HR teams battle in Wilderness Challenge

FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WAVY) - The Mid-Atlantic Region, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) Department's 10th annual All-Military Wilderness Challenge took place Oct. 7th through 9th in West Virginia with more than 10 teams from Hampton Roads participating.

More than 300 military personnel representing 60 teams from around the world competed in the challenge, which took place in the Appalachian Mountains and on the New and Gauley Rivers.

The Wilderness Challenge bought together members of the armed forces in a series of five outdoor adventure races. Officials say the races were designed to enhance camaraderie, competition and team spirit between all five branches of the Armed Services.

In the competition, teams of four took part in an 8K mountain run, a 14-mile mountain bike race, a 14-mile forced hike through the mountains, a 13-mile whitewater raft race and a 7-mile kayak race.

Team "Amphibia" from the Office of the Chief of Navy Reserve, Washington, D.C., took first place, completed the two-day, five-event race with a total time of 7 hours, 18 minutes and 38 seconds.

Team “Trample the Dead, Hurdle the Weak” from the U.S. Special Operations Command, Tampa, Fla.,  took second place with a total time of 7 hours, 42 minutes and 29 seconds. Team “The Wild Punishers” from Marine Corps Base Quantico took third place with a time of 8 hours, 4 minutes, 22 seconds.

This year's competitors included a variety of teams from Hampton Roads, including teams from Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Langley Air Force Base, Fort Monroe, Fort Eustis, Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, USS Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Assault Craft Unit FOUR, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, EOD Mobile Unit TWO and two "Wounded Warrior" teams from Naval Medical Center Portsmouth.

The top placing teams from Hampton Roads area commands were Team “C-Burn” from Fort Monroe, who finished seventh; Team “Boondogglers” from Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, who finished ninth; “The Flying Pirates” from Assault Craft Unit FOUR, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek, who finished eleventh; and Team “NAVELSG” from the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Supply Group, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown-Cheatham Annex, who finished sixteenth.

Click here for more information on the Wilderness Challenge.