Georgia Southern Army ROTC earns first place in state Ranger Challenge

November 17, 2016

The Georgia Southern University Army ROTC Eagle Battalion program earned first place in the Task Force Georgia Ranger Challenge Competition on Oct. 21.

Seven college Army ROTC programs across the state competed in the Ranger Challenge in Fort Gordon, Georgia, including teams from Augusta University, Columbus State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University and University of Georgia. Each team consisted of nine Cadets and included at least one Cadet from each Military Science (MS) Level and at least one female Cadet.

Team members include David Adler, Grant Allen, Luc Aviles, Aaron Bohan, John Dudley, Sean de la Torre, Caleb Herd, Dakota Jones and Madison Stewart. Alternates were Jamie Arvey, Patrick Barnett, Tania Camacho and William Eberhart.

Overall the Eagle Battalion earned top honors in the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), One-Rope Bridge, Written Exam and the 10K Ruck March.

Several Eagle Battalion Cadets took top honors in the competition. Grant Allen, MS I political science major, scored highest with 125 sit-ups, David Adler, team captain and MS IV mechanical engineering major, scored highest with 95 push-ups, and Aaron Bohan, MS III justice studies major, was the fastest Eagle on the two-mile run.

– Their average APFT score was a 302, beating the next best team by 18 points.
– They completed the One-Rope Bridge in 2:35. The next closest time was 4:47.
– They outscored the competition by an average of nearly nine points on the Written Exam.
– They finished the 10K Ruck in 1:13:34, winning by a minute and a half.

“Our team did a great job during the State competition this year,” said Adler. “We stayed focused and gave it our all the entire time. I’m proud of every member of the team, and we are looking forward to the next competition.”

The Eagle Battalion will now compete against the winning Ranger Challenge programs from Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico at the 6BDE Ranger Challenge Camp Blanding, Florida, in January. The winners from that competition will move on to the national Sandhurst Competition at West Point in April.