JROTC cadets from across the country take on the National Raider Challenge

By Ian IvesOctober 28, 2024

JROTC cadets compete at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., Oct. 25, 2024....
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – JROTC cadets compete at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., Oct. 25, 2024.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Savannah Baird)
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JROTC cadets from Franklin High School, Franklin, Tenn., participate in the Gauntlet at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., Oct. 25, 2024....
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – JROTC cadets from Franklin High School, Franklin, Tenn., participate in the Gauntlet at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., Oct. 25, 2024.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Kyle Merritt)
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The top placing cadets from the Ultimate Raider Challenge were awarded 4-year Army ROTC scholarships at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27....
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The top placing cadets from the Ultimate Raider Challenge were awarded 4-year Army ROTC scholarships at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Kyle Merritt)
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Cadets from Clermont Northeastern High School participate in the Gauntlet event at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26, 2024....
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Cadets from Clermont Northeastern High School participate in the Gauntlet event at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26, 2024.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Omar Villa)
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Marine Corps JROTC cadets participate in the Gauntlet event at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26, 2024. ...
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Marine Corps JROTC cadets participate in the Gauntlet event at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26, 2024.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Omar Villa)
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FORT KNOX, Ky. — As the early morning sun broke the dawn, hundreds of JROTC cadets moved to their start positions. Radio crackles could be heard across the starting lines, signaling the competition was about to begin. Nervous faces turned serious. On the command ‘Go!’ cadets broke into a sprint, striving to bring home the gold.

The JROTC National Raider Challenge, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command, brought nearly 4,000 cadets from across the country to Fort Knox Oct. 24-27, 2024, to test their grit and attempt to bring home the title of National Raider Champion.

“This is an opportunity to see America at its finest, and these young people came to battle it out and they want to win,” said Sgt. Maj of the Army Michael R. Wiemer, the Army’s senior enlisted advisor.

While this was an event for high school students, it was not for the faint of heart. The competition featured grueling obstacle courses, a 5K run and the infamous one rope bridge among other challenging tasks. Despite how overwhelming this competition may seem to some, JROTC cadets who have been training for months happily accepted the challenge.

Junior ROTC Cadets from Georgia Military College Prep School, Georgia, participate in the Ultimate Raider Challenge during the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27, 2024...
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Junior ROTC Cadets from Georgia Military College Prep School, Georgia, participate in the Ultimate Raider Challenge during the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27, 2024

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Marin-Cruz)
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Parents of JROTC cadets cheer on their teams at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26....
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Parents of JROTC cadets cheer on their teams at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Morgan Edwards)
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JROTC Cadets participate in the the one rope bridge event at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26....
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – JROTC Cadets participate in the the one rope bridge event at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Omar Villa)
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JROTC Cadets from Benedictine Military High School, Savannah, Georgia participate in the Cross Country Rescue event at the JROTC Raider Challenge Oct. 26, 2024, Fort Knox, Ky. The competition has brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 3,900...
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – JROTC Cadets from Benedictine Military High School, Savannah, Georgia participate in the Cross Country Rescue event at the JROTC Raider Challenge Oct. 26, 2024, Fort Knox, Ky. The competition has brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 3,900 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Andrew Berger)
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“My team has been training since summer started,” said Cadet Stephanie Quintero-Hernandez from Palmetto High School, Florida. “We knew that we were coming to nationals, and we wanted to win. We’ve been working extra, even during the hurricanes. Nothing stopped us.”

The competition is divided into three divisions – Challenge, Masters and All-Service. The Challenge division competed on Friday and is comparable to junior varsity in other high school sports, with teams being made up of younger or less experienced cadets. The Masters division competed on Saturday and is the equivalent of varsity with teams comprised of primarily upper classmen who typically have years of raider experience. Competing alongside the Master divisions were JROTC programs from the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps who were slated in the All-Service Division.

Once the Masters and All-Service divisions concluded, the top finishing teams nominated two cadets to represent their school in the Ultimate Raider challenge — a three-mile course broken up into an 800-meter sprint, a 14-station obstacle course, a 25-meter swim and a 2-mile run. The results from the Ultimate Raider Challenge are then combined with their overall scores from Saturday’s events to create the final standings for the competition.

