Photo By Staff Sgt. Nicodemus Taylor | U.S. Army Pfc. Rothaniel Leveque, a military police officer assigned to the 603rd...... read more read more
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Pfc. Rothaniel Leveque had barely begun his Army career when life started moving quickly. In May 2025, Leveque graduated from initial entry training as a military police officer. He returned home, became a father and began adjusting to his new life as a Soldier, husband and parent. Just over six months later, another major change came when he was offered the opportunity to deploy to Europe with the 603rd Military Police Company.
“It was about six months after I graduated basic when I got the call about an opportunity to deploy,” said Leveque. “I jumped on the opportunity as soon as I could.”
Accepting meant leaving behind his wife and six-month-old child. Together, Leveque and his wife decided the deployment could provide greater financial stability for their young family while giving him opportunities to grow personally and professionally early in his military career.
Leveque arrived in Europe determined to make the time away from his family count. When the opportunity to participate in the Dark Knight competition came up, he volunteered for another chance to challenge himself physically and mentally, expand his military knowledge and build relationships with the Soldiers around him.
“I heard of the competition, and I knew it was my opportunity to push myself,” said Leveque. “But I wanted to push myself more than physically; I wanted to make more friends and meet new people outside of my team and the people on our base.”
As a reserve-component Soldier, Leveque did not know many of the people he deployed alongside. The competition put him in challenging situations with Soldiers from different backgrounds, giving him a chance to build friendships while learning how to push himself and his teammates through difficult events — from full days of physically demanding lanes and hours spent on the range to the final six-mile ruck that tested them after days of competition.
Leveque also entered the competition with a personal goal, which was to score 500 points on the Army Fitness Test, the maximum number of points available to earn. Leading up to the competition, he focused heavily on improving his run, putting in miles day after day to improve his endurance and become a stronger runner.
“I enjoy running and have a couple of marathons and half marathons under my belt,” said Leveque. “But maxing that two-mile after completing the other events is difficult and requires that extra push even when you are tired.”
When it came time to perform, the work paid off. Leveque reached his goal of scoring 500 points on the AFT.
The competition also challenged Leveque with military tasks he had limited experience performing, giving the young Soldier opportunities to learn from his teammates and expand his knowledge beyond what he had previously experienced.
For Leveque, the competition reinforced what he hoped to gain when he first agreed to leave home for Europe: an opportunity to grow. He plans to continue volunteering for challenges throughout his military career, whether they offer a chance to earn an award, achieve another personal goal or simply become a better Soldier.
Every opportunity gives Leveque another way to make his time away from his wife and young child count and another accomplishment he can eventually bring home with him.
“Deployment has been great and has allowed me to do a lot of good things for not only my military career but for my wife and newborn,” said Leveque. “I will continue to jump on any opportunity that comes my way.”
| Date Taken: | 09.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.17.2026 05:19 |
| Story ID: | 574833 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 11 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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