Raider Team
Raider team meets Monday through Thursday every week unless designated otherwise by the captain or the instructors. They practice from 3:30 to 5:00 on these days unless practice is being cut short.
The Raider Team competes in many events that test their mental and physical abilities to compete while under pressure and test their speed and endurance. The cadets are tested by the events that they participate in, these events include the One Rope Bridge, 2-Mile Squad Run, Compass Course, Map Reading, Rock Wall, Obstacle Course, Cadet Challenge, and a Mystery Event which can be an event of any type.
The Raider Team prepares for these events in many ways and breaks down into smaller squads inside the team and rotates on a training schedule with their squad leader. They are broken down into these squads because of the large amounts of cadets who participate with this team. They rotate what days they practice for what events so everyone gets an equal amount of training for every event.
The One Rope Bridge event is composed of 2 things the cadets must learn. The first thing cadets must learn is how to properly put on a "Swiss seat" which is a rope tied around the cadets waist and upper thighs to act as a "seat" as they pull themselves across the rope bridge while being connected to the rope by their "seat" and a D-clip, a metal clip often used for rock climbing, to hold them onto the rope. This event is composed of 10 people, 3 special positions and seven "mules". The "mules" are simply people who help tighten the rope and cross the bridge and then help others off. Near-Side is the person who stays on the end of the rope bridge that cadets begin to cross at and construct that end of the rope to the anchor that will be holding the rope up, usually a tree. Iron Hand takes 3 D-clips and constructs a certain knot that keeps the rope tight and keeps tension while the rope bridge is going up by twisting the area with the clips and knot. Far-side goes to the far side of the bridge to the second anchor and constructs the other end of the rope as quickly as possible. While cadets begin to cross the cadet in this position helps cadets off of the bridge and when all have crossed both near-side and far-side "tear down" the bridge and meets the cadets at the other end to undo the iron hands knot who also crosses. This entire event is being timed.
The 2-Mile Squad Run is a team of 10 cadets who run a two miles while staying together, usually no more that 15 meters between the lead person who carries the guide-on for their school and the last person. The team is being timed against other schools. The Compass Course is a team of two or three cadets. While during the Compass Course, cadets are required to read a compass and be able to keep track of their pace-count (how many steps they take per 100 meters). There are a set amount of points that cadets would need to reach before they finish. The Map Reading is when cadets learn Intersection, Resection, the "Three North's", elevation, and how to read and write a 4-, 6-, and 8-digit grid and read a legend. They learn from Don't Get Lost, a handbook telling the basics of how to read the map and compass. The Rock Wall is a timed competition in which ten cadets must climb to the top of the wall, provided by the National Guard, and press the buzzer all the while in the BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) boots. If a cadet slips off the wall, they must go back to the bottom of the wall and restart their climb. The Obstacle Course is a series of different trials. The different trials varies between schools so each competition throughout the year is different from the previous. The Cadet Challenge is when the cadets are timed for one minute of push-ups and sit-ups and an one-mile run. The Cadet Challenge is a cumulative grade. The Mystery Event is unknown to all the cadets until the time they have to participate. The Mystery Event can consist of different aspects of JROTC.
The Raider Team competes in many events that test their mental and physical abilities to compete while under pressure and test their speed and endurance. The cadets are tested by the events that they participate in, these events include the One Rope Bridge, 2-Mile Squad Run, Compass Course, Map Reading, Rock Wall, Obstacle Course, Cadet Challenge, and a Mystery Event which can be an event of any type.
The Raider Team prepares for these events in many ways and breaks down into smaller squads inside the team and rotates on a training schedule with their squad leader. They are broken down into these squads because of the large amounts of cadets who participate with this team. They rotate what days they practice for what events so everyone gets an equal amount of training for every event.
The One Rope Bridge event is composed of 2 things the cadets must learn. The first thing cadets must learn is how to properly put on a "Swiss seat" which is a rope tied around the cadets waist and upper thighs to act as a "seat" as they pull themselves across the rope bridge while being connected to the rope by their "seat" and a D-clip, a metal clip often used for rock climbing, to hold them onto the rope. This event is composed of 10 people, 3 special positions and seven "mules". The "mules" are simply people who help tighten the rope and cross the bridge and then help others off. Near-Side is the person who stays on the end of the rope bridge that cadets begin to cross at and construct that end of the rope to the anchor that will be holding the rope up, usually a tree. Iron Hand takes 3 D-clips and constructs a certain knot that keeps the rope tight and keeps tension while the rope bridge is going up by twisting the area with the clips and knot. Far-side goes to the far side of the bridge to the second anchor and constructs the other end of the rope as quickly as possible. While cadets begin to cross the cadet in this position helps cadets off of the bridge and when all have crossed both near-side and far-side "tear down" the bridge and meets the cadets at the other end to undo the iron hands knot who also crosses. This entire event is being timed.
The 2-Mile Squad Run is a team of 10 cadets who run a two miles while staying together, usually no more that 15 meters between the lead person who carries the guide-on for their school and the last person. The team is being timed against other schools. The Compass Course is a team of two or three cadets. While during the Compass Course, cadets are required to read a compass and be able to keep track of their pace-count (how many steps they take per 100 meters). There are a set amount of points that cadets would need to reach before they finish. The Map Reading is when cadets learn Intersection, Resection, the "Three North's", elevation, and how to read and write a 4-, 6-, and 8-digit grid and read a legend. They learn from Don't Get Lost, a handbook telling the basics of how to read the map and compass. The Rock Wall is a timed competition in which ten cadets must climb to the top of the wall, provided by the National Guard, and press the buzzer all the while in the BDU (Battle Dress Uniform) boots. If a cadet slips off the wall, they must go back to the bottom of the wall and restart their climb. The Obstacle Course is a series of different trials. The different trials varies between schools so each competition throughout the year is different from the previous. The Cadet Challenge is when the cadets are timed for one minute of push-ups and sit-ups and an one-mile run. The Cadet Challenge is a cumulative grade. The Mystery Event is unknown to all the cadets until the time they have to participate. The Mystery Event can consist of different aspects of JROTC.