By Minh Tu Ung

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Putting their skills to the test, eight members of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) Raiders team competed in the Menehune Adventure Challenge against Punahou, Kapolei and Waimea high schools.The challenge was held at Waimea High School on Kauai from Feb. 26 to 28. Consisting of many different physical tasks that required them to push themselves and work together, the boys team placed third overall and the mixed team, comprised of three boys and one girl, placed first throughout the entire event.

“The Menehune Challenge is part of the ROTC program, it’s part of Raiders, which is kind of a smaller team inside the program. It’s more of the physical of ROTC. We did rappelling, rope bridge, more of the active stuff that you’ll do in the military. And so this competition was pretty much us going to Kauai and going through some of those challenges,” said Senior Darius Usborne, captain of the boys team.

The competition featured an obstacle course, a humvee pull, a rope bridge, a 6-mile run, a canoe race and a 400-meter swim. “The most difficult thing is, we didn’t have enough time to practice, so there were certain aspects of the competition where we didn’t really know what to do and so we improvised,” Usborne stated. Senior Brandee Schiller, captain of the mixed team, added, “This competition made me realize how vital it is to be physically fit.  This entire competition was measuring mental and physical discipline, therefore it’s critical to be well proficient in both categories.”

The challenge was consistent for both the mixed team and the boys’ team, and the mixed team dominated each event. “There were so many small segments within it that you could not do alone. Teamwork was very crucial,” stated Schiller. Junior Alexander Lee, part of the mixed team, added, “It was really strenuous, especially the obstacle course. It was an all-team effort.”

The boys team, on the other hand, lost to Waimea by just one point. “We could’ve probably practiced a little more and we probably would’ve gotten second place. It was kind of hard because first you need to put together a team. And, of course, the budget and all that stuff, we had to figure out if we were actually going. So we had maybe two weeks to practice,” said Usborne.

The cadets who participated in the challenge were chosen based on their performance in the Cadet Challenge at the beginning of the school year, which required doing sit-ups, pull-ups, a mile run and more physical tests. Lt. Col. Timothy Schiller said, “Both First Sergeant Gonzalez and myself were so proud of our cadets. They trained very hard over the past month and it paid off during this grueling two-day event.”

For many of the members, going to Kauai was about more than just the competition. “After competing my last off-island competition for JROTC, nothing beats building friendships.  It’s important to focus on the task at hand and accomplish it to the best of one’s ability but it’s probably more important to have fun with the team. The level of comfort grew over the weekend, and I strongly believe that that’s what helped us win this event,” Brandee Schiller stated. “Going off island for a weekend does do wonders, and for sure, this past weekend was memorable.”

Along with their trophies, the Raiders team came back a strengthened bond between them and increased communication skills. Although this year will mark the last Menehune Adventure Challenge for the senior JROTC members, the cadets plan to continue to train themselves to the best of their abilities.