{"id":20280,"date":"2022-11-02T12:31:03","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T16:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=20280"},"modified":"2022-11-16T12:27:50","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T17:27:50","slug":"paladin-battalion-wins-army-rotc-ranger-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/paladin-battalion-wins-army-rotc-ranger-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Paladin Battalion wins Army ROTC Ranger Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been 15 years since the Furman Paladin Battalion reigned supreme in its division at the Army ROTC Ranger Challenge. But in October, Furman competed at Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia and bested 18 other small unit schools in the 4th brigade. The 12-member team also rallied to make the top 10 overall among 38 schools in the region.<\/p>\n

LTC Sarah Whitten, professor of military science, credits the careful planning, preparation and execution on the part of the team. And a lot of heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been training since the first week of classes, practicing certain events and developing strength and agility geared to the tasks,\u201d she said of the cadets selected for their physical and tactical competencies.<\/p>\n

But it all starts with a plan. Team Captain Deanna Hoyos \u201924 relied on the expert planning of Ranger Challenge Commander CDT Jared Tuzon \u201923 and Assistant Commander CDT Jonathan Bullock (of Bob Jones University) who analyzed what worked and what didn\u2019t in previous years.<\/p>\n

From there, intense preparation ensued. \u201cWe assessed what we\u2019d be seeing in the competition and tailored our workouts and training to that,\u201d said Hoyos. \u201cEverything we did served a purpose.\u201d The team even tacked on additional workouts and labs apart from regular battalion commitments.<\/p>\n

One of the components of the Ranger Challenge was the Humvee push. In preparation for the 100-meter push, Hoyos used a truck to simulate the military vehicle and led the team in 200-meter exercises under high stress or fatigue.<\/p>\n

\"cadet

Kaeli Braswell \u201924 in grenade assault course<\/p><\/div>\n

The hard work paid off. Furman\u2019s team came out on top of the entire 38-member field for the Humvee push. Other feats of strength and skills included a two-mile team run, tactical combat care, communications, cognitive challenge, functional fitness, weapons assembly\/disassembly, grenade assault course, M17 pistol range, one-rope bridge, call for fire, and a six-mile team ruck march.<\/p>\n

Battalion Commander Nick Johnson \u201923, who also led cadets in training, said Hoyos\u2019 leadership and \u201ctough love\u201d got the team through some rough spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t afraid to lay down the law and make us wish we hadn\u2019t missed a single skills lab or workout,\u201d said Johnson, remembering the added weight of a machine gun piled onto an already hefty 35-pound load for ruck marches.<\/p>\n

Being mentally tough for the competition paid dividends when it came to setbacks. Even before the competition, on their way to Virginia, the team endured a highway transmission failure remedied by a van Duke ROTC graciously loaned to the Paladins. During one of the events, the cadets hit a snag during the weapon assembly\/disassembly event \u2013 one they had practiced multiple times ahead of the competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith us being so competitive and driven, it was frustrating as a team to not do well in that event. But we persevered and carried on with our heads held high,\u201d said Hoyos. \u201cWe worked as a team \u2019til the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winning Furman Ranger Challenge team includes:<\/p>\n