Before the more than 60 squads of cadets could finish the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition here Saturday, one last grueling event stood in their way. In the run up to this event -- dubbed the "Burden" -- cadets had spent roughly 36 hours traversing 30-plus miles through training areas to conduct 10 other events on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy. Events in the competition included a squad assault, rifle marksmanship, land navigation, an obstacle course and many other strenuous activities designed to measure the grit and competence of cadets in the skills they may one day use to lead others in combat. "It teaches you to excel with excellence in everything you do," Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, the Academy's superintendent, said of the two-day competition. "It also teaches you the mental and physical toughness, the relentlessness and the discipline that's necessary to work as a team to accomplish the mission." Click here to see photos: Day 1 | Day 2.
This year, the 3rd Regiment received the Sandhurst Sword, which is given to the Academy regiment with the best aggregate company performance. The sword was originally presented in 1967 to the Academy by the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in England to begin the annual competition.
An Air Force squad earned the top overall score to receive the Reginald E. Johnson Memorial Saber. It was the service's first squad to win the competition. "We're just a weird group of Air Force guys who wanted to go Air Force but wanted to play Army," said Air Force Academy Cadet Nathan Ziegler. "We have a lot of us who are interested in doing more ground force work instead of being directly in aviation." Full Story»