PLYMOUTH, Wis. - Army Reserve Soldiers joined, supported and connected with more than 10,000 participants in the Tough Mudder event held in Plymouth, Wis., 6-7 Sept.
Tough Mudder events are obstacle courses designed to test competitors' all around strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie. Tough Mudder has hosted more than one million participants worldwide to date, and raised more than $6.5 million for the Wounded Warrior Project.
The Army Reserve chose to sponsor Tough Mudder recognizing that participants possess many of the same values and motivations as Soldiers to include resiliency, teamwork, the drive to excel and being part of something larger than themselves, said Joseph Adams, events director for the Army Marketing Research Group.
This makes Tough Mudder events a great place to connect with the community and ideal venue for recruitment.
"The folks that we generally see out here already share many of the Army vvalues and interests that Soldiers have. It's been a real good connection point for folks that are looking for a little bit something more," said Adams. "Here we can point them in our direction and show them the opportunities within the Army and Army Reserve."
As part of event sponsorship, the Army has a special area complete with a sand table of the course, a mini Army challenge course accompanied with drill sergeants, free identification tags, and information about the Army and Army Reserve.
Army Reserve Soldiers from local units are also on site to encourage participants and share with everyone their stories. Their presence is the most important aspect, said Adams.
"Having local Soldiers out here is everything. We bring our toys, but having the uniform and actual Soldiers is our connection point," said Adams. "A lot of people are familiar with the Army by what they see on TV, but to talk to Soldiers and hear their stories and how they got to where they are - that's how we tie it all together."
It's also great having units and Soldiers going through the Tough Mudder themselves and going shoulder-to-shoulder with the American Public, said Adams.
Two such Soldiers were Chaplain (Maj.) Sam Thomas, deputy command chaplain of the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and Capt. Michael Wittkowski, commander of the 646th Regional Support Group, Headquarters, Headquarters Company.
Together they completed the course with members of their units and along the way incorporated a civilian into their team who was navigating the course by herself.
The Tough Mudder is designed to require teamwork and makes completion of the course by a sole individual impossible.
"This is all about teamwork, it's all about a coming together, and hitting the obstacles as a team," said Thomas. "This is not an individual event, it's about working together and overcoming the obstacles as a team."
"A lot of people go out and compete in 5K and 10K runs or marathons - this is completely different," continued Thomas. "This is not about the time - it is about teamwork, and that is what the Army is all about."
Some obstacles required the help of more than one team to overcome, said Wittkowski.
"As we went through the obstacles, we found that it took more than our team of six to get through," said Wittkowski. "There is a pyramid obstacle where you have to scale a 25 foot inclined wall. The only way you're getting through that is to include everyone else out there."
This all reinforces the principles of the Tough Mudder which mirror that of the Army, said Wittkowski.
"As you start the course everyone has to recite the Tough Mudder creed," said Wittkowski . "Things like 'I will help my fellow Mudders complete the course, I'm going to overcome all my fears, I will put teamwork and camaraderie before my course time' - all these things resound with the Army values, warrior ethos and what we try to instill in our Soldiers."
All these things allow Soldiers to demonstrate our character to civilians and show them what we stand for, said Wittkowski.
"When they see us representing the Army and our units, they make the connection that we are team players and people who are willing to help out other people," said Wittkowski. "They see that it's not just about the Army and their little group, it's about the Army being part of the community."
Sponsored by the Army or not, Thomas said he will return next year.
"This event is a blast and the positive response to the Army here is overwhelming," said Thomas. "Our team is definitely doing this again next year. We collectively all want to come back and would love to see more people participate."
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