2nd CAB Soldiers compete in Toughest Talon

Photo By Sgt. Jesse Smith | Soldiers from the 602nd Aviation Support Battalion, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade received Army Achievement Medals Nov. 24 in the MP Hill Gym on Camp Humphreys. They were part of a four-person team that competed against other teams from the brigade to win the Toughest Talon competition.  

PYEONGTAEK, 41, SOUTH KOREA

12.02.2014

Story by Sgt. Jesse Smith 

2nd Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – On Nov. 24, 24 Soldiers arrived at the MP Hill Gym. They wore Army combat uniforms and carried with pride ruck sacks filled with the hopes of each of their units. The Soldiers placed their ruck sacks down and began warming up for what they hoped to be a successful day of hard work and determination. They separated into six lines with their teams of four and listened for the sound they had been waiting for.

“Get ready. Get set. Begin,” said the noncommissioned officer in charge of the event.

One team of four Soldiers from each of the six battalions in the 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, began a gauntlet in the MP Hill Gym on Camp Humphreys. They battled to win the brigade’s Toughest Talon competition. Consisting of an Army Physical Fitness Test, rope climb, pullups, dips, tire flip, litter carry, road march, small arms range and a nine-line medevac radio transmission.

The APFT started and it was apparent that each Talon Warrior was ready and motivated. The Soldiers cheered with inspiration while they held the feet of their teammates and made sure that they did not give up. Master fitness trainers ensured each Soldier performed the event correctly and that there was an equal playing field for all of the teams.

One of the Soldiers competing was Pfc. Brendan J. Rall, an AH-64 Apache maintainer with Company D, 4th Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd CAB, 2nd Inf. Div.

“All the best Soldiers trying to give it their all,” Rall said. He said this is what the competition was truly about.

The Soldiers completed, in order the APFT, rope climb, pullups and dips. Next up was the tire flip and litter carry.

The light medium tactical vehicle tire, weighing approximately 350 pounds, just sat there looking like an immovable object. Its cracked rubber provided no comfort to the hands of the Soldiers. When given the chance, each Soldier squatted down, grabbed the bottom edge of the tire and shot back up with all of their strength. Sometimes barely lifting it enough to get their legs underneath it, but each Soldier was able to complete the task. At the end, they were just glad to say they had finished the daunting event.

From there they moved to the starting line of the road march which was a six-mile course around Camp Humphreys that consisted of hills and unstable terrain. The Soldiers began strong, but the course took its toll, and by the end of the course, their feet and bodies were tired, but their determination and motivation persevered.

The competitors then went to the small arms range where they were required to assemble their assigned weapon and engaged a target with 20 rounds and hit as many times as possible. Rall said that he wished he could have had more ammo to get more practice shots, but that’s what this competition is about -- being ready at a moment’s notice and to “Fight Tonight.”

For the last event, the teams had to complete a nine-line medevac transmission. It was dark by then, and difficult for the Soldiers to see what they were doing, but they were all able to finish the mission.

In the end, Col. Hank Taylor, the 2nd CAB commander, gathered all of the competitors around in the gym and announced the winners.

“Every Soldier here put their heart into this competition, and I just want you to know that no matter what, you are all winners,” Taylor said.

The 602nd Aviation Support Battalion had won, but all of the Soldiers had earned the respect of each other. Sgt. Timothy K. Han, a command group driver with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, said that the teams were assembled of Soldiers that did not necessarily know each other, but that they learned to work together and conquered the obstacles.

“The hardest part was just working as a group, but it gets easier as you go on,” Han said.

• Date Taken: 12.02.2014
• Date Posted: 12.01.2014 20:37
• Story ID: 149140
• Location: PYEONGTAEK, 41, KR