CCHS JROTC takes home 3rd at Army Raider Nationals

Out of thousands of other cadets, Campbell is National Champs in Cross Country Rescue taking first place

By Charlotte Underwood

JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- Campbell County High School’s JROTC Raider team took home third overall in the male division at the 2024 U.S. Army Cadet Command Junior ROTC Raider Challenge National Competition held over the weekend at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Campbell County faced off against thousands of other cadets, earning multiple trophies and awards including first place National Champs in Cross Country Rescue, third place in the Ultimate Raider Buddy Team, fourth place in the 5K and more.

The JROTC Raider Challenge National Competition is a 3-day event held on Fort Knox and hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command. The event saw over 5,000 high school cadets from across the country competing at Fort Knox Oct. 24-27. USACC held the Challenge Level (novice) Division competition on Friday.

All-Services and Masters Level Division competitions (including the Ultimate Raider Buddy Team competition) were on Saturday and Sunday. Within each division, there is a male, female, and mixed team competitor categories.

The competition featured intense obstacle courses, a 5K run, the “infamous” one rope bridge, among other challenges; all things CCHS cadets have been training for since school started.

The National Raider Challenge Competition is comprised of 5 scored events. These events are “designed to test a Cadets’ physical fitness as well as their ability to work as a team.”

The Physical Team Test (PTT) consists of numerous items that require individual and team agility, strength, balance, and stamina.

The Rope Bridge has Cadets constructed a rope bridge over a water obstacle that the team crossed.

Cross Country Rescue is a cross country run carrying rucksacks and weighted stretcher.

The Raider Gauntlet sees the team maneuvers through 1-mile of wooded terrain while overcoming numerous technical obstacles that require teamwork and strategy to complete.

Then there’s the 5-Kilometer Team Run where cadets run a 5K looped route without any equipment. Team must all be within the 10-yard box at the completion to finish without disqualification.

Once the Masters and All-Service divisions concluded, the top finishing teams nominated two cadets to represent their school in the Ultimate Raider challenge which is a three-mile course that is broken up into an 800-meter sprint, a 14-station obstacle course, a 25-meter swim and a 2-mile run. The results from the Ultimate Raider Challenge are then combined with their overall scores from Saturday’s events to create the final standings for the competition.

Dylan Slover and Walker Taylor were chosen to represent Campbell County in this event, earning third place in the Ultimate Raider Buddy Team.

According to CCHS JROTC Instructor Major Mike Lester, overall, the cadets did well despite “Grading standards issues and penalties and additions that put CCHS behind.”

“They really had to push themselves to stay in the top three. Teamwork and effort overcame “a less than desirable start to a chain of unfortunate events and we are super proud of how they handled themselves under stress!” said CCHS JROTC Instructor Major Mike Lester.

In addition to the competition, students also “got to see military unit demonstrations such as parachute team demos, fly by with Chinooks, Paladin and Apache help, etc. as well as talk with multiple colleges about their JROTC programs” according to Major Lester.

He and cadets said a “huge shout out to all their sponsors and supporters” for this event and others.

Sponsors include:

Tim Short Ford

Builtwell Bank              

Giving Tree Academy          

Childress Contractors

Hollingsworth Meat Market

Terry’s Pharmacy

Army Raider Nationals 2024 Results:

3rd Overall All Service Male Division

1st Cross Country Rescue Nat. Champs!

4th 5k

4th Physical Team Test

6 RB (1 min penalty)

7 Gauntlet (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-10/30/2024-6AM-PHOTOS SUBMITTED)