Florida's Army ROTC Teams to Compete at Embry-Riddle
Daytona Beach, Fla., Sept. 25, 2002 -- Army ROTC Eagle Battalion will host the Florida Ranger Challenge Head-to-Head Competition on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4-5, at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The public is invited for the competition that features varsity-level Army ROTC Ranger Challenge teams from 10 Florida colleges and universities as they compete in six events that evaluate basic and advanced infantry-related skills. The top three teams will be awarded trophies.
From 7 to 8:15 p.m. on Friday, the cadets will perform push-ups and sit-ups and then take a written exam to test their Army patrolling knowledge. This event will be held in the field next to Embry-Riddle's Student Village at the corner of Clyde Morris and Richard Petty boulevards in Daytona Beach.
From 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, the teams will run 10 kilometers in full combat gear from Sunsplash Park at 611 S. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach south to the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort at 2637 S. Atlantic Ave. in Daytona Beach Shores and back.
From 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, the activities will include a grenade assault course, one-rope bridge construction, and weapons assembly and disassembly, to be held behind Embry-Riddle's new ROTC building (the former Volusia County Health Dept. building) at the corner of Clyde Morris and Richard Petty boulevards in Daytona Beach.
The Eagle Battalion is composed of 170 cadets who attend Bethune-Cookman College, Daytona Beach Community College, Embry-Riddle, Stetson University, and University of Central Florida's Daytona Beach campus. The battalion's Ranger Challenge team captain is Michael Ariano and the assistant captains are Dallas Austin and Christopher Zotter. The team coach is Capt. Dan Mettling.
The other schools taking part in the Head-to-Head Competition at Embry-Riddle are Florida A&M University, Florida Institute of Technology, Florida International University, Florida Southern College, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, University of Southern Florida, and University of Tampa.
Each year, Army ROTC battalions at more than 270 universities nationwide form Ranger Challenge teams to compete in a series of physically and mentally demanding events. The focus of the Head-to-Head Competitions is to prepare teams from 21 universities in Florida, Georgia, and Puerto Rico for the Brigade Competition held two weeks later at Fort Stewart, Ga.
For more information, contact Army ROTC at (386) 226-6470 or armyrotc@erau.edu.
Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates 24,000 students annually through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 150 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.
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