Junior ROTC Cadets Test Teamwork, Endurance at National Raider Challenge

U.S. Army Cadet Command hosted the Junior ROTC National Raider Challenge at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Oct. 22-25, bringing in approximately 4,000 cadets from across the country to compete for national titles.

The event was created in 2023 to give cadets a centrally located premier competition.

"[The challenge] is really good for leader[ship] development," said Aaron Hinkle, a cadet from Leavenworth High School in Leavenworth, Kansas. "[It] makes you responsible for other people. It lets you become the person you want to be. I believe that everyone who does [this] will end up becoming a better citizen for our country."

Throughout the competition, cadets negotiated obstacle courses, ran more than 3 miles, tested their knowledge gained through Junior ROTC and built a rope bridge in a timed event.

"I think that my team's commitment sets us apart," said Christian Smith, a cadet from Adairsville High School in Adairsville, Georgia. "We give up mornings, nights and weekends. We want to compete and you have to want 'it' if you want to win."

The competition is divided into three divisions — challenge, masters and all-service. The challenge division competed Oct. 23 and was comparable to junior varsity level high school sports. The masters division competed the next day and was the equivalent of the varsity level, filled with teams that had historically excelled at challenge events.

Competing alongside the masters division were Junior ROTC programs from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard, in the all-service division.

The top five teams in each category — male, female and mixed — in the masters division and the top three in each all-service category qualified to compete in the ultimate challenge event. These 24 teams navigated a 4.2-mile cross-country course carrying 102 pounds of equipment through four obstacles.

The results were then combined with each team's overall scores from the other events to create the final standings for the competition.

"What this competition shows us year after year is that mastery of any challenge is never solitary," said Army Brig. Gen. Sean Crockett, commanding general of U.S. Army Cadet Command, in closing remarks to cadets and their families. "It is fundamentally collective. It is teamwork. You didn't cross the finish line as individual competitors; you crossed as an unbreakable, singular unit."

Male

1st place: Adairsville High School

2nd place: Leavenworth High School

3rd place: Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Georgia

Female

1st place: Northeast High School in St. Petersburg, Florida

2nd place: Leavenworth High School

3rd place: Etowah High School, Air Force Junior ROTC, in Woodstock, Georgia

Mixed

1st place: Walker High School, Marine Corps Junior ROTC, in Walker, Louisiana

2nd place: Newsome High School in Lithia, Florida

3rd place: Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Georgia

Male

1st place: Glynn Academy, Marine Corps Junior ROTC, in Brunswick, Georgia

2nd place: Veterans High School, Air Force Junior ROTC, in Kathleen, Georgia

3rd place: Corbin High School in Corbin, Kentucky

Female

1st place: Veterans High School, Air Force Junior ROTC

2nd place: Hendersonville High School, Marine Corps Junior ROTC, in Hendersonville, Tennessee

3rd place: Blue Springs South High School, Air Force Junior ROTC, in Blue Springs, Missouri

Mixed

1st place: Jefferson County High School in Dandridge, Tennessee

2nd place: Northshore High School in Slidell, Louisiana

3rd place: Concordia Lutheran High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana

Male

1st place: Spring Hill High School in Columbia, Tennessee

2nd place: Hanford High School in Richland, Washington

3rd place: North Paulding High School in Dallas, Georgia

Female

1st place: Live Oaks Career Campus in Milford, Ohio

2nd place: Ridge Community High School in Davenport, Florida

3rd place: Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia

Mixed

1st place: Live Oaks Career Campus

2nd place: Sarasota Military Academy in Sarasota, Florida

3rd place: Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee