Victors make their mark at first-ever Bobcat Adventure Race

Photo By Mary M. Rall | Lt. Col. R. Blake Lackey, the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division commander, presents Staff Sgt. Christopher Crabtree, 1st Lt. John Folta and Staff Sgt. Peter Parra of 2nd Platoon, C Company with the Bobcat Adventure Race championship plaque Aug. 24 at Birch Hill Ski and Snowboard Area on Fort Wainwright. Not pictured is team member Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Hampton, the fourth member of the first-place team for the event. (Photo by Mary M. Rall/U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs)  

FAIRBANKS, FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, UNITED STATES

08.24.2017

Story by Mary M. Rall 

United States Army Alaska

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska – Soldiers with 2nd Platoon, C Company of 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, sunk their claws into an early and unyielding lead to secure the win for the first-ever Bobcat Adventure Race Aug. 24 at Fort Wainwright.
Fifteen four-Soldier teams representing each of 1-5 IN’s platoons and a command team featuring 1-5 IN Commander Lt. Col. R. Blake Lackey and three of the battalion’s company commanders traversed 27 miles of terrain as they competed in Bobcat Adventure Race events throughout Fort Wainwright and Fairbanks, said 1-5 IN Executive Officer Maj. Chad Peltier.
The Bobcats competed in events that included canoeing the Chena River; running and mountain biking through Fairbanks; climbing the rock wall at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; completing weight lifting, dead lift, pullup and trauma treatment evaluations at Birch Hill Recreation Area in Fairbanks; and a trail run and marksmanship qualifications on Fort Wainwright, Peltier said.
According to Lackey, the Bobcat Adventure Race is one of several Bobcat Challenge events the battalion’s Soldiers regularly compete in.
“We do about five events a quarter, and those events are focused on building and sustaining readiness,” Lackey said. “We do that by focusing on some physical tasks, but also making sure that we emphasize our basic, fundamental tasks—shoot, move and communicate.”
Bobcat Challenge events enable Soldiers to better understand what readiness entails in an environment that encourages friendly competition, he said.
“The readiness aspect of an event like this really helps us build that laser focus to understand that at any one time you’ve got to be ready,” Lackey said of the Bobcat Adventure Race. “Sometimes you’re not going to know how far you’re going to have to go or how long you’re going to be gone, but you’ve got to be ready.”
The readiness and decision making of the battalion’s platoon leaders were also tested prior to the event, Lackey said, explaining each platoon leader had to incorporate his platoon sergeant and two squad leaders into his foursome to build the most competitive team possible.
“It enabled some team building, it enabled some esprit de corps, but it also enabled that leader to have to make some decisions along the way,” Lackey said. “That’s what the Bobcat Challenge is all about. It’s about building readiness, testing readiness.”
Platoon Leader 1st Lt. John Folta led the 2nd Platoon, C Company team members to the win for the Bobcat Adventure Race and said the early lead they gained after threading needles and canoeing 10 miles down the Chena River from Fort Wainwright to Fairbanks helped secure first place for his team.
“We were in the middle of the pack to start the needle threading, and we were the first ones done,” said team member Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Hampton. “We were in the water first, had a small lead to begin with, and then it just slowly increased over the majority of the pack during the canoeing. So, when we finally got off the water, we had a huge lead, and we were able to maintain that the rest of the route.”
Team member Staff Sgt. Christopher Crabtree said teamwork was paramount throughout the competition.
“Nobody left anybody behind, so we were constantly there with each other,” Crabtree said, adding the team was also motivated by a shared desire to win the race.
“Winning matters in combat, and winning needs to matter here,” Lackey said, affirming his Solders’ mindset. “It needs to be built into their ethos, and so healthy competition is something that’s good for the organization.”
Folta was able to move 2nd Platoon, C Company’s placard to the top of the Bobcat Challenge board thanks to the 256 points his team earned at the Bobcat Adventure Race, a standing Lackey said the Soldiers will have to remain ready to protect in future challenge competitions.
Soldiers of all ranks and positions from throughout 1-5 IN must remain prepared to compete in Bobcat Challenge events and for the top slot of the ranking board in the future, Lackey said.
“Readiness is about all of us,” he said. “It’s not just about the young Soldier who’s got to get his ruck sack packed. It’s about every one of us, and it’s about a team.”

• Date Taken: 08.24.2017
• Date Posted: 08.25.2017 18:51
• Story ID: 246099
• Location: FAIRBANKS, FORT WAINWRIGHT, AK, US