Teamwork marks new academy tradition

  • Published
  • By 2nd Lt. Greg Hignite
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Students here participated in a new part of basic cadet training July 30 that involves heart, sweat and a desire to complete the training as a team, officials said.

The Warrior Run required freshmen cadets to complete an arduous 35-mile relay run along the Front Range and into the mountains above the academy. Every basic cadet participated in the event, but was only required to run about three miles of the course.

The run is the ultimate event in reinforcing the benefits of team over self, according to the academy’s commandant.

“None of the … cadets could complete the run on their own,” said Brig. Gen. John Weida. “But together, running a relay … over rugged terrain, they accomplished their goal.”

More than 1,250 freshmen cadets and 250 upper-class cadet cadre were divided into 12 relay sessions. The first three legs of the relay traveled across roads and trails that can accommodate large numbers of runners. When the course snaked through the mountains, relay sizes shrank to smaller numbers.

The run replaced the traditional “march back” ceremony, where the entire class of basic cadets marches back to the academy’s campus from their field training in Jacks Valley.

Academy leaders were looking for a new way to provide a challenging event to cement the bonds of teamwork formed during field training, according to Lt. Col. Jim Imlay, the officer in charge of organizing the run.

“The Warrior Run is going to be a significant event in their training. It’s going to be something they remember for a lifetime,” he said.

Throughout the run, cadets carried a special memento signifying their training and commitment to excellence in the Air Force. On a swatch of gold fabric, a small prop and wings pin was mounted to signal the cadets’ goal of being recognized in the cadet wing. Also, all 36 squadrons’ pins were placed on the fabric, along with the Air Force seal.

A list of all the cadets who made it through basic cadet training this year and a list of graduates who have died in combat were also on the memento. The fabric was carefully rolled and placed in a baton for cadets to carry throughout the run.

Before the run started, Weida told the class the run is about teamwork, and basic cadet training is about “showing cadets how to operate as a team. If they run the Warrior Run as a team, they will succeed.”