most of the stuff on that tour was actually quite interesting to me, and it's just very interesting to see everything that's out there," Moore said of the tour, adding that this was his first visit to the Pentagon.
"It's been really incredible," he said.
Held from April 11 to 13 at Fort Benning, Georgia, the 2025 Best Ranger Competition saw 52 teams from an assortment of Army units — including the Army National Guard — competing against each other in a series of challenges.
Each day saw a number of teams getting cut from the competition, with Moore and Hokanson placing first in the competition's final event just prior to being named the competition's overall winners.
This was the fourth year in a row that soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment were victorious in the competition.
"Most people can't do 10 minutes of what you did, and yet, you did it for days and days on end and at a really high level," Hegseth told Moore and Hokanson while commenting on their success at this year's BRC.
"That's why we wanted to celebrate and recognize [you]."