10th Marine Regiment competes in battalion physical training challenge

Courtesy Photo | Marines with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment fill their CamelBak’s during a battalion physical training challenge aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 17, 2015. The Marines ran a total of 6.5 miles during the challenge, stopping at several stations to perform a variety of exercises along the way. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Aaron K. Fiala/released)  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

04.17.2015

Courtesy Story

II Marine Expeditionary Force   

By Lance Cpl. Aaron Fiala
II MEF

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines with 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment participated in a battalion physical training challenge aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 17, 2015. The training challenge consisted of a 6.5-mile run with several physically challenging stations along the way.

Stations included leaping burpies, pull-ups, squad sit ups and more.

Lance Cpl. Mitchell Leach, a native of Rochester, New York, believes the challenge was about more than just physical training; it was about constantly improving.

“This battalion’s physical training challenge targets your entire body, so I’m getting more from it than a normal work-out,” said Leach. “I push myself during every training session, but something about a competition drives us even harder.”

Each station was designed to promote endurance, strength and unit cohesion, while invoking the Marines’ morale for their teams.

“The challenge breaks up the monotony of normal training sessions where we just go out, run and stretch; this is different,” said Lt. Col. Jarrod Stoutenborough, the battalion commander for the unit and a native of Decatur, Illinois.

The Marines were able to get the full value of a normal work-out with the benefit of camaraderie gained from competition amongst their batteries, Stoutenborough said.

The idea of building the team is based on unit readiness. The Marines need to be prepared to deploy at any given time, Stoutenborough said. Physical training challenges ensure that individuals and their units are physically and mentally ready to overcome the obstacles they may encounter.

“Improving Marines is not just about the individual, it’s about how that individual can contribute to the team,” Stoutenborough said.

• Date Taken: 04.17.2015
• Date Posted: 04.23.2015 09:57
• Story ID: 160961
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US
• Hometown: DECATUR, IL, US
• Hometown: ROCHESTER, NY, US