Soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, low crawl under razor sharp concertina wire during the company portion of brigadewide fitness competitions March 30, 2016, to honor the brigade’s crossing of the Rhine River during World War II. The brigade earned the nickname of “Raiders” because of the knife combat in the trenches in its first battle during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of World War I. (Photo by Sgt. William Howard)
By Sgt. William Howard
1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry Division
Soldiers of the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, competed against each other in physical fitness, squad, platoon and company competitions to honor the brigade’s crossing of the Rhine River during World War II.
“Seventy-one years ago today this brigade crossed the Rhine River from France into Germany,” said Col. Curtis D. Taylor, commander, 1st SBCT, 4th Inf. Div. “What we did that day marked the end of a 300-day campaign of one of the greatest military campaigns in history.”
The 1st SBCT was the first U.S. unit to land on Utah Beach during World War II and the brigade helped liberate Paris Aug. 25, 1944, alongside the 2nd Armored Division.
In September 1944 the brigade fought in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest, the longest single battle in the history of the U.S. Army, until December 1944 when it was called upon to repel a German offensive called the Battle of the Bulge.
The brigade crossed the Rhine River March 30, 1945, and two weeks later captured the German city of Nuremberg.
“As you look at these colors, there’s a legacy in this brigade,” said Taylor.
“We are part of that legacy, we benefit from that, we cherish that and we make those who served and fought underneath those colors proud.”
The morning began with a fitness competition where four Soldiers from each company performed as many squats, bench press, dead lifts, pullups and situps as possible. They had two minutes for each event with no rest in between.
“It was brutal,” said Cpl. Christopher Durante, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT.
1st Lt. Cristina Monaco, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, leads the way to the peak of a steep hill during the company portion of brigadewide fitness competitions March 30, 2016. (Photo by Sgt. William Howard)
During the squad event, teams of nine Soldiers from each company competed for the best time on a course designed to test them on teamwork, basic Soldier tasks and endurance.
“It was about staying as a group,” said Sgt. 1st Class Alfredo Reyna, HHC, 4th Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT. “At the end, it was all heart. The guys gave it all they had to cross the finish line together.”
“I did something like this back when I was a young Soldier and I still remember it 12 years later,” added Reyna.
A platoon competition tested the commander and first sergeant from each company in a land navigation course with various leader tasks.
The day culminated with a brigadewide competition involving an arduous course with three obstacles representing historical battles.
Soldiers low-crawled through trenches under concertina wire to honor the brigade’s first battle during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of World War I. The brigade earned the nickname of “Raiders” because of the knife combat in the trenches.
In the second event, Soldiers dragged a weighted-down sled in remembrance of the brigade’s landing on Utah Beach during World War II. After landing on the beach, Soldiers had to drag their vehicles and equipment through marshes to aid fellow units in combat.
The final event required companies to carry logs to the peak of a steep hill in honor of the brigade’s combat during the Vietnam War in the central highlands of Vietnam.
At the end of the day, Soldiers of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT, had established themselves as the best in the brigade by winning the overall competition.
“We keep motivated, keep physical training different so Soldiers stay excited about it and train,” said 1st Sgt. Philip Streagle, Company C, 2nd Bn., 23rd Inf. Reg. “Never quit, always take pride and always do your best.”