JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
The 53rd Movement Control Battalion, 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary) hosted the second Siegesrader challenge at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia Nov. 1 2016 through Nov. 4, 2016.
The 53rd Btn. (MC) competed in the challenge named in honor of the unit’s distinctive insignia "Victory Wheels” or “SIEGESRÄDER”, referring to the Battalion's service in Germany, to promote functional fitness and competition within the Battalion.
The challenge was comprised of Army warrior tasks and battle drills scattered across the installation, which focused on evaluating and enhancing the unit’s cohesion and effectiveness.
The events included a map reading and land navigation course, voice communication test, treating and evaluating a casualty; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazard assessment, a marksmanship and zero qualification, weapons assembly, functional fitness assessment called “Combat Murphy” and a unit-wide four-mile run in 36 minutes.
Six-man teams, from each of the battalion’s subordinate commands, competed in events over a three-day period, ending with an award ceremony on the fourth day. The events challenged the competitors both mentally and physically.
The Siegesrader Challenge took a culmination of weeks, planning and preparation from the unit’s staff and was designed to promote esprit de corps and teamwork throughout the command.
“These past two weeks have been quite challenging, yet rewarding for the Siegesrader family,” said Capt. Lavina Jackson, 53rd Transportation Battalion (MC) operations officer. “The Battalion staff worked countless hours securing event locations and preparing each site for the competition”.
The winning unit, the 567th Inland Cargo Transfer Company, was recognized and awarded the Golden Tusk award and first place plaque by U.S. Army Lt. Col. Joseph Young, 53rd Btn. (MC), 7th Trans. Bde. (Ex.) commander. They were also selected as the new “Tusker” champion in the Battalion.
“The competition promoted morale and cohesion along with enhancing our individual and team-level warrior tasks and battle drills efficiency and effectiveness for each unit in the battalion,” stated Young. “The event will be a quarterly competition and will have a different focus for each event”.