War Games

The ROTC Ranger Challenge is back

By DAVID DeMILLE
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

Getting up before dawn, running long distances with heavy packs and doing hundreds of situps and pushups might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the ROTC Ranger Challenge squad is a national power thanks to its strict regimen.
Last season the team beat out every competing school from California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah to win the Brigade ROTC Ranger Challenge (See Page 10 for the complete story), and the only way to be the best is through hard work.
“We start out the week with some muscular endurance training on Monday,” Ranger captain Brian Yardley said. “We do some pushups and situps, starting with about ten less than your max and going down. So if my best is 80, I’ll start with a set of 70, then do 60, then 50 and so on.”
The team practices navigation skills, practice climbing over obstacles with a rope and even carry a heavy backpack for a 6.2-mile run.
With all of that work it seems little wonder that the team is looking to defend its title this weekend.
Aside from being students, the team is required to work hard to stay in peak physical condition, and the mental aspects of being in the ROTC are tested as well.
“We take a class for this,” team member Troy Braun said. “We learn leadership skills, how to give and receive criticism, how to lead troops; being in the ROTC means learning a lot of different skills.
“Probably the biggest thing is getting to know people,” Braun said. “There’s a comaradarie, and you find yourself in a lot of activities that you wouldn’t otherwise even think of.”
All of the hard work could pay off this weekend, and the team is confident that with a little hard work and limited mistakes, the trophy will belong to SUU again.
“We’re looking to come back victorious,” Yardley said. “We’ve got 22 other schools to beat.”