Ranger Challenge

Ranger Challenge is ROTC’s varsity sport. Each year during the fall semester, teams from each ROTC unit in Arizona converge on a host school for the two-day competition. Each ROTC unit has the opportunity to enter three teams: an all-male team, a co-ed team, and an all-female team.

Northern Arizona University has a strong history of excellent Ranger Challenge teams.

The Ranger Challenge Competition is a strenuous, physically challenging weekend event. The competition begins with an M-16 assembly, disassembly and functions check followed by a written Warrior Skills test; then an Army Physical Fitness Test (which consists of Push-ups, Sit-ups and a 2 mile run). The next day, the cadets compete in a First Aid Assault/Obstacle course, a Grenade Assault Course, a Day and Night orienteering course, and a 10 kilometer Ruck March.

Each of these events is designed to challenge the participants’ physical and mental capabilities. At the end of the competition, there is a great feeling of relief and pride in knowing that you came, you saw, and you conquered things that at one point you felt were impossible.

The Ranger Challenge teams maintain extremely high standards. They work out five mornings a week and continually have the highest PT scores in the battalion. Ranger Challenge is an excellent tool to build cohesive teamwork as well as increasing physical fitness and technical competence. To be eligible to train and compete, a cadet must be in good standing academically, militarily, and physically.