RELEASE NUMBER: 130620-01
DATE POSTED: JUNE 20, 2013
Fort Campbell Special Operations units welcome challenge
By: Staff Sgt. Barbara Ospina
5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Public Affairs
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (USASOC News Service, June 20, 2013) – An adult sporting a neon rainbow mow hawk or an oversized colorful tutu may attain disapproving glances in many societies, but it is a motivator to others.
On any given weekend across the nation you can find Americans of all shapes, sizes and fitness levels wearing their personalities as they participate in a vast variety of fun runs or fitness competitions from Tough Mudders and mud runs to foam festivals. There is a boom of these recently popular events that not only support physical fitness within society but contribute to many non-profit organizations at the same time.
The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) joined efforts to host what they labeled the Special Operations Forces Warrior Challenge at Fort Campbell, Ky. June 8. The event was part of the Morale Welfare and Recreation’s Eagle Challenge Fitness Tour.
More than 300 adults participated in the 12-kilometer race designed to mentally and physically challenge any level of participant. The course wound through timber and consisted of numerous obstacles along the route to include a downed helicopter, a rope ladder and walls with mud pits everywhere you turned.
The units added their own military flare by including simulated gunfire and smoke as the participants finished the last corner of the trail. They thoughtfully provided a smaller 8-kilometer race that did not include the simulated combat experience at the end for anyone who preferred not to take part in that section of the course.
The feedback regarding the event was extremely positive with many individuals raising the question if there would be another one in the near future.
Falling in line with their priorities, the units made the elaborate event a family affair. They included a smaller Junior SOF Warrior course for children eight years old and older. The junior warriors enthusiastically tackled obstacles like the stutter-step tire obstacle and a mud pit low crawl in between inflatable obstacle courses. This course was small but considerately designed to allow the children to get a feel for a real mud run and be included in the fun.
The race was open to anyone who wanted to register and participate. According to MWR the trail-run type event through ragged terrain and included obstacles that focused on the spirit and mindset of a Special Operations Soldier was a success.