Teamwork and grit earn ROTC cadets an invite to West Point championships

Beating 19 teams from schools across California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam, UC Santa Barbara’s Army ROTC Surfrider Battalion won the Ranger Challenge regional competition in February at Fort Hunter Liggett.

In related news, two teams of UCSB cadets are training for the annual Bataan Memorial Death March. Now in its 36th year, the marathon-length race honors the 1942 Battle of Bataan casualties and survivors and the brutal 65-mile forced march of U.S. and Filipino captives as they were moved to prison camps by Japanese soldiers. Participants race in boots and carry 35-pound rucksacks.    

“We have spent almost every Saturday morning since November training,” said Lia Kubitschek, a third-year biology major, who co-captains the team with third-year communications major Jonathan Saenz. “We’re focusing on endurance, mental toughness and team cohesion.” 

Last year, UCSB finished with the fifth fastest time, besting more than 30 teams from across the country. The event, held at White Sands Missile Range, a U.S. Army military testing site in New Mexico, takes place on March 22. On March 15 in Santa Barbara, a virtual Bataan team will march Refugio Road, which begins at sea level roughly 15 miles east of the UCSB campus. The roundtrip covers 13 miles and more than 4,000 feet in elevation.