The first half of Cadet Basic Training for the Class of 2018 came to an end today with the six-site Walker Challenge. Named for 1LT Laura Walker ’03, who was killed in action in 2005 while serving in Afghanistan, this squad challenge tested new cadets on the skills they have acquired since R-Day: plebe knowledge, military ethics, medical training, basic rifle marksmanship, communication, incident response and physical training. Site #4, for example, had the new cadets performing pull-ups, carrying weighted items, flipping a LMTV’s tire, and executing flutter kicks while passing an ASSLT pack between squad members. “Teamwork is the key to this site,” said CDT George Ozga ’15, Delta Company Commander, the CBT company running the site. Squads were also timed on how long it took them to run from site to site on a course totaling 2.5 miles. At the end of the challenge, squads reflected on the accomplishments of 1LT Walker at a makeshift memorial along the Hudson River. The memorial emphasized four aspects of 1LT Walker’s life: athlete, scholar, soldier and leader. “That’s USMA’s complex mission in four words,” said a new cadet from Delta 1-1, “and that’s what each one of us will be developing into as we continue here over the next 47 months.”