Army ROTC cadets rise to exhausting, satisfying challenge
Exhausting. Tactical. Mentally challenging. Uplifting. Stressful. Satisfying.
These are descriptions used by East Carolina University Army ROTC cadets Josh Harrelson and Monique Stcyr about what they and their Ranger Challenge teammates expect this week at the national Sandhurst Military Skills Competition at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York.
Harrelson and Stcyr are the captains, both seniors and leaders of the 12-cadet team consisting of two other seniors, seven juniors and lone freshman David Palmer. The two-day event begins Friday, featuring 16 teams competing in intense physical and tactical challenges under waves of mental and stamina pressures. After completing one challenge, cadets might need to run multiple miles to the next with a 35-pound ruck (heavy backpack) on their back.
“It’s taking some of the most physically capable and most well-rounded military people we have within the program here at ECU and putting them into an environment where they are going to be challenged more than just what they are physically able to do and mentally what they have to do,” Harrelson said. “Everybody’s exhaustion comes in different ways.”
The Training
Cadets in the Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team jump rope during a morning workout in Christenbury Gym.
This is the first time since 2013 that ECU qualified for the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition.
Cadets began training last August, blending a schedule of morning jogs on campus with circuit training at Christenbury Gym and obstacle course-style challenges at ECU West Research Campus. Workouts usually begin at 5 a.m.
“We focus on high-intensity workouts, so it’s working all muscles and trying to go to failure as much as we can,” Stcyr said. “We’ve emphasized rucks, so just put on your pack and go a long distance with your team. We’ve emphasized that because it’s so important for Sandhurst. Everyone is pretty capable of putting that pack on and going a long distance. Our team is physically there and very capable.”
Harrelson has seen all-around benefits from training and competing together with fellow cadets.
“The military focuses a lot on teamwork and the person to the left or right of you,” he said. “This event being based around communication with one another and to the team member you have to the left and to your right is going to successfully prepare us for anything we may experience, on a team level, within the military.”
The Challenge Ahead
Cadets might not receive as much predetermined information about the challenges as they did last semester for regional competitions. ECU’s captains said they need to rely on each other to think and react quickly and with purpose.
Members of the ECU Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team compete at the Mid Atlantic Ranger Challenge Competition last November.
“We don’t know exactly what to expect, but we do know for sure that we have to be efficient and we have to be quick,” Stcyr said.
Some events are timed and some are performance-based. Team scores from the challenges will determine the overall standings.
Events include obstacle courses and races, communication puzzles, marksmanship, land navigation and carrying and pushing heavy equipment. Cadets also are unlikely to remain completely dry while competing.
“We’re expecting as a team we’ll have to get one of these Zodiacs (inflatable boat) and travel across a river or a pond to a situation where we have to rescue two other cadets on our team and safely transport them back,” Harrelson said. “We know we’ll at least have to be in the water at some point.”
The captains help decide who should participate in certain events. They have relied on input from all the cadets to determine roles.
“There will be people who do every event, no matter what,” Stcyr said. “Josh is going to be doing every event for two days, and it’s going to be exhausting, but we try to understand who has better capabilities at different events. One person might be better at functional fitness, but another cadet could be great at throwing grenades or they are really good at the medical lane.”
The team’s coach is Maj. Steve Cross, an assistant professor of military science. Lt. Col. Scott Nusom, professor of military science, oversees the Army ROTC program.
An underlying theme of all Ranger Challenge competitions is to test how cadets lead and perform under pressure.
“I view the Ranger Challenge as a varsity sport in college, where you make it past regionals and you go to nationals,” Stcyr said. “This is nationals for us. We are competing against the best of the best. We are going to see a lot of very competitive, motivated and tough schools and individuals.”
The Pirate Way
ECU qualified for the Sandhurst event by finishing in second place among 40 teams last November at the Mid Atlantic Ranger Challenge Competition.
The regional awards ceremony began with individual honors and then team results were announced. Anticipation — and momentum — built for ECU as the announcements progressed and concluded with trophy presentations. ECU’s cadets celebrated with their trophy, knowing it represented a spot earned for the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition.
“When we were called as the second-place team out of 40 schools, it was a jaw-dropping experience,” Harrelson said. “For a semester’s worth of work to come to a successful event and being able to go on to the next level, it felt amazing,”
The team consists of Harrelson, Stcyr, Palmer, Trinity Lamb, Parker Ranson, Ashlyn Dacosin, Nicolas Kotch, Joshua Carrigan, William Strickland, Ethan Bodwin, Zachary Barefoot and Warren Barefoot.
“The team has spent this semester preparing for the unknown,” Nusom said. “Add in all the other graduation requirements, commissioning requirements and preparation for finals, and our Sandhurst competitors are making a huge sacrifice to represent their university at such a prestigious event. I could not be prouder of this team. I am excited for them to have an opportunity that only 16 ROTC programs across the country get to experience.”
Beyond the obvious physical challenges, communication will be important for the Pirates.
“We do a really good job communicating, but we’ll be in a high-stress environment and don’t really know the standards we are going to be competing to,” Harrelson said. “Communication will be 10 times more important than it was last semester (at regionals).”
With countless early-morning workouts complete, the cadets are excited to build on their regional success and compete at the most prestigious level possible.
“We’re not just representing ourselves or the team, but it is about ECU and the program,” Stcyr said. “We’re trying to give more light and attention to what our program does. ROTC offers a lot of things and Ranger Challenge is one of the most satisfying I’ve seen. It’s extremely stressful, but also prepares you for tactical aspects and the teamwork dynamics. I’m pumped to go and have never been to West Point, but always curious, and I think what we’re focused on is keeping an intense mindset and do our very best for each event. We’re going to stay together as a team and we’re going to just try to show out.”