FORT BENNING, Ga., (Dec. 10, 2014) -- Company commanders and executive officers from across the 198th Infantry Brigade came together Dec. 3 for the brigade's first Mungadai Challenge.
The Mungadai Challenge is a leadership and team-building exercise inspired by Genghis Khan and his warriors.
"It kind of dates back, from what I understand, to when Genghis Khan would send his leaders out on a crucible before a battle or campaign to assess them and prepare them for the unknowns, so that they could deal with the challenges they would experience on the battlefield," said Col. Richard Timmons, commander of the 198th Infantry Brigade.
For the 198th's version of the event, company commanders from each battalion made up a nine-man Infantry squad, with executive officers added to fill out each squad.
"It's an opportunity to build teams within our battalions and within the brigade," Timmons said. "It also gives us an opportunity to assess these guys. ... It helps us to identify the things we need to do better as an organization and make sure we're assessing our junior leaders and their development appropriately."
The Mungadai Challenge included several tactical missions, such as reacting to contact, ambush operations and entering and clearing rooms. Squads were also tested on their marksmanship and weapon assembly skills in addition to completing an obstacle course and training development course.
"These are things that we ask trainees to do, so it's only fair that we be able to do them ourselves if we're going to ask our trainees to do them," said Capt. Zach Cotreau, commander of E Company, 2nd Battalion, 58th Infantry Regiment. "These are all basic-level tasks that should be expected of any Infantryman."
Cotreau said the event also helped the officers brush up on skills they may not have used in a while.
"It's been quite an eye-opener for everyone, I think," he said. "This stuff is perishable, and if you don't train it constantly, you can lose it. It helps to make sure we're on our toes and we're continuing to train on what our job is."
In between events, squads had to move tactically on foot from location to location, making for a daylong event that lasted more than 18 hours and covered 18 to 20 miles.
"They didn't know what was coming ahead of time, so we're looking for some adaptability and flexibility," Timmons said. "They need to be able to deal with uncertainty and persevere. They don't know how many events are coming, so they just have to be able to react and continually move forward."
While the Mungadai Challenge was taxing for the officers, it also provided them an opportunity to get out of their normal routine.
"It's been a fun time getting to work in this kind of environment because this is something we don't get to do on a normal basis," Cotreau said. "We generally do more planning, resourcing and supervising training, but we don't really get to do it ourselves. It's fun to get out here and put on the Army hat again and get away from the desk and actually do what we're trained to do."
In the end, Cotreau and his teammates from 2nd Bn., 58th Inf. Regt., came out on top.
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