Twenty-seven seconds into the flexed arm hang, the wrists and shoulders of the men in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program began to tremble.
“Hold it up, you got no excuse!” the onlooking ROTC members shouted from the sidelines. “You’ve gotta go for the gold!”
To receive a gold rating in this portion of the basic fitness test, participating ROTC students had to hold their positions, chins above the metal bar, for at least 65 seconds.
Still ahead of them was the remainder of the fitness test, along with a ruck march, where they would hoist 33-pound rucksacks on their backs and march for more than seven miles around the campus grounds.
Universities throughout the country sent their ROTC students to IU’s Gladstein Fieldhouse to complete a series of tests and earn the official German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency.
The basic fitness test, which included a sprint test and shuttle run, was one of six parts of the two-day event. Other examinations needed to obtain the badge included a written evaluation report, first aid course, 100-meter swim, ruck march, pistol shoot and protective clothing test.
Participants can receive a bronze, silver or gold ranking. Once they fail one portion of the event, they are not allowed to continue their efforts, and they receive an automatic failure.
“Traditionally, the most difficult event is the 100-meter swim, because you have to take your uniform off in the pool before time’s up,” said Mike Sullivan, Army ROTC student and IU senior. “When I took the test, I messed up at the pistol shoot, which takes a long time for us to get through.”
This was IU’s third year being host to the program. Sullivan said the event required extensive amounts of coordination between IU Athletics, the ROTC program and the visiting German officers who were enlisted to evaluate the participants.
“This is one of the nicest tracks in the nation, so we’re glad we have it at IU,” Sullivan said. “I’d say we’ve run it pretty smoothly. Some of the guys get in arguments because they’ve traveled all the way here just to fail, but we handle the issues well.”
Sullivan said the senior cadets run the event with the guidance of non-commissioned officers, and the younger IU ROTC members are trained on how to grade the participants, which amounted to nearly 300 students from more than 20 schools throughout the Midwest and beyond.
“Usually only one school or unit in an area will offer this series of tests, and we’re the ones who do it for the seventh brigade of the ROTC,” commissions officer Sam Sittler said.
The two-day event ended with an awards ceremony, where ROTC students who passed all six parts of the examination were awarded their badges.
Out of the 298 participants, 83 received a gold ranking, 73 silver and 34 bronze. To calculate the scores, the cadets and officers compiled and evaluated the data from everyone’s performances individually.
“This is a good opportunity for all participants,” Sullivan said. “This is the first real award cadets typically earn and wear on their military uniforms, so it’s significant for a lot of people.”
