FORT CARSON, Colo. — Spc. Santiro Stephens, with 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, attempts to throw a punch at Capt. Tyler Mclees, with 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div., May 25, 2022, during the Ivy Week Hand-to-Hand Combat Competition at Fort Carson. This competition is a test of grit and toughness, fostering readiness, esprit de corps and fundamentals. (Photo by Spc. Scyrrus Corregidor)
By Sgt. Matthew Rabahy
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FORT CARSON, Colo. — With 18 events during Ivy Week 2022 at Fort Carson, none encapsulated the Ivy Spirit quite like the hand-to-hand combat tournament. If the Utah Beach physical fitness event was the grand opening, the hand-to-hand combat finals were the jaw-dropping crescendo.
Starting on May 23, 2022, the first day of competition used standard rules — grappling and submissions only. The second day featured intermediate rules, which allow submissions, open-hand strikes, kicks and knees. The championship bouts were full-contact cage fights or advanced rules on the final day of competition.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Sgt. Demer Wilder, an indirect fire infantryman with 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, picks up Staff Sgt. Deandre Jackson, with 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, May 25, 2022, during the Ivy Week Hand-to-Hand Combat Competition at Fort Carson. This was one event during Ivy Week, which is a three-day long event where over 70 competitors compete to win points toward the Commander’s Cup. (Photo by Spc. Scyrrus Corregidor)
“Hand-to-hand combat forces individuals to train hard and be ready to fight,” said Staff Sgt. Jacob Grove, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the Fort Carson Combatives Program. “Competition increases the enthusiasm and spirit of Ivy Week, and that is why this week is so exciting.”
After three grueling days of competing in hand-to-hand combat, only four Ivy Soldiers out of 70 came out on top as champions in their respective weight classes.
For the JLTV division championship, Sgt. Demer Wilder with 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, took first place; Bradley division, 1st Lt. Austin Tucker with 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery, 2nd SBCT; Stryker division, Staff Sgt. Danny Phillips of 1st Battalion, 4th Security Forces Assistance Brigade; and for the Abrams division, Capt. Tyler Mclees of 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
The overall team title went to 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd SBCT.
“It feels good to win and come out here and put your skills out on display for the crowd,” Mclees said. “You get to show all the hard work you’ve put in behind the scenes and the Warrior Ethos.”
The first two days of the competition were inside the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion Company Operations Facility. At the onset of the tournament, there was so much excitement surrounding it across the post that many hopeful spectators couldn’t get inside to watch because the venue was so packed.
The championship fights on the third day were at the heart of Fort Carson on Founders Field. The roars and cheers of the crowd surrounding the cage and packed into the bleachers echoed loudly across Wetzel Avenue and into 4th Infantry Division Headquarters.
The overwhelming turnout for hand-to-hand combat cannot be attributed merely to the entertaining nature of the event. Deeper than this, those who came to watch, understand and respect the grave reality of the Army profession — that to be a Soldier means to fight.
“Our job is to go to hostile places and get into really uncomfortable situations in order to fight and win,” Mclees said. “And I don’t think there is a better way to train for that than to get into a cage in front of a bunch of people and get punched in the face and choked out. I’m just grateful to have had this opportunity.”