JROTC Cadets from across the country celebrated during JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024 opening ceremony, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27....
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – JROTC Cadets from across the country celebrated during JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024 opening ceremony, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27.

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Savannah Baird)
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Junior ROTC Cadets from Leavenworth High School, Kansas, participate in the Cross Country Rescue at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26, 2024...
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Junior ROTC Cadets from Leavenworth High School, Kansas, participate in the Cross Country Rescue at the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 26, 2024

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Marin-Cruz)
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The National Raider Challenge kicked off on October 24, 2024, at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. This annual championship is hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command and will see over 4,000 JROTC cadets from nearly 300 high schools compete for the national...
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The National Raider Challenge kicked off on October 24, 2024, at Ft. Knox, Kentucky. This annual championship is hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command and will see over 4,000 JROTC cadets from nearly 300 high schools compete for the national title.This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by Sarah Windmueller)
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Junior ROTC Cadets from Adairsville High School, Georgia, participate at the Ultimate Raider Challenge during the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27, 2024...
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Junior ROTC Cadets from Adairsville High School, Georgia, participate at the Ultimate Raider Challenge during the JROTC National Raider Challenge 2024, Fort Knox, Ky., October 27, 2024

This is the second time the event has been held at Ft. Knox. The competition, hosted by U.S. Army Cadet Command runs from October 24th through 27th and brought in nearly 300 teams built from around 4,000 Cadets from 220+ schools across the nation and from as far away as Guam. Elite Junior ROTC Students competed to be among the best in the nation.

JROTC is one of the largest character development and citizenship programs for youth in the world, helping them maximize their potential in pursuing their goals. JROTC students learn life-long habits and skills they are able to apply toward success throughout their lives. (Photo Credit: U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Marin-Cruz)
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During the final awards ceremony, the top 12 finishers of the Ultimate Raider Challenge were presented a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship. These scholarships will allow the cadets to continue their education at their school of choice with an Army ROTC program, provided that they meet the minimum requirements and choose to serve as an officer in the Army.

“It’s events like this that show the true colors of these cadets and prove that they are ready to be the next generation of leaders for this country,” said Brig. Gen. Maurice Barnett, commanding general of U.S. Army Cadet Command. “We saw some true grit and determination from all of the competitors as they faced a pretty tough course — and they should be incredibly proud of themselves and their teams.”

In addition to the competition, cadets experienced a festival like atmosphere throughout the weekend. From performances by the Army’s ‘As You Were’ rock band to demonstrations from premier military units, there was plenty to entertain cadets and families. This event also gave cadets the opportunity to talk to multiple universities, helping them decide their paths after high school.

Competition Results

Masters Division

Male

  • 1st Place — Leavenworth High School
  • 2nd Place — Adairsville High School
  • 3rd Place — Etowah High School

Female

  • 1st Place — Leavenworth High School
  • 2nd Place — Ozark High School
  • 3rd Place — Warren County High School

Mixed

  • 1st Place — Clarkrange High School
  • 2nd Place — Georgia Military College Prep School
  • 3rd Place — Smith-Cotton High School
All-Service Division

Males

  • 1st Place — Hendersonville High School
  • 2nd Place — Camdenton High School
  • 3rd Place — Campbell County High School

Females

  • 1st Place — Live Oaks High School
  • 2nd Place — Logan County High School
  • 3rd Place — Smith-Cotton High School

Mixed

  • 1st Place — Walker High School
  • 2nd Place — Concordia Lutheran High School
  • 3rd Place — Rhea County High School
Challenge Division

Male

  • 1st Place — George Rogers Clark High School
  • 2nd Place — Manatee High School
  • 3rd Place — Bluffton High School

Female

  • 1st Place — Palmetto High School
  • 2nd Place — Manatee High School
  • 3rd Place — Claudia Taylor Johnson High School

Mixed

  • 1st Place — Newsome High School
  • 2nd Place — Northeast High School
  • 3rd Place — Kenwood High School