From a distance they appear as packs of ghosts walking the dry yellow hills and valleys of San Luis Obispo on a dim Saturday morning. But as the sun lit the horizon, the camouflage on the Army combat uniform slowly became apparent.
The Fighting Mustang Battalion, representing Cal Poly’s Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) in the annual Ranger Challenge was hosted this year by the University of Santa Barbara and held at National Guard base, Camp San Luis Obispo.
“It feels good, it feels good. this ain’t hurt,” echoed the chant of a Fighting Mustang cadet making his way up the hill with his team. “Keep your weapons at-the-ready,” shouted an officer from the sideline as the team marched up a hill.
Crossing the final finish line, the Fighting Mustang Battalion led by team captain and political science junior Timothy Roberts, finished two places short of retaining the 2008 Ranger Challenge trophy, but came out with a ribbon in land navigation and third overall.
“Considering we have an extremely young team, I think we finished pretty good. We worked our butts off to get here,” Roberts said.
Last year’s challengers, UC Santa Barbara and UCLA, finished first and runner-up. Fresno State and California State University Northridge came in behind Cal Poly.
The Ranger Challenge is an annual competition between ROTC programs where cadet volunteers test their leadership skills and physical and mental capabilities.
“It’s a great team builder; there is a lot of bragging rights that go with it. All the effort, all the time that these kids have put into (this challenge) puts out a pretty good product,” said Master Sgt. Mark Byrd. “The chest sticks out a little further. You can see the pride after the accomplishment of everything.”
Cal Poly’s Fighting Mustang Battalion have won the previous two Ranger Challenges.
The ROTC is a college-based program set up to commission officers into the Army, Army National Guard or the Army Reserve upon graduation. Highly emphasizing developing leadership skills, the program sets to prepare cadets for leadership roles during their committed time to the Army.
Cadet and industrial technology junior Brian Kitahara said he joined the ROTC because of his familiarity with the military culture due to his father who recently retired from the Army. “It’s somewhere where I feel at home,” Kitihara said.
Kitahara was one of two cadets on the team this year that competed in previous Ranger Challenges. Cadet and construction management senior Matt Nichols was the other.
A cool Saturday morning quickly turned into an 81 degree day. The day would only get hotter with the following events.
The first event, the Army physical fitness test (APFT) took place at sunrise. The test required each cadet to go through a grueling routine; two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups, and a two-mile run, dominated by Fresno cadet with a final time of 10:29.
Afterward, the Fighting Mustangs made their way across the vast land of Camp San Luis Obispo to their next location to complete the M-16 marksmanship event. There they shot live ammo at targets of different sizes and various distances.
Next, the group took refuge under the shade of a tree and fueled up on Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE), a self-contained individual food ration typically eaten in the Army, while they waited for the next event, a hand-grenade event.
The objective was to run to cover and throw mock grenades at targets within a five-meter radius. Five meters is the kill radius for a grenade, the cadets said.
With the sun at its peak, the Fighting Mustangs went to a land navigation course, an event they have dominated for years due to the proximity of Camp San Luis Obispo.
While waiting for their next event, they learned about a hill fire that happened during the marksmanship event. As a result of the fire, three teams could not compete, including UC Santa Barbara. This was a blow to the Fighting Mustangs who performed well at the marksmanship event and were counting on the remaining teams to perform poorly.
Throughout the challenge there were many volunteers from the Cal Poly ROTC program. Among them was cadet and mechanical engineering sophomore David Sherin.
“I was on the team until I injured my knee, so I couldn’t prepare for the road march. The least I can do is show up and help,” Sherin said.
Crossing the finish line was a huge relief for Kitahara. He said that his exhaustion was worse than being hung over.
“Now I don’t have to worry about it for at least a year, and I can get some sleep on weekdays,” Kitahara said.
Despite finishing in third, Bryd saw this as a lesson for the team to grow and improve for next year and for future leadership roles.
“Your soldiers are going to be in this boat. Guess who is going to be the ones to pick them up? Guess who is going to be the one to keep them moving?” Byrd said. “This is what it’s all about: leadership, teamwork.”