Photo By Staff Sgt. Andrea Merritt | 15th Personnel Services Battalion Soldiers head out on a half mile march to the first...... read more read more
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Pfc. Andrea Merritt
1st Sustainment Brigade, Public Affairs Office
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Approximately 40 Soldiers from the 15th Personnel Services Battalion a long, grueling test, Oct. 28, to join the ranks of their fellow cavalry troopers.
To join the Order of the Spur, Soldiers had to undergo a Spur Ride, a grueling 13-hour event that requires completing a series of physically and mentally challenging tasks set by their command in order to earn their golden spurs.
A traditional Spur Ride is done in a garrison environment and at the end of the event troopers would receive silver spurs.
"Usually Soldiers would be awarded golden spurs just for being in a combat environment, but I wanted to do things the traditional way," said Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Livengood, 15th PSB command sergeant major.
There were four squads, which had 10 people each. Everyone had to take off their rank and get a new one assigned to them for the purposes of the exercise. There were privates parading as staff sergeants and vice versa.
The Soldiers were up and ready to begin the challenge by 5 a.m. and even before the first task began, they caught a glimpse of what was in store for them.
"We started off by getting accountability and doing pre-combat checks and pre-combat inspections. If they didn't do something right, they would get punished. They spent the first hour doing push-ups, rifle PT ... and after all that they had to march a half mile to the first station," said Livengood.
The first station the Soldiers completed was the obstacle course, then they marched a half-mile to the second station which was the vehicle station.
The squads had to conduct preventative maintenance checks and services on the vehicle, change a tire and recover the vehicle, which involved pushing it.
The first two stations had taken a toll on the Soldiers' upper body, but the task that claimed their lower halves was Signal Hill.
At the hill, each Soldier in the squad had to carry their 15-pound rucksack and run .06 miles to the top of the hill and back as a team within seven minutes.
Since no one made it in the time allotted, they took a five minute break and tried it again. On the second try, the teams had 10 minutes to run the hill.
"The second time everybody made it in less than ten minutes," said Livengood.
"I was in a lot of pain due to the fact that half way through the ride I developed blisters on the back of both of my feet," said Spc. Yvonne Adams, a training clerk for Detachment C, 15th PSB.
The obstacle course, vehicle station and Single Hill were only a few of the tasks completed that day, but the memories will remain with the Soldiers a lifetime.
"I can honestly say this was the best team-building and physical training exercise I have ever completed," said Adams.
"The minutes seemed like hours all through the day and as we went on to each station they seemed to only get more intense," said Pvt. Nicole Behrens, a personnel clerk with the 15th PSB.
"It's three days later and my body is still aching from using all those muscles I never knew existed, but all in all every second was worth it," said Behrens. "I have hung my spurs on the wall and when I look at them I just smile remembering the accomplishments that my fellow comrades and I achieved together."
| Date Taken: | 11.12.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 11.12.2007 14:35 |
| Story ID: | 13827 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 73 |
| Downloads: | 48 |
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