Norwich Cadets Compete in Sandhurst Military Skills Competition

While most students have yet to settle into their classrooms during the first weeks of the spring semester, Stanley Kareta, a 22-year-old mechanical engineering senior from Palmer, Mass. has already had a busier semester than most.

A team of 11 Army ROTC students from Norwich will participate in the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition, a two-day event conducted at the United States Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., according to Kareta, the team captain.

"Busy" is how Kareta describes his days. "Busy, to say the least."

After being part of the Ranger Challenge team that placed first in the national Bold Leader Challenge competition in the fall, Kareta is once again training for the next event.

"We're basically training the same way we did last semester," Kareta said. "It's a very similar competition (to Bold Leader Challenge), so we are taking what worked last semester and making it work this semester."

The team will be competing against other ROTC teams as well as other international military academies, which includes Britain's Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Canada's Royal Military College, Afghanistan's National Military Academy, Australia's Royal Military College, Taiwan's Military Academy and The Chilean Military School.

According to the USMA website, the teams have to complete a series of military tasks on a seven-mile course; each team has nine members and must include one female, along with two alternates.

The Sandhurst Challenge team, which is what the 11 member Norwich team is known as, will be arriving at West Point on April 11, according to Sergeant First Class Rick Selvester, a military science instructor at NU. The competition goes through April 16.

Once the teams arrive at West Point, they will be issued their equipment, receive a tour of the course as well as attend an "international social" in which all teams will have time to converse with each other, according to Selvester.

While the team is looking forward to competing on the course, they are also eager to meet their international peers during the social events, according to Kevin Lown a 21-year old communications major from Tyngsboro, Mass.

"I think it will be cool," Lown said, "to meet other cadets from other programs, especially from other countries."

Mallory Clark, a 20-year-old sophomore biology major from Homer City, Pa., and member of the team is excited about meeting the international teams.

 "I think it's a great opportunity to learn a lot about their differences," Clark stated. "How they train and what even their culture is like."

Kareta is looking forward to meeting the British team, which, according to him, placed first and second place during last year's event. "Traditionally, the British and the Canadian teams have won the competition," Kareta said.

While the team stays on campus and trains, a reconnaissance trip took place, according to Selvester.

Selvester, along with Captain Steven Veves, also a military science instructor at NU, visited West Point.

According to Veves, he and Selvester took a two-day tour of West Point, which gave them an opportunity to view sections of the obstacle course.

Veves noted that organizers did not want to reveal the entire course to the visitors until the day of competition.

"We saw part of the course," Veves stated. "They had a lot of the other ones (sections of the obstacle course) that we weren't able to see."

The event will test the skills of the teams on their marksmanship, knowledge of weapons, land navigation and include a field leader's reaction course, according to Veves.

To prepare, according to Veves, the team will be training in Camp Johnson in Colchester, Vt., or Fort Devens in Natick, Mass., in the near future.

According to Veves, the military science instructors want to provide the teams with a fresh location that the team have yet to see or train on.

One of the advantages of the Sandhurst Challenge team is the experience gained from the last competition, since the Sandhurst competition is similar to the Bold Leader Challenge; they already possess most of the knowledge necessary to compete, according to Kareta.

 "Last semester we had a lot of classroom environment." Kareta stated. "Now we're kind of getting to the next level where we're doing more hands on and critiquing little things."

Unfortunately, the weather has interrupted certain aspects of their training, according to Kareta. "We can't train in the boats, the lake is frozen," Kareta said.

The weather makes it a hazard for the team to train, according to Lown. "The river crossing would be a bit dangerous this time of the year," Lown stated.

 While the weather might keep the team from practicing a few of the obstacle courses, the Sandhurst Challenge team continues with their grueling physical training in the mornings.

 "Monday we did a run," Amador said, "Tuesday arms, Wednesday abs, Thursday ruck, Friday run."

As an alternate for the upcoming event, Amador has a lot pressure on her shoulders. The strenuous physical training twice–a-day, five days a week has become part of Amador's routine this semester.

According to Amador, if Clark is unable to finish to the competition for any reason, she would have to step in.

"It's tough," Amador said. "As an alternate, I have to be ready to go in at any point or time."

The possibility of filling Clark's shoes, according to Amador, is one of the things motivates her to train hard.

"Following Clark is hard," Amador stated. "She's so fast."

Amador mentioned how she has started marathon training in order to be able to keep up with Clark's running time, which is not an easy feat.

"Her two-mile time is 12 minutes." Amador said. "My two-mile run, at its fastest, is 14.30."

Along with finding the time and motivation to train, the team members also have to find the balance with their academic responsibilities.

"You just got to keep with your work," Lown stated. "It's not too bad."

For Kareta, budgeting his time is a must.

"It's about time management," Kareta stated, "being able to commit to training and still getting your work done, doesn't leave much room to be playing around."