The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Fighting Sioux Battalion at the University of North Dakota has just completed its fourth straight first-place victory at the Camp Ripley (Minn.) Ranger Challenge Competition.
 
“Our cadets did an outstanding job and made UND look really good this past weekend,” said Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Sickinger, Professor of Military Science.
 
The “A” team led by Cadet Charles Stratton finished first in five of the eight events and second in the other three. The “B” team led by Cadet Dan White came in second place overall.
 
“We finished in first and second place, which is the first time that has been done in this event at Camp Ripley,” Sickinger said.  “Now, there is a very good chance that we will get selected for the prestigious Sandhurst Competition at the U.S. Military Academy (West Point) next spring.”
 
Only eight teams will be selected from the 273 Army ROTC programs around the country.
 
“The primary purpose of everything we do with the cadets is to provide them training for what they will need in their profession,” Sickinger said.  “The primary purpose of Ranger Challenge is to allow some of the best cadets from every school to compete against similar cadets, testing their warrior skills against their peers from other schools.”
 
All 273 schools in the United States that have ROTC programs compete in a Ranger Challenge Competition during the fall semester but every situation is different, Sickinger said. He explained that because our area is so geographically dispersed, the UND ROTC team competes in a regional competition which consists of eight universities: Minnesota State University-Mankato; North Dakota State University; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; St. Johns University-Collegeville, Minn.; University of Minnesota; University of North Dakota; University of South Dakota; and South Dakota State University.
 
The Ranger Challenge is a physically grueling affair with eight events. The first event is the Army Physical Fitness Test which consists of three separate events (two minutes of pushups, two minutes of sit-ups and a two mile run). The next six events are the Rifle Range Marksmanship, Hand Grenade Assault Course, One-rope Bridge, Weapon Disassembly/Assembly, Orienteering and Patrolling.  The last event on day two is a 10 kilometer run with full combat gear and equipment.
 
The purpose of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) is to prepare young men and women to serve in the military. ROTC offers scholarships in each branch to include the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, although scholarship requirements are different for each.  There are 273 resident Army ROTC college-based programs around the country now producing close to 5000 officers annually.
 
Contact
LTC James Sickinger, Professor, Military Science
UND Military Science/Army ROTC
(701) 777-3494
james.sickinger@und.edu