Army ROTC gears up for Saturday’s challenge event
By Kyle Wittenbraker
Staff Reporter

Josh Grimes says he is ready to lead his team to Ranger Challenge this weekend at Camp Bullis in San Antonio.

Ranger Challenge, which is sometimes called the varsity sport of Army ROTC, consists of six events, said Grimes, a senior radio-TV-film major. The events include a hand grenade assault course, weapons assembly, a one rope bridge crossing, a written test over the Army rifle platoon manual and a physical training test, he said.

The final event is a 6.2-mile run while wearing full gear, including a 20- to 30-pound pack.

Sophomore Will Shumate, a political science major, said the team members must stay close together during the run, because this makes them work as a unit and develops team integrity.

“We’re going for perfect execution in the shortest amount of time during the events,” Shumate said.

Grimes said 30 to 33 teams from about 15 schools will be competing this weekend.

He said TCU is sending 14 students in two teams to the competition. The purple team consists of five males, with one male alternate member, and the white team is made up of five males and one female, with a male and female alternate.

Grimes said some team members have attended several different Army specialization schools. They jumped out of planes at U. S. Army Airborne School, rappelled at The Sabalauski Air Assault School, scaled glaciers at the Northern Warfare Training Center and worked with Green Berets at the U. S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School.

Grimes said the teams trained 16 hours a week and sometimes trained twice a day.

“We did everything from running to calisthenics to getting in the weight room,” he said.

Shumate said training was split into two areas. Physical training gets the cadets in shape, and skills training gets them ready for the events, he said.

Michael Quirke, a junior history major, participated in Ranger Challenge last year.

“I did it for a personal challenge,” he said. “It’s a big time commitment and it’s a whole lot of training in the early morning.”

Shumate said he wants to be a strong member of his team.

“I’m the youngest member of purple team and the other guys have more experience,” he said. “I don’t want to make any rookie mistakes.”