Photo By Terrance Bell | Pfc. Troy Mairs, Bravo Company, 832nd Ordnance Battalion, raises the winner's trophy...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. - Before the sun shone, they ran longer, harder and faster. “Every morning we had PT. Instead of training with the company, we went on 6-mile runs, trained at the gym and did kettle and log runs – anything to prepare for this competition. We came in with the purpose to win,” said participant Pvt. Christopher Turchio of his team.
Turchio’s is one of literally hundreds of stories of preparation relating to the Ordnance Challenge that took place at the installation range complex Saturday.
Only his team’s is relevant.
That squad – comprised of advanced individual training students Pfc. Troy Mairs, Pvt. Jacob Boettcher and Turchio – brought with them an intense sense of purpose and the bulging muscles from their early morning workout routines to annihilate the other 67 AIT, cadre and Basic Officer Leader Course teams to claim the event’s top prize. The trio finished the 11-event course in just over 48 minutes, beating the runners-up by more than five minutes.
“I’m really astonished – not that we couldn’t win – but that we actually did it, that we really got first,” said Boettcher, who was still in a trembling state of disbelief minutes after receiving his trophy. “We busted our butts to make it happen. I’m just speechless.”
Trophies were awarded to the best-finishing teams in the AIT, cadre and BOLC categories. The team of 2nd Lts. Jesse Way, Tyler Carr and Daniel Ziemniak captured the BOLC trophy with a time of 54:34. Brig. Gen. Kurt J. Ryan, Capt. Kelli Felder and Staff Sgt. Edward Peterson – the Ordnance Regiment Command Team – earned the cadre hardware. Their time of 53:25 was second best in the competition.
The competition, which began at 8 a.m., was a mix of events that were mental, physical and even tactical in nature. They included a tire drag, water carry, weapons firing, an ordnance quiz, high-crawl and grenade throw that was spread out over a 1-mile course. Boettcher said persistence pushed them to compete at a high level of performance.
“We helped each other push through,” he said. “I know I fell back a couple of times just to get my breath, thinking I wasn’t going to make it. Mairs and Turchio pushed me, telling me ‘We got this’ and ‘We’re going to beat them’ and look what happened – we won.”
“Pushing through” was critical during the recovery mission event, arguably the toughest on the course. Teams were required lift and carry 100-pound snatch blocks and tow chains around a course a few hundred yards in distance. Beads of sweat, grimaces and heavy breathing were sights and sounds that played out constantly during the event as teams struggled to carry the bulky equipment.
“If you had dropped it, you probably would have broken a foot because it was extremely heavy and an awkward object to carry,” said Turchio of the snatch blocks. “There was a handle only on one side so we had to figure out how to be a team and carry it.”
The Ord. Challenge is the brainchild of Ryan, the Chief of Ordnance and an avid fitness enthusiast. He said the event is a means to help Soldiers prepare to perform at their best.
“It’s about building tough, challenging events for Soldiers to accomplish,” he said. “The genesis of this is if you can make it physically demanding and mentally tough, you build resilience in Soldiers and they get stronger in the process.”
Ryan’s reputation as a PT beast created some buzz around the Ordnance Campus even before he arrived. He headed up similar events at Fort Campbell, Ky., and Fort Drum, N.Y., and there was much speculation he would do the same here.
“Where ever I go I try to establish these different challenges for all levels of Soldiers – officers, noncommissioned officers, warrant officers, all the way down to private,” he said. “We’re all at different levels of resiliency in life. I truly believe if we start young, and we challenge people in things that are physical and mental, we make a better Soldier in the process.”
Although Ryan’s teammate Felder might be considered a believer, the 20-something is as much an enthusiast as the general. She said it came as no surprise the general would enter the three in the competition.
“I kind of expected it to happen,” she said. “We were ready and excited. We PT together every day, anyway.”
Doing PT every day is one thing, but keeping up with a ranger-qualified exercise devotee is something else. Felder said she and Petersen simply stepped up to the plate and delivered.
“We had to keep up,” she said. “Every event is a graded event when you’re working for someone. There was no other option.”
In reflection, Felder said she thought the event was a success.
“A lot of people are hesitant to do these type of events because they don’t want to take peoples’ Saturdays,” she said, “but they’re awesome team-building events, especially for the AIT Soldiers. They are able to say they accomplished something with their teammates, that they worked toward a goal.
“I hope we continue to do this.”
| Date Taken: | 11.25.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 11.25.2015 11:08 |
| Story ID: | 182853 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 218 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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