JMU cadets win the war

ROTC brings home first place in this year’s third Brigade Ranger Challenge

By Anthony M. Bootz, contributing writer
Posted on November 8, 2007

The JMU ROTC Ranger Challenge group took first place in this year’s third Brigade Ranger Challenge.

A total of 18 Ranger groups from the third Brigade Eastern Region (which includes universities from Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania) and a guest group from the U.S. Naval Academy, met at Fort A.P. Hill on Oct. 26 to compete.

 “We’ve always placed in the top three the last couple of years,” said Tyler Adams, the JMU Ranger Commander. “But it’s the first year we’ve gotten first in seven years.”

The University of West Virginia, last year’s winner, was among the top contenders for the competition, cadet Chris Meadows said.

The competition began at 5 a.m. with the army physical fitness test (APFT), composed of two minutes of push-ups and sit-ups, a two-mile run and a gauntlet of trials testing accuracy, speed, efficiency and endurance in Ranger activities, Adams said. The day ended at 6 p.m. with a 10K road march in full gear, weighing anywhere between 35 to 50 pounds.

JMU ROTC cadets placed first in the APFT, the orienteering and rope bridge contests, and the 10K road march, but fell short in the M-16 marksmanship and hand grenade challenges, Adams said.

“[The rope bridge] required a lot of teamwork,” said Meadows, who was the first man of the team and responsible for tying the knot to hold the other seven members. “It was the competition we did best on as a whole.”

Training for the competition began this semester, with Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays reserved to prepare.  Adams said the cadets had a relatively short time to train compared to other schools, and some started a year in advance. Adams added that Ranger training is meant to produce better, well-rounded officers, not to win a competition.

Cadet Young Ethridge said that even though cadets goofed off during some of training, they came together for the challenge.

“Ranger Challenge is a pretty big deal for ROTC,” he said. “Most of the time we’re training up and Ranger Challenge is one of those chances we have for some recognition.”