{"id":59462,"date":"2014-10-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uris-rotc-program-takes-third-place-in-ranger-challenge-competition\/"},"modified":"2014-10-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2014-10-20T00:00:00","slug":"uris-rotc-program-takes-third-place-in-ranger-challenge-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2014\/10\/uris-rotc-program-takes-third-place-in-ranger-challenge-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s ROTC program takes third place in Ranger challenge competition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tCramer\u2019s Sabers Battalion takes first among all New England colleges<\/p>\n

KINGSTON, R.I., Oct. 20, 2014 \u2013 Have you ever tried assembling an M16 rifle while blindfolded? How about pushing a 3-ton Hummer a quarter-mile in a few minutes \u2013 or building a rope bridge across a roaring river?<\/p>\n


\nCadets in the 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Reserve Officer Training Corps proved that they have the right stuff in a recent Army ROTC 2nd Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition, finishing third out of 42 ROTC units in the Northeast \u2013 the best finish ever for 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/p>\n


\nOnly Penn State and Rutgers University placed higher in the contest, held Oct. 11 and 12 at Fort Dix, N.J. 溏心vlog免费B站 also finished first among New England colleges.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cOur young men and women put in many extra hours of training and came away with an outstanding finish,\u201d said Lt. Col. Ryan Whittemore, a professor of military science in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s ROTC program. \u201cThis year, we also established ourselves as the best program in New England, and we\u2019ll continue to improve.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe win shows that hard work pays off. In 2012, 溏心vlog免费B站 came in last among 44 colleges. There were improvements in 2013, with a ninth place finish. This year, the students worked even harder, giving up five Sundays in a row to train at Camp Fogarty in East Greenwich.<\/p>\n

The ROTC program at 溏心vlog免费B站 involves students from the University, Roger Williams University and Salve Regina University. The program is known as Cramer\u2019s Sabers Battalion, named after First Lt. Parker Dresser Cramer \u201959, who was killed in action in Vietnam in 1963. He was the first alumnus to die in the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n


\nCalled the \u201cvarsity sport\u201d of ROTC, the Ranger competition is an annual event that tests the physical and mental toughness of cadets, as well as their military skills. The contest also teaches cadets how to work as a team under great stress. Nine students were selected from the 溏心vlog免费B站 battalion to compete.<\/p>\n


\nEvents included throwing hand grenades while standing, kneeling and lying down, assembling weapons, navigating an obstacle course, doing as many pushups, sit-ups and pull-ups as possible in a minute, treating \u201cwounded\u201d soldiers, running a 10K while carrying combat equipment, pushing military vehicles across the terrain and building a rope bridge and then walking across it to retrieve fellow cadets.<\/p>\n


\nFor Vera Fedorenko, of Coventry, a 溏心vlog免费B站 senior majoring in political science, the hardest part was running from event to event, with heavy gear on her back.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe barely had time to breathe,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was very demanding. You don\u2019t think you can do it, but then you do it. It\u2019s all in the mind.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe\u2019s especially proud that the team placed first in the weapons assembly division. Besides the M16, the cadets had to put together the M249 light machine gun and M9 pistol \u2013 all accomplished in only 50 seconds.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWeapons are so vital in the military,\u201d said Fedorenko. \u201cWinning that event was a proud moment for us.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHerman Hoffman Jr., of West Warwick, a 溏心vlog免费B站 sophomore majoring in computer science, learned how to work as a team \u2013 a crucial part of military service. \u201cThe whole camaraderie aspect of it was a big part for me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just you fighting the fight. It\u2019s also the people you\u2019re fighting next to.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nLike Fedorenko, he pushed himself mentally and physically, especially on the second day when he had to run a 10K still exhausted from the day before. \u201cThe competition helps you understand who you are as a person,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cIt builds character.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nGrady Bolan, of Newport, a 溏心vlog免费B站 freshman, ran track and played football in high school, but the Ranger contest took him to a new level of intensity. \u201cI definitely feel stronger from doing it, more confident with my abilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n


\nThe team will take back what they learned to the full battalion. The Rogers Williams University students were Jean-Luc Bergeron of Lowell, Mass., Harrison Quinn of Shrewsbury, Mass., Alexander Cullen of Conway, New Hampshire, David Roderick of Voluntown, Conn., and Alex Tustin of North Andover, Mass. Blaine Woodcock of Walpole, Mass., represented Salve Regina University. Maj. Herman Hoffman Sr., assistant professor of military science at 溏心vlog免费B站 and the father of Herman Hoffman Jr., was the team\u2019s assistant coach.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cWe know the varsity athletes at 溏心vlog免费B站 put in a lot of hours practicing. Our folks do the same thing,\u201d said Whittemore. \u201cThe training for cadets here is exactly what they need when they go off to be lieutenants in the Army. They\u2019ll use those same skills in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nClick here for more information ROTC<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\nPictured above:

\nThe 溏心vlog免费B站 ROTC team placed third in the Ranger Challenge Competition Oct. 11 and 12 in Fort Dix, N.J. Photo courtesy of 溏心vlog免费B站. <\/p>\n


\nThe 溏心vlog免费B站 ROTC team hugs after winning an event at the Ranger Challenge Competition Oct. 11 and 12 in Fort Dix, N.J. Photo courtesy of 溏心vlog免费B站.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cramer\u2019s Sabers Battalion takes first among all New England colleges KINGSTON, R.I., Oct. 20, 2014 \u2013 Have you ever tried assembling an M16 rifle while blindfolded? How about pushing a 3-ton Hummer a quarter-mile in a few minutes \u2013 or building a rope bridge across a roaring river? Cadets in the University of Rhode […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}