Photo By Staff Sgt. James Bunn | Brig. Gen. Kurt Ryan, commanding general of the 593rd Sustainment Command...... read more read more
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By Sgt. James J. Bunn
EUNUMCLAW, Wash. - People sometimes equate accomplishing a goal with climbing a mountain. When someone overcomes a particularly challenging task they might say, “I’ve reached the top.”
Soldiers from the 593rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) experienced that saying, quite literally, as they raced to the top of Crystal Mountain in the Rest Assured Challenge III June 20 at Crystal Mountain Resort, Washington.
The event helped Soldiers develop resilience through a physical and mental challenge. Approximately 500, 593rd ESC Soldiers started at the bottom of the mountain and traversed a six-mile trail with a 2,400-foot rise in elevation.
“We do these challenges to build resilience in each and every one of us,” said Brig. Gen. Kurt Ryan, 593rd ESC commanding general. “We do them so that when we get the call to fight we’re ready.”
“When you see the medals at the top, remember that’s not the prize,” he added. “That’s just metal and some ribbon. The prize is the mental and physical toughness you will build today.”
“When you have your toughest fights in the future you’ll reflect back to this physical event, this mental challenge and you’ll say ‘I can do it.’”
Before teams could compete in the challenge, they had to meet certain qualifying expectations. A week before the event, the 593rd held a qualifying hike around Joint Base Lewis-McChord, not only to help condition the teams, but also to decide start times for each team.
“To prepare for the event my team did six, six-mile hikes that increased in difficulty, and then we did the qualifying hike,” said Sgt. James Pendergast, a motor pool clerk. “Before starting this challenge, I would tell someone to prepare themselves by allowing plenty of time to train, so when it comes time to face the challenge you can rise to the top.”
Pendergast said no matter how hard a task may seem, setting goals allows one to draw motivation from them to overcome the challenges.
This was the third Rest Assured challenge since Ryan took command of the unit 24 months ago. The first one was a triathlon on JBLM and the second one was the Seattle Marathon. For some Soldiers, this was their first challenge with the unit, while others have competed in all three.
Cpt. Nathan Ratliff, 593rd ESC Aide de Camp, is one of the latter. He said the challenges are inherently difficult so Soldiers can build resilience for whatever life “throws at them.”
“These challenges help build physical, mental and spiritual resilience but also teach other valuable skills like planning and risk mitigation,” he added. “It prepares you for both military life and when you are off duty. It teaches you to be successful at whatever you do.”
At the finish line Ratliff said the challenge of climbing Crystal Mountain met every expectation he had.
“The basic fundamentals of the Rest Assured Challenge is to build resilience, to get Soldiers out to see what’s around here and to build esprit de corps,” said Ratliff. “I think this is a really important tradition for us to keep doing because it not only builds our military team, it also get us out into the community so we can build strong ties with them too.”
As teams crossed the finish line it was not about first place or last place, it was about overcoming a tough challenge and developing character strengths needed to be successful in the future.
“This challenge is a good lesson to take into your life,” said Ratliff. “There’s always ups and downs but, there is always an end to every trial.”
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2015 20:50 |
| Story ID: | 167721 |
| Location: | EUNUMCLAW, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 376 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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