While many University of Memphis students caught up on sleep,hung out with friends or finished homework, the top 11 cadets inthe Army ROTC program endured a physically exhausting weekend atthe Ranger Challenge in Fort Jackson, S.C.
The Ranger Challenge is a competition of military stakes thatincludes a number of physical fitness challenges, as well as awritten test. The cadets from The U of M were one of 27 other ROTCgroups from Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolinacompeting.
Of the 11 Army ROTC cadets that competed, there were fourfreshmen, three sophomores, one junior and three seniors. The groupplaced 24th out of the 27 teams.
"The Ranger Challenge is held each year and involves only theelite guys," said Cadet Maj. Russell Grigsby. "They are the oneswho decide to wake up each morning, Monday through Friday at 6a.m., to train for different tasks. They are training to be thebest."
One part of the physical fitness test, which the cadets said ispossibly the most challenging, is the one-rope bridge. Cadets musterect the bridge, have the whole team cross it and then disassembleit. Another task involves the assembling and disassembling of M-16rifles. There are also day and night navigational skills testing,where cadets are given only a map with grid coordinates and acompass. Their mission is to go out on the plotted course and findthe points corresponding with those on the map.
The obstacle course is a timed event that involves jumping overa ditch 4--feet deep and 5--feet wide, going over rope wire, monkeybars and horizontal ladders. This event also requires a lot ofcrawling, said Cadet Lt. Col. Travis Thomas.
Another part of physical training involves doing as manypush-ups and sit-ups as possible in two minutes, and running 2miles as quickly as possible. Cadets are scored according to asystem of Army standards, Grigsby said.
The cadets' written exam involves basic infantry platoon tacticsand land navigation.
Although the weekend proved to be extremely challenging, onefreshmen cadet said U of M team members were the only ones withsmiles on their faces at the end of the day.
"My favorite part was the rope bridge," said freshman Cadet Cpl.Russell Streif. "We all had a great time together and it wasexciting because everyone helped me and pushed me to succeed."
Streif said although there wasn't a particular event that provedto be the most difficult, it was hard for him to push himself to goon.
"Now I feel like I am prepared and so are the other freshmen,"he said.
The 11 cadets who competed in the Ranger Challenge went throughRanger Induction Thursday, completing water survival tasks, mysterytasks and reciting from memory the cadet creed and the request forthe beret.
After the Ranger Induction is complete, these elite 11 will goon to train with the Ranger Challenge team five days a week, from6:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, the cadets will work onconditioning through running and doing push-ups and sit-ups.Tuesdays and Thursdays, they do the academic obligations that gowith the Ranger Challenge, said Thomas.
"The cadets who went through the challenge will be bonded forlife because of all the physical vigors that they endured togetheras a group," Grigsby said.
