Sandhurst

So, after the 24 Hour Brigade Samsonite’s focus shifted to the Sandhurst competition. It’s an international military skills medley that has taken place at WP since 1967 (so close to ’69…). This year was the largest competition to date. Each of the 32 cadet companies has a team. Then there’s Navy and Air Force… Texas A&M… Several ROTC programs, including the University of Hawaii. And then the international teams – England, Canada, Chile, and Afghanistan.

The competition was about an 8 mile movement, but with lots of skills sites in the middle. Medical, weapons (US and foreign), Zodiac boats, 1-rope bridge…

The competition was 2 days, actually. Friday was marksmanship and Saturday was the course. Samsonite’s team – F2 – won the marksmanship competition. They started Friday in 1st place – the team to beat. It was quite an euphoric feeling.

They were rockin’ all the obstacles and sites, making all sorts of great time. Land nav – there were mandatory points that you had to get or be DQed and there were optional points that you could get for a time bonus. And here’s where the story gets painful: they missed a mandatory point. It could be said that there were a lot of reasons, but it basically comes down to Samsonite’s roommate thinking that Point O was optional and not mandatory, so they didn’t take the 3 minute jaunt off course to go get it. Well…one map check too late the squad leader and pace man realize that they had missed a mandatory point. This was at the bottom of Bull Hill – the highest physical point on West Point proper. Yeah. So, no pissing and moaning, they turned around to go get the point. It took 26 minutes back up and 18 minutes back down to get to where they were when they realized the screw up. 44 minutes.

And this is where Samsonite begins to slowly die: they lost to the first place team – Canadians – by 39 minutes.

They would have won…the whole competition…by 5 minutes. A West Point team hasn’t won the competition in recent memory. It would have been… Well, there are a lot of “would have beens…”

Samsonite has run through the gauntlet of emotions, and this is what he rests upon: Sometimes you miss a land nav point… It doesn’t mean that you weren’t the best team in the competition. There will always be Point O’s in life. No matter how many minutes they take away from the goal, you’ve just gotta turn around – no pissing or moaning – and go back up Bull Hill to get it.

It was a great weekend, great competition, great experience nonetheless. It is Samsonite’s opinion that Sandhurst is the greatest developmental experience that West Point has to offer – and the tragedy is that it’s not even mandatory curriculum. Only about 300 cadets experience Sandhurst every year. The rest of ’em aren’t tough enough.

The above pics make sense in light of the competition and all, the next one does not. Care to elaborate Samsonite?

In other news, next weekend Samsonite is running 50 miles in the DC/VA area with one of his best good friends. (http://www.theskylinechallenge.com/) He’s not out for blood on this one, just going to pace his buddy on towards the finish line of his first 50 miler. It’s not all about our PRs or race stories. Sometimes it’s all about getting our best friends to the finish line, too.