After a three-year break Robert land Academy and Massanutten Military Academy have once again been able to conduct the annual Best Raider competition. It is a grueling 36-hour event which tests the cadets’ mental and physical toughness as well as their ability to perform 33 different tasks in an austere environment while suffering from sleep deprivation.
This year’s competitors were from Massanutten Military Academy (located in Woodstock Virginia) and Stephen Paterson, Dafydd Jenkins, Oscar Oceguera, and Kevin Buechler from Robert Land Academy.
The First-place team was Cadet Xie from Massanutten and RLA’s Kevin Buechler. The top individual Raiders were Cadet Antich from Massanutten Military Academy and Cadet Stephen Paterson from Robert Land Academy.
The first day of the exercise started with an APFT (Army Physical Fitness Test) at 0500 followed by breakfast. The day consisted of testing in day land navigation, knot proficiency, first aid, creating a rope bridge, fire starting, water purification, a KIMS game (keep in memory storage) and more. Overnight, between 2100 and 2400 the boys did night navigation and a written exam.
Day two the students had to cross a river using a single rope bridge, created poncho rafts to keep their belongings dry, completed an obstacle course and took part in the “unknown event”, which this year was archery.
Overall, it was an excellent exercise, the cadets learned the importance of listening to instructions and following the” Action on drills”. A group of the cadets got lost during the night navigation and did exactly what they were told. They stopped in place blew the emergency whistle three times every minute giving leaders the ability to locate them within 10 minutes.
Both Academies spent the next day touring Washington DC. They visited the White House, Washington Monument, reflecting pool, the Lincoln Memorial and the Air and Space Museum.
Friday morning, the group visited Gettysburg where they toured the museum and watched the film on the history of Gettysburg then toured the battlefield. The boys were able to visit the monuments and see the ground were one of the largest battles took place during the American civil war.
It was a great trip the boys were able to use the skills they were taught on campus as well as learning history in Washington and Gettysburg.
