On 22 February, the AFJROTC Raider teams competed in the “Through Forge & Fire” Raiders Meet at Central High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Although the temperature ranged between 24 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit, the teams had an amazing time. The entered teams, Co-ed and Male division, fought hard and braved the chilly weather. The Co-ed team earned 2nd place overall, with the Male Team finishing 3rd Place overall. Both teams competed in a Trail Run, Obstacle Course, Rope Bridge, Leadership Reaction Course, Pounder Hill, and a Cross Country Rescue run.

For the Trail Run, the teams ran 1.5 miles up and down icy wooded trails.  The Male team ran the course in 14 minutes and the Co-Ed had a time of 16:07.  During the obstacle course, teams had to hop over stacks of tires, go over and under beams, climb a wall of tires, maneuver around tires sunken-in the ground, cross balance beams, crawl through tunnels, and traverse a peg board.  In the obstacle course, the Male team placed 3rd and the Co-Ed team placed 1st.

The teams were required to construct a rope bridge over 50 yards, connecting between 2 trees.  The Male team completed the Rope Bridge in 11 minutes and the Co-Ed time was 6:59. The Leadership Reaction Course required the teams to assemble a device to transport materials from one point to another.  The Male team completed the challenge in 32:27 and the Co-Ed team time was 24:08.  Pounder Hill consisted of scaling a large hill while carrying logs, ammo cans, stretchers, and pipes filled with water, chains, and other equipment. The teams had to carry as many of these items as possible within 5 minutes.  The Male team was able to carry 8 items and the Co-Ed carried 7 items within the time given.  Lastly, both teams completed the CCR( Cross Country Run) which consists of each team running .86 miles with two pipes filled with water. The Male team time was 14:30, and the Co-Ed Time was 18:39.

At the end of the competition, the team walked away a little cold and beat up, but also walked away with silver and bronze medals earned for their placement in the Raider meet. Next competition, the team plans to walk away with all gold!