FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – This week two soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team “Rakkasan,” 101st Airborne Division, proudly received the 2018 Best Sapper trophy.
The Fort Campbell team, beating out 39 other teams from across the Army, participated in the 2018 Lieutenant General Robert B. Flowers Best Sapper Competition, a grueling three-day event.
Capt. Rudy Chelednik, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd BCT, and Sgt. 1st Class Robert Clark, First Sergeant for Company B, 21st Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd BCT, are no strangers to working together as a team.
Clark described the competition, which consisted of moving a total of 73 miles through locations on Fort Leonard Wood and Lake of the Ozarks region in a time span of 50 hours. Along the way, competitors conducted physically strenuous events coupled with tasks learned at the U.S. Army Sapper School.
“The events consisted of a non-standard PT test, two road marches with engineering or Sapper tasks split up in-between them, as well as waterborne operations, and then it culminated with the ‘X-Mile Run,’ which was an unknown distance run with some competitions in-between,” Clark said.
Clark further expanded on the specifics of the multiple engineering and Sapper tasks the competitors were faced with.
“Tasks included bridge abutment reconnaissance, bridge pylon reconnaissance, setting in and utilizing mine detectors to detect mines, clearing lanes through explosive means or mechanical means, using robots to traverse through a robotics course under the cover of darkness… …[and] all different types of breaching aspects,” recollected Clark. “Each one of those lanes had physical aspects, so not only did you have to be technical, but you had to have that strength aspect to be able to continue towards the end of the mission.”
Chelednik and Clark were ecstatic about winning the competition and were even more proud to have represented the Rakkasans and the 101st Abn. Div. Clark commented that Soldiers have told him they are proud to be a Rakkasan and to be part of a winning team.