Ranger training battalion commander suspended

Todd South, Davis Winkie
·2 min read
152

This story was updated at 5:15 p.m. EST on Feb. 6, 2024, with a statement from Showman’s attorney.

The commander of the 5th Ranger Training Battalion at Camp Merrill, Georgia has been suspended from pending the outcome of an investigation, officials confirmed Tuesday.

Lt. Col. Nathan Showman was suspended on Jan. 26, according to a statement from the Maneuver Center of Excellence public affairs office following an Army Times query.

“Lt. Col. Bob J. Stone, U.S. Army Infantry School executive officer, is serving as interim commander,” reads the statement. “The mission at Camp Merrill remains to conduct the mountain phase of the U.S. Army Ranger Course, which trains Ranger students on mountaineering techniques and prepares them for leadership. Showman has been assigned to duties at Fort Moore, Ga., as directed by his chain of command.”

Officials did not disclose the nature of the investigation.

Showman’s attorney, Robert Capovilla, confirmed the investigation and his client’s suspension when reached by Army Times.

“We fully anticipate that [Lt. Col.] Showman will be exonerated and that he will be placed back into command in relatively short order,” Capovilla said. “We look forward to a fair and complete investigation.”

Lt. Col Nathan Showman and other Army Rangers, assigned to the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, walks up to board a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter on Stringer Drop Zone, Dahlonega, Ga., July 14, 2023. (Sgt. 1st Class Austin Berner/Army)
Lt. Col Nathan Showman and other Army Rangers, assigned to the 5th Ranger Training Battalion, walks up to board a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter on Stringer Drop Zone, Dahlonega, Ga., July 14, 2023. (Sgt. 1st Class Austin Berner/Army)

Showman took command of the battalion in April 2023. The Dahlonega, Georgia installation conducts the mountain phase of Ranger School, including small unit operations in mountainous terrain. Students are evaluated while conducting combat patrols.

Showman, from Cincinnati, Ohio, commissioned as an infantry officer through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps program at Xavier University in 2005, according to his official biography.

As a junior officer, he served two tours in Iraq leading infantry units from 2007 to 2008 and again from 2009 to 2010, as a platoon and then company commander.

Prior to taking command of 5th Ranger Training Battalion, he served as the chief of both the Combined Arms Detachment and the Command Planning Group in the Soldier Support Institute at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.