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THURSDAY OCTOBER 31, 2019
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LAMP S E R V I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y O F F O RT L E AV E N W O RT H , K A N SA S , F O R M O R E T H A N 4 5 Y E A R S
CONTACT US | Phone: 684-5267 | E-mail: editor@ftleavenworthlamp.com | On the Web: www.ftleavenworthlamp.com
Post shows appreciation for retirees, veterans Katie Peterson | Staff Writer
Hundreds of military retirees, veterans and their families flooded the Lewis and Clark Center to learn about changes coming to TRICARE, receive their flu shots and visit more than 40 different vendors, who provided them with resources and support, during the 55th annual Retiree and Veteran Appreciation Day Oct. 26. “This may be the very best opportunity of the year to celebrate what it means to be a soldier for life and the equivalent for the other services, and I’m certainly humbled to be here among all of you,” said Garrison Commander Col. Harry Hung during the opening ceremony. “I hope you’ll have that same sense of awe as you look to your left and right in this auditorium knowing that you’re amongst brothers and sisters who have worn the cloth of our nation regardless of service from every generation since the Greatest Generation.” The opening ceremony included presentations by the Leavenworth High School Junior ROTC Cavalry Angels and
Katie Peterson
Attendees of the 55th annual Retiree and Veteran Appreciation Day stand for the playing of the branch songs as the opening ceremony begins Oct. 26 in the Lewis and Clark Center’s Eisenhower Auditorium. Nearly 500 retirees and veterans attended the event.
Raiders teams, the playing of each branch of services’ song, and remarks from Hung and Munson Army Health Center Commander Col. Scott Mower. Hung said the Fort Leavenworth retiree and veteran community has close to 7,500 members. “Among them are two Medal of Honor recipients with service
in Vietnam. We also have eight World War II veterans and 20 Korean War veterans in our retiree community,” Hung said. “These sacrifices made by our soldiers, 70 to 80 years ago, help to create the world that we live in today, one with freedom and far less tyranny. As each year goes by, fewer and fewer of the Greatest Generation and Silent Genera-
tion remain. “For the Baby Boomers through Generation X, you served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and countless other places around the world as our nation called upon our armed forces to defend freedom and secure national interests,” Hung
said. “In the course of the last 50 years, we’ve reshaped our U.S. Army as well as our joint force to be the preeminent land force in the military and the world, today. We thank you for your sacrifices at home, abroad and while in harm’s way.” Hung also updated attendees SEE RETIREE DAY | A2
LHS Raiders teams excel at regional meet Sam Campbell | Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — The 1st Engineer Brigade hosted Fort Leonard Wood’s fifth annual Junior ROTC Raider Challenge Oct. 19 — a highly-physical, allday, multi-event competition designed to test the high schoolers’ mettle. Leavenworth High School Team 1 won first place in overall team score. Junction City (Kan.) High School’s Team 1 finished second, and Leavenworth’s Team 2 finished third. “This is a big event for 1st Engineer Brigade, for Fort Leonard Wood, for all of (the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence) and certainly a big event for all of these high schools,” said Col. Kip Korth, U.S. Army Engineer School commandant. “We had 19 teams show up this time.” The Waynesville JROTC program acted as a sponsor of the event, with cadre and cadets from the district volunteering their time to assist in scoring, oversight and other administrative tasks. Cadets joined each other near the Fort Leonard Wood Horse Stables for a five-kilometer run just before sunrise, and later battled for first place in four rapid-succession events, including the “gauntlet,” a strength and speed exercise where teams raced to carry a 68-pound dummy on a litter for two miles; the physical endurance course, which features rope climbs, high
Cadet Paige Kincade of Leavenworth High School climbs down a rope net at the physical endurance course at the Junior ROTC Raider Challenge Oct. 19 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Photos by Sam Campbell/Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs
Cadet Tyler Kowalewski lifts Cadet Joseph Purvis to his feet after crawling under barbed wire during the physical endurance course at the Junior ROTC Raider Challenge Oct. 19 at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Both cadets are members of Leavenworth High School Team 1 — the competition’s winner.
wall obstacles and crawls under barbed wire; the one-rope bridge, a task requiring cadets to cross a gap using nothing more than one rope, carabiners and quick teamwork; and the physical training test, a multi-part fitness exam, requiring alternating exercises of crawls, pullups, quarter-mile sprints and dummy carries. Cadet Anthony Black from Boonslick Technical Education Center, out of Boonville, Mo., said the gauntlet became challenging, but he and his team took heart in their shared purpose. “We kind of hit that point where we started to
ask ourselves why we’re out here doing this in the first place — because there are a lot more things we could be doing that’s not putting us through this physical stress — but really we started thinking about our own will and how to get through the obstacle ahead of us,” he said. “Teamwork has helped to bring us together.” Retired 1st Sgt. Wayne Cogdill, LHS JROTC instructor, led his team to back-to-back runner-up trophies at the national Raider competition. He said he enjoys bringing his team across state lines to compete at the installation partially due to its inten-
sive physical endurance course. “I love the facilities,” Cogdill said. “(Cadets) actually get on a real military obstacle course. It gets my kids ready for nationals.” Retired Col. Charles Williams, Waynesville JROTC instructor, said the competition is attractive to teams far and wide because of the hard work 1st Engineer Brigade puts in. “There’s probably 100 lieutenants and noncommissioned officers out here working,” he said during the competition. Teams want to come here “because of what 1st Engineer Brigade does.” Korth praised the
brigade for organizing an event of such high quality, and said that nationally recognized programs seem to be forged at Fort Leonard Wood’s competition. “Over the last two years, the runner-up from the national (Raider challenge) has come from this event here at Fort Leonard Wood,” Korth said. “I am confident that the national winner will come from here,.” Wrapping up the day, each team selected two of its top runners to compete in the Raider Buddy Run along the path surrounding the barracks at Indiana and Kansas avenues. Every cadet, cadre, instructor, volunteer and spectator lined the way to cheer on the competitors. Cogdill said he hopes his cadets walked away from this experience with an appreciation for teamwork. “It’s a competition.
We’re here to win, but you know, at the end of the day, it’s all about these kids,” he said. Korth agreed. “They are taking care of each other and moving forward together,” he said. “I’m absolutely impressed by that.” He added that the cadets’ dedication to something larger than themselves inspires him. “These young men and women — this is the future of not only our military but our nation,” Korth said. “Whether they decide to join the military or not, it doesn’t matter ... They will be successful, but the values, the leadership, the teamwork, the toughness that they learned here in JROTC will carry them forward.” Editor’s note: The Leavenworth High School teams will compete in the national championship Nov. 2-3 in Molena, Ga.
AT A GLANCE ■ FORT LEAVENWORTH TRICK-OR-TREATING is 6-8 p.m. today. Residents distributing candy should turn their porch lights on for safety and to show they are participating.
■ DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME ENDS at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3. Set clocks back one hour before going to bed Saturday night and change batteries in smoke detectors.
■ The Fort Leavenworth Spouses Club HOLIDAY BAZAAR is 5-8 p.m. Nov. 15 for an adult-only “Sip and Shop” and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 16 at the Frontier Conference Center. Cost is $5. Children 10 and under attend for free.