GU wins battle, but war overshadows competition

J.D. Potter, covered head to toe in camouflage, sprinted to a sandbag barrier and dived to the ground.

After a couple of seconds, he stood and hurled a grenade into the woods, where a percussive boom signaled he’d hit his target.

“He’s left-handed?” asked a bystander – one of several college cadets and others watching as Potter simulated combat conditions Saturday in a competition of ROTC teams from regional universities at Riverside State Park.

Potter, a Gonzaga University senior, scrambled next to a bunker, tossed another dummy grenade, and then crawled under strands of barbed wire and sprinted to the finish.

“The hardest part is aiming at the target and hitting the target,” he said, struggling to catch his breath after finishing. “You only have a split-second look.”

The Task Force Big Sky Ranger Challenge Competition was a chance for cadets to compete and practice their skills – and it let Potter and his teammates regain the championship they lost last year after a 14-year Gonzaga winning streak.

It also was an exercise in warfare that comes as many of the cadets are looking ahead to a very real experience in Iraq or elsewhere.

“I think it makes them more proud of their dedication and decision to do it,” said Lt. Col. Allen Patty, professor of military science at GU. “Unlike, say, the class of 2000, they know the country’s at war.”

Several students said they frequently think about the war in Iraq and the likelihood of serving there, and that it makes them appreciate the importance of their chosen careers.

“Me, personally, it is (on my mind) all the time,” said James Carlson, a 22-year-old GU senior. “I joined because I knew where I’d be going when I graduated.”

“It makes me nervous sometimes, obviously,” he said.

The challenge also included teams from Montana State University, University of Montana, Boise State University and Brigham Young University-Idaho.

Cadets competed in events like the one-rope bridge, in which teams had to move themselves and their gear between two trees using a single rope; a physical fitness test; navigational challenges; a timed run that included taking apart and reassembling an M-16 rifle; a hand-grenade course; and a 10-kilometer march with a pack and weapon.

“For 12 hours they battled it out,” Patty said.

Chris Henning, a GU senior in charge of the grenade course, wasn’t competing this year, but he recalled last year’s 10K march, when his team had to carry a teammate to the finish.

“It’s an extreme team-building competition, where you’re all pushing each other,” he said. “It actually is what you joined the Army for.”

Patty said that members of the GU teams – there were two there Saturday – have been training five mornings and three evenings a week in preparation for the event. In combination with classes and other training, it’s intended to prepare the students for their life as officers once they graduate.

“This is a way to instill the warrior ethos in the cadets,” he said.