ROTC cadets take second place
ROTC students of the Jim Bridger Detachment at USU competed at the Ranger Challenge Competition at Camp Williams last month, taking second place out of 22 teams.
The challenge was constructed to stress leadership skills, critical thinking, physical endurance, mental endurance and basic Army knowledge. The Ranger Challenge included a number of different field exercises, such as a six-mile march, land navigation and field leadership tests, a first aid assessment and a weapons disassembly practice. The fitness portion of the challenge included crossing a rope bridge across the Jordan River.
Cadet Bradley Lagemann, captain of the Ranger Challenge team, said he was happy with the way his team competed. He said the team did a lot of running in preparation for the event and focused on strengthening their legs because they knew the competition would be about 15 to 18 miles.
“We come in from summer break and we’ve got six weeks until the competition starts, and not everyone maintains the level of physical fitness over the summer,” he said. “Only about six weeks to prepare for such a long and difficult competition was probably the most difficult time.”
Maj. Matthew Badell said he was impressed with the results he saw from the team.
“I think all of those who competed would say that they know themselves better now,” he said. “That’s the great thing about Ranger Challenge Competitions. A great thing about the Army, to be honest, is that through the things we go through, we get to know ourselves better if we take the time to introspect.”
Badell said the nine ROTC cadets who participated in the competition practiced by traveling to the Logan River to work on crossing as a team as efficiently and quickly as they could in the cold, early hours of the morning. He said this learning experience helped each member identify with him or herself and become better leaders.
He said ROTC is not targeted toward a specific group, but welcomes anybody who is willing to work.
“We have open opportunities for everybody,” he said. “They can come and work out with us in the mornings and get selected, basically, for the team. In the end I decided that I wanted them to vote for each other, so I had them fill out a sheet that says ‘Here’s the people who I think should be on the team.’ As leaders sometimes we want to be up front, but we might not have what it takes.”
The people on the team weren’t just selected for their physical abilities, but also their ability determination. Badell said members of the team worked out at 5:30 a.m. Monday through Friday to get ready for the event.
Cpt. Michael Ditto and Sgt. 1st Class Adam Petrone advised the team and coached them in their preparation. The nine members of the team members included Bradley Lagemann, Annie Smith, Blake Moore, Alexander Smith, Tristan Jensen, Tanner Smart, Kyle Stodmeister, Caleb Rose and Tyler Worsley.
Badell said the most important thing cadets can take away from the program is confidence not only in themselves, but in their leadership abilities.
“If you have confidence in your leading ability and you’re making decisions and the results are what you wanted, then you are doing the right things,” Badell said. “I’m very pleased with how they did.”
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