A little over an hour and a half outside of Nashville, in Clarksville, Tennessee, sits Austin Peay State University (APSU). It is one of the more than 1,700 colleges that offer a Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) program, in which participants (known as cadets) can develop professional skills and, upon completion, begin their journey in the U.S. Army. At APSU, select cadets can join the Ranger Challenge Team as an extracurricular activity.
The group of 11 cadets try out for the team, and if selected, trains for two major competitions—Brigade and Sandhurst. “At the Brigade competition, we compete against approximately 40 schools, doing various task training and physical training consisting of both strength and endurance,” explains Cadet Lucas Broxson, a captain of the APSU Ranger Challenge Team. “If we obtain first or second place within the Brigade competition, then we’ll move on to Sandhurst, which is performed at West Point in New York.”
Meet the APSU ROTC Ranger Challenge Team Captains
Cadet Lucas Broxson was an Army drill sergeant before coming to APSU to earn his master’s degree in history. He used the leadership skills he grew in the Army to eventually serve as Ranger Challenge Team captain.
Cadet Jerry Jacquez was an Army medic before coming to APSU to earn his degree. After serving as the 2023 Ranger Challenge Team captain, he graduated and is now a second lieutenant in the Army.
Men’s Health was able to see first hand how the APSU Ranger Challenge Team trains. “What gets me so excited about the Ranger Challenge competitions is, for three months, you’re working every day toward one common goal,” says Broxson, “And at the end of the day, whenever we get to that competition, we’re able to show everything that we’ve been working for—mentally and physically.”
Here is what training with these cadets looks like. Could you keep up?
Ruck Run
“A ruck run is essentially running with a 35-to-40-pound pack on your back, moving as fast as you can from point A to point B,” explains 2nd Lt. Jerry Jacquez, another APSU Ranger Challenge Team captain. “It really tests your mettle, because you can’t just be a good runner. It’s something where you have to have a lot of mental fortitude, because it is heavy. It’s a good mix of physical strength with cardiovascular endurance—really the biggest thing is grit. If anything’s going to get you through a ruck, it’s grit.”
Navigation Training
The team focuses on the tactical skills that are not only part of the competition but will also be applied to a future career in the Army. This is usually the time when they are working on land navigation, knots, radios, and weapon systems. In land-navigation exercises, cadets calculate distance and direction, and then utilize their maps and their compasses to find at least four to five points—all within a given time period. “A huge part of the Ranger Challenge Team is that we are able to actually go out on site, look at a map, and say, ‘This is where we are, that’s that hill,’ or ‘That’s that ridge,’ and learn land navigation through that means,” Broxson says.
Physical Fitness
The Ranger Challenge Team trains above and beyond its ROTC requirements. For the cadets at APSU, this extra physical training takes place in the Dog Pound—their nickname for the small gym that houses hundreds of pounds of weight plates, multiple rowing machines, a squat rack, and weight bench. Physical strength is a big part of their practice.
“Some of the key workouts that are fundamental for Ranger Challenge Team members—they’re definitely meant to strengthen your legs,” Jacquez says. As a result, the team is doing a lot of front squats, squats, and cleans. “It’s a lot of lifting things that may be heavier than yourself. You might have to lift one of your battle buddies next to you, or you’ll have to pick up a mannequin that weighs more than you do.”
They also row. “That’s just all endurance, all cardiovascular, and targeting every part of your body,” Jacquez says. The ball toss is another primary exercise, because it’s all about picking something up that’s relatively heavy, Jacquez says: “It’s 25 to 50 pounds, and moving it—whether you’re throwing it across a low water crossing or up over an obstacle to someone on the team.”
Both captains have weight-lifting goals. Broxson bench-pressed 365 pounds (his goal is 405) during our visit (pictured above). As for Jacquez, he wants to join the 1,000 Pound Club, in which across your bench press, squat, and deadlift, you hit that impressive round number. “I’m trying to get my bench press to 250; I’m at 235 right now. I want to get a 405-pound deadlift and about a 365-pound squat. So I’m about 80 pounds shy of the total 1,000 Pound Club right now. It’s definitely a big thing, because that’d be me lifting about 10 times my bodyweight.”
Leadership Skills
Ranger Challenge Team Captain Cadet Lucas Broxson teaches other cadets weapons skills that they will need in competition and beyond.
Other Army tactical skills that cadets learn on the Ranger Challenge Team include knot tying, creating rope bridges, and training for high-intensity events, like a medevac drill (also known as the litter carry). “My favorite activity as a team captain is teaching all of the task training,” Broxson says. “Whether I’m teaching disassembly, assembly of weapons, functions check, and clearing of the weapons, helping each individual soldier get the fastest times, or teaching land navigation—those are my favorite aspects. I’m going to actually be doing that with my officer career.”
Recovery & Reflection
Because everyone needs a day to recover and reflect on their purpose, Ranger Challenge Team members often train on their own with activities like recovery runs. It can also serve as a time to reflect on their bigger goals as cadets, and eventually, Army soldiers. Both Broxson and Jacquez attended APSU through the Army’s Green to Gold Program, which helps enlisted soldiers return to college to earn a degree and return to the Army after graduation as officers.
“I really struggled with confidence prior to joining the Army,” Broxson says. “I was placed into some leadership roles that forced me to grow by standing in front of people and speaking to them, to teach, and to be able to grow together. The Army has most definitely given me that opportunity. I have a stable paycheck. I just got my bachelor’s degree and my master’s degree free of charge from the Army. It’s truly an amazing place. By far the best choice I’ve made so far.”
Following his graduation, Jacquez is looking forward to seeing his past experience with the Ranger Challenge Team pay off. “Prior to coming to the Green to Gold program, I was a 68 Whiskey, which is a medic. I did that for seven years, and I loved it,” he says. “I decided this is what I want to do, but I want to lead soldiers. I want to lead soldiers in this capacity and increase my sphere of influence, which is kind of what inspired me to go to the Green to Gold program and become an officer.
“Before joining the Army, I never thought I’d have any kind of formal college education,” Jacquez continues. “It helped me do that. Not only that, I got to become an officer—that’s insane to me. It’s still settling in. It’s so recent. Then the ROTC program, they help develop you into a better leader. So it doesn’t matter if you’ve had a thousand days in the Army or you’ve had zero—they’re going to train you the same way, and they’re going to help get everyone the same level of success.”
For more information on the many possibilities available in the Army, visit GoArmy.com.
