Photo By Joseph Siemandel | Capt. Laudy Choum, communications officer with the 898th Brigade Engineer Battalion...... read more read more
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Walking through the Kittitas County farm lands doesn’t seem like the place to earn a coveted military honor, but for Guardsmen and Central Washington University cadets it was the perfect backdrop on their way to receiving the Norwegian Foot March Badge.
Started in 1915 as a test of strength and endurance, the Norwegian Foot March, or Marsjmerket, is a Norwegian armed forces skill badge that is earned after a participant completes an 18.6 mile ruck march within 4 hours and 30 minutes while wearing their uniform and boots and carrying a 25-pound rucksack. Finishers earn a badge that can be worn on their service uniform, and can earn a Bronze, Silver or Gold badge depending on the number of times they finish the event.
Central Washington University Reserve Officer Training Corps hosted the one-of-a-kind event on the night of June 4th, welcoming service members to join them for the challenge. A total of 28 Guardsmen from the 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, 898th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 181st Brigade Support Battalion, 341st Military Intelligence Battalion and 420th Chemical Battalion took part in the hike down the John Wayne Trail.
“Out of the 96 Guardsmen and cadets that participated, 65 passed including 15 Guardsmen,” said Capt. Jaymar Imperial, assistant professor of military science at CWU. “Three Guardsmen finished in the top 10, so overall the Guard was very well represented in this year’s event.”
One participant, CPT Laudy Choum, communications officer with the 898th Brigade Engineer Battalion, raved about the chance to earn his badge, completing the march in under the allotted time limit.
“It was quite the experience and I really enjoyed going out there and pushing myself,” said Choum. “At 44 years old and coming from the old school infantry mentality I got into a shuffle and was able to beat out folks half my age.”
While Choum believes the experience was great for his soldiers and a challenge physically and mentally, he said he is happy to just be one of the finishers.
“My soldiers came to me afterward and said we need to start training again and earn the next level up on the badge,” said Choum. “I think after being pushed to my limits, I am good with the bronze badge, but told them go for it.”
For those who were not able to attend and are interested, there is hope this will become an annual event, bringing service members and cadets together for the chance to earn their badge in Ellensburg.
“We would love to make this a yearly event, offering it up to more Guardsmen who want to take the challenge,” said Imperial. “It was a lot of fun for everyone involved.”
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2021 15:05 |
| Story ID: | 398609 |
| Location: | ELLENSBURG, WASHINGTON, US |
| Hometown: | ELLENSBURG, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 589 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Up for the Challenge: Guardsmen earn Norwegian Foot March Badge during joint event, by Joseph Siemandel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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