Army ROTC qualifies for competition at West Point for first time

Eleven members of Liberty University’s Army ROTC Eagle Battalion worked together to place second in the 4th Brigade Army ROTC Ranger Challenge competition held Oct. 14-15 at Fort AP Hill in Bowling Green, Va. The team competed against 37 other programs from the region, which spans from South Carolina to West Virginia and Delaware. With its finish, the battalion has qualified to attend the Sandhurst Competition hosted by the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in April.

“This is the first time in LU Army ROTC history that the Ranger Challenge team will get to compete against every other school ROTC unit in the nation (that ranked in the top two in their respective region),” said Sgt. First Class Juan Hernandez, a Liberty ROTC instructor.

The competition was conducted over two days on a non-tactical course, with participating teams graded in nine events, including a six-mile rucking event. According to its website, the mission of the event is to challenge cadets’ mental and physical toughness and to develop leadership while fostering teamwork and esprit-de-corps. Cadets took a written land navigation test followed by day and night orienteering exercises, basic rifle marksmanship, a grenade assault course, M16 disassembly and assembly competitions, and Army Physical Fitness Tests (APFTs).

Liberty placed fourth out of 38 college programs from the brigade at the event last spring.