FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- Over the course of two days, Soldiers from across 10th Mountain Division (LI) competed in a Mountain Winter Challenge testing their ability to shoot, move and communicate.
The competition, which took place March 10-11, consisted of a combined 54 teams from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Bri-gade Combat Team, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade, 10th Sustainment Brigade, Task Force Spartan, 20th Air Support Operations Squadron, and Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion.
The MWC was composed of two foot marches, a sled pull, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, a stress shoot and a test of knowledge about the 10th Mountain Division.
The total distance the Soldiers covered during the challenge was just less than five miles. While some may think that doesn't seem like very far, the weather conditions combined with a 175-pound sled increased the difficulty level.
"Mountaineers are mountain tough -- physically and mentally resilient," said Maj. Gen. Stephen J. Townsend, Fort Drum and 10th Mountain Division (LI) commander. "And that's what these Soldiers right here, all of these teams, demonstrated during our Mountain Winter Challenge. You go through any headquarters on post of the original 10th Mountain Division units and you'll see Soldiers on snowshoes and on skis, wearing over-whites, sweating as they're doing their Soldier tasks. The winter challenge is what reminds us of our heritage."
This year the winning three-person team, composed of 1st Lt. Kurt Yeager, 1st Sgt. Joey Mendez and Sgt. Korey Ellewanger, was from the original unit of the 10th Mountain Division -- C Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment. Each member of the team received an Army Achievement Medal and a 10th Mountain Division (LI) coin. The team also was awarded the Commander's Trophy, which will be displayed with pride in their unit headquarters until next year's Mountain Winter Challenge, when the trophy will be up for grabs again.
"Coming from the original 87th Infantry, we wanted to bring this back to the original mountain unit," said Mendez, first sergeant of C Company, 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT. "It's important to bring the history back to 10th Mountain Division, even beginning with the 87th Infantry. It gives Soldiers perspective of what the unit roots were.
"When they actually get on the cross-country skis, they come to appreciate how difficult it is to traverse terrain," he continued. "Whether it be snowshoes or the cross-country skis, it's a lot more difficult than it looks. I think they get an understanding, an appreciation for it when they are actually on them."
While not every team came from a unit with such long history with 10th Mountain Division, the feeling of getting back to the division's roots was felt and the spirit of competition brought out the best in the team members.
"Soldiers will rise to whatever challenge you throw at them," said Command Sgt. Maj. Todd A. Brown, senior enlisted adviser for 10th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st BCT. "So when you give them some kind of competition or some kind of challenge like this and nest it in the things that you do for training, it makes for an outstanding event."
As the events came to a close and the final teams put down their pencils after the test on 10th Mountain Division history, the finalists sense of pride lingered.
"I'm not going to see any more of these as division commander, but I'm real proud of everybody who competed," Townsend said during the awards ceremony that followed. "When I saw the Soldiers coming in from the foot march, or the snowshoe, or the ski or getting ready to shoot, it reminded me of why we do this. These Soldiers here, the members of the teams, were sweating and busting their (butts) to win, and that's exactly what we need to sustain and reward."
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