ETSU has many organizations, clubs and programs for students and faculty to be proud of, and chief among those is our Army ROTC program. ETSU’s Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team did the university proud on Oct. 19 by winning first place in the Ranger Challenge competition.
The competition, which took place at the National Guard Armory in Gray, lasted a total of eight hours and required the cadets to complete a series of difficult and strenuous physical tasks. These tasks included everything from a three mile run to a timed rock wall climb to marching six miles while wearing heavy gear. They were also subjected to a series of mental challenges.
This event and events like it are designed to test the cadets’ leadership and teamwork abilities and give the team the opportunity to problem-solve together. Each task can earn each team a number of points, and whoever has the most points by the end of the 8-hour competition wins first place.
This event occurs annually, and this year ETSU competed against teams from Carson Newman and the University of Tennessee.
There was even a push-up competition for individual cadets to compete in, and ETSU continued with their winning streak by achieving first place in that event as well. Cadet Ashley Hayes of ETSU won the pushup competition and her teammate Cadet Micah Wheeler finished first in both the six mile march and the three mile run.
According to an ETSU press release, Lt. Col. Shawn Dodge, professor and chair of military science at ETSU, the event was a success for everyone involved.
“It was a great event where our cadets worked together as a team and fought through adversity, fatigue, soreness and tough weather conditions to win,” said Dodge.
If you are interested in learning more about ETSU’s Army ROTC program, visit http://www.etsu.edu/cbat/rotc/ to find out more information.
