FORT CARSON, Colo. — Sgt. Maj. Edward Deal, operations sergeant major with 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, climbs up and over the reverse climb obstacle May 24, 2022, during the Ivy Week Mabry Mile competition at Fort Carson. The obstacle course evaluates a Soldier’s physical skills. (Photo by Spc. Scyrrus Corregidor)
By Sgt. 1st Class Robert Duran
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
FORT CARSON, Colo. — A Mountain Post leader assigned to 4th Infantry Division climbs up a net obstacle May 24, 2022, during the Ivy Week Mabry Mile competition at Fort Carson. The Mabry Mile is named after Maj. Gen. George L. Mabry, commander, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, who led the attack through Hurtgen Forest in World War II. (Photo by Spc. Scyrrus Corregidor)
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Early on May 24, 2022, leaders from across the 4th Infantry Division gathered to kick off day two of Ivy Week 2022. The day’s first event was the “Mabry Mile,” named in honor of Maj. Gen. George L. Mabry, a battalion commander with the Ivy Division who landed on the shores of Normandy during the D-Day invasion.
This year’s unseasonably late snows, and a healthy downpour of rain, turned the mile-long obstacle course into a grueling gut check, akin to the conditions seen at Normandy.
Maj. Gen. David M. Hodne, commanding general, 4th Inf. Div. and Fort Carson, and Command Sgt. Maj. Adam Nash kicked off the event, leading the brigade and battalion command teams through thick mud and over the various obstacles placed along the route.
“The CG and I believe in leading by example, so of course we were the first team to run the course,” Nash said. “If you take our combined age, we’re like 95-years-old. So, none of these other teams have any excuses why the old men beat them.”
FORT CARSON, Colo. — 1st Sgt. Robert Mavrina with 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, skips over beams May 24, 2022, during the Ivy Week Mabry Mile competition at Fort Carson. Soldiers must leap over the beams using the alternating technique and hands over the head to complete the obstacle course. (Photo by Spc. Scyrrus Corregidor)
With an overall time of 17 minutes and 38 seconds, Capt. Brandon Back and Command Sgt. Maj. Shane Towns, of 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, decisively dominated the course earning first place.
“We knew from the walk through that the course was going to be tough,” said Towns. “But once you get out there and you’re slogging through that thick mud, that’s when you have to dig deep.”
The unit cohesion shown by each team paid honor to Gen. Mabry.
While leading his battalion during the battle in the Hurtgen Forest, Germany, Mabry distinguished himself by personally finding a safe route through a minefield and leading scouts to successfully capture three enemy bunkers and establish superior defensive fighting positions.
For his actions that day, Mabry was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Ivy Division Soldiers continue his legacy of courage, loyalty and duty to this very day.
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Sgt. Maj. Shane Towns, command sergeant major, and Capt. Brandon Back with 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division pose for a photo, May 24, 2022, during the Ivy Week Mabry Mile competition at Fort Carson, Colorado. Towns and Back finished the Mabry Mile with the time of 17 minutes and 38 seconds, which put them in first place of the competition. (Photo by Spc. Scyrrus Corregidor)