FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 23, 2014) -- The 4th Ranger Training Battalion held its annual Darby Ranger Spouses Challenge July 17 on Todd Field and the Malvesti obstacle course at Camp Rogers.

The challenge gave spouses an opportunity to participate in some of the training their husbands and the Ranger students do, said 1st Lt. Brian McLaughlin, the officer in charge of the event.

The events included climbing up to 45 feet on a 60-foot rock-climbing wall, pulling a 65-pound portable stretcher, rappelling down a 25-foot tower, throwing dummy grenades in basic-level, real-world scenario stations and completing the Malvesti obstacle course.

Rappel master Sgt. 1st Class Jose Zavala said the rock climbing wall helps with confidence and physical strength.

Every lane has a belay man, a rappel master at the bottom to check harnesses, a rappel master on top of the tower in case of any malfunctions and the climber, Zavala said.

Belay man Staff Sgt. Justin Chaney said he acted as the safety by keeping tension on the rope to brace the climber from falling.

Chaney said if the climber fell he would then use the device in his hand, the air traffic controller, as a braking device to stop the fall.

Sgt. 1st Class Brian Threlkeld, a rappel master, gave spouses advice on how to execute the wall event and avoid falling.

"Keep your head and eyes on the wall," he said. "(Keep your) feet planted on the ledges before reaching up so that the majority of your weight is on your legs. You will actually get worn out a lot faster by using your arms."

Kristen Clare, who is married to Spc. Joshuwa Clare, said she has completed these tasks before and found the wall to be more demanding for physical endurance than the 25-foot rappel tower.

"It was definitely more challenging because you have the height and strength aspect to incorporate," she said.

Along with the wall, the rappel tower prepares Ranger students for mountainous areas found in war environments and teaches mountaineer techniques, Sgt. 1st Class Adam Wojcik said.

The SKEDCO, which is a portable stretcher that can be carried under the flaps of a Soldier's rucksack, was a team exercise that consisted of dragging a weighted down SKEDCO 50-meters and back, said Capt. Jeremy White.

It simulated what a Soldier would carry if they had a casualty and how hard it would be to move them through, he said.

The dummy grenade toss event consisted of three stations: enemy out in the open, enemy dug in a hole or bunker and enemy in a building near a window.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Cruz demonstrated how to handle the dummy grenade and how to throw it at the first station.

The dummy grenade sounds like a firecracker and the blasting cap is what makes it boom, Cruz said. The real grenade is a lot louder.

Aaron Austin, spouse of Chief Warrant Officer 4 Christopher Dellamura said handling the dummy grenade was more challenging than expected.

"It was a lot harder to get the pin out than I anticipated," he said. "There is an initial safety lock that comes off really easy so you're thinking that pin is going to be just as easy, but it's not, which is probably (for) the best."

Austin said he accomplished a lot of firsts today and enjoyed meeting other spouses.

"It has been really cool and an eye opener in terms of what the service members actually do," he said. "It's a small taste of the kind of training that they endure. What I accomplished today, I feel really good about. It feels nice to be a part of a team."

Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Cole, Malvesti primary instructor, said the Mavelsti course consisted of pull ups, pull up ropes, the vertical ladder, low crawling in the pit, the horizontal ladder and low crawling and high crawling in the worm pit under barbed wire.

Judy Cole, spouse of Jonathan Cole, said the horizontal ladder was the hardest because her hands and the bars were wet, which made it hard for her to grip.

The next Darby Ranger Spouses Challenge will be held in 2015.