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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2005
MILITARY
Army ROTC students compete in war games
BY JOSHUA BICKEL
jbickel@hansan.com
KANSTAN SAIL WRITER
Guns in hand and packs strapped to their backs, Jerad Hall and Brandon Lundgren prepared to go into battle.
"Go, go, go!" yelled someone.
Hall and Lundgren ran as fast as they could through the grass and then dropped to the ground behind a short wooden wall.
All of a sudden Lundgreen stood up, grenade in hand, while Hall, laying flat on the ground, covered him with his M-16 assault rifle.
Lundgren hurled the grenade over the wall.
He yelled, "Frag Out!," a soldier's warning when releasing a grenade.
Boom!
The grenade exploded on the ground, sending up a column of smoke.
Hall and Lundgren, both cadets in the University of Kansas' Army ROTC program, were competing against other ROTC teams
from across the country.
The University's Army ROTC program hosted the 11th Annual National Buddy Competition on Saturday. One hundred two teams from 25 different colleges competed in the day's events at West Campus.
"It's a physically and mentally challenging event," said Maj. Jeff Maxcy, director of KU Army ROTC.
Rachel Seymour/KANSAN
The day began with a five-mile run in the morning, followed by events such as litter carry, compass navigation, grenade assault, weapon assembly and knot-tying. The day ended with a six-mile队 run through West Campus.
Although these events may sound strange to a civilian, they require skills that every soldier in the Army needs.
The competition was the University's second largest in attendance, and most of the participating programs prepared all year for it.
Ben Schenck, a cadet from Southwest Missouri State in
Sam Grabill, Truman State University junior, practices for the knot-tying competition for the Best Ranger Buddy Team ROTC Competition Saturday morning by the Facilities Operations' warehouse.
Springfield, Mo., said that it was a big event for his school, especially because it was its first time at this competition.
Army ROTC cadets stand at attention Saturday during the 11th Annual National Buddy Competition Saturday at West Campus. Four KU teams competed in the day-long event, which began with a five-mile run and ended with a six-mile run.
"We've been training for this since January," he said.
Hall and Lundgren were one of four University teams competing, including one all-female team.
Rachel Seymour/KANSAN
Martin Skovly takes aim at the grenade target as his teammate, Noel Plaetz, backs him up with gun support during an ROTC competition Saturday afternoon by the University's Facilities Operations' warehouse. The South Dakota State University seniors plan to become active duty in the army where such training is needed.
The events challenged the cadets' skills as soldiers and reinforced some of the Army's basic values such as camaraderie and leadership, Capt. Gary Farley, a KU Army ROTC instructor, said.
"We say that we're an 'Army of one,' but we really mean 'one together.' he added.
These values keep soldiers going both in war and competition. Hall said.
Rachel Seymour/KANSAN
"There's no other reason to do this other than the person next to you," said Hall, Lawrence junior.
The camaraderie extended beyond schools, especially in the early morning five-mile run, said Lundgren, Newport News, Va., junior.
"Even though you're competing against each other, everybody is cheering you on," he said.
Leadership and responsibility are stressed throughout the Army ROTC program.
"Most college students wouldn't be out here at six in the morning," Judee Herring, Winchester
sophomore, said.
Herring and Kimberly Waller, Mulvane sophomore, composed the all-female KU team. The fact that she was one of the few women competing, Herring said, pushed her a little more.
Hall and Lundgren finished
18th with a time of one hour and four minutes. Herring and Waller finished 93rd in the sixmile run, but were first overall in the all-female team category.
ing forward to celebrating with his fellow cadets after the competition.
After a day of intense competition,
Lundgren said he was look-
"It was a long day," he said. "But we still have a long night ahead of us."
— Edited by Jesse Truesdale
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