101st Airborne Division announces the Toughest Air Assault Soldier Winners

August 16, 2012 |

Fort Campbell, KY – The winners of the Toughest Air Assault Soldier Competition, held here today, are 1st Lt. Jackson Wittkamper and 2nd Lt. Samuel Wilkins, both infantry platoon leaders with 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

The Toughest Air Assault Soldier Competition is one of many events held during Week of the Eagles. Thirty three teams entered the competition which featured a 12-mile foot march, obstacle course, written test, sling load test, and rappelling. This year’s Week of the Eagles celebrates the 70th anniversary of the 101st Airborne Division.

The first event was a Ruck march where the soldier puts on load bearing equipment, a 30-pound rucksack, helmet, gets an M-16 rifle, then moves to the starting point for the 12-mile road march. While the starting point was lighted the rest of the march was in darkness, with a blue light marking the turn around point. From the school, the turn around point was 3 miles away. They had to do this route twice. From the school to the turn around point, back to the school, back to the turn around point, and back to the school to finish. They had three hours to complete this portion of the competition.

Then after removing their Ruck march gear, the soldiers moved on to the obstacle course.

A soldier climbs down the Tough One Obstacle

While completing the Ruck march had to be tough, doing this challenging course immediately afterward had to be pure torture. The obstacles included:

• Tough One, in which the soldier climbs a rope, walks across an elevated beam, then climbs up a ladder, over a log, and then down a cargo net.
• Low Belly Crawl, The soldier must crawl on their bellies under strands of barb wire without touching any.
• Confidence Climb, Two 35? telephones poles are stuck in the ground about ten feet apart and joined by 4×4 posts, forming a ladder with increasing distances that the soldier must climb up, then climb back down.
• Six vaults, using one or two hands the soldier must vault over a series of six parallel waist high beams.
• High step over, a series of thigh high parallel logs which the soldier must step over using alternating legs.
• Swing, stop, and jump; The soldier must grasp a rope and while swinging forward pull themselves up and land standing on a log. They then let go and jump to the ground.

And what must be one of the toughest obstacles…

• The Weaver, which is two inclined ladders joined at an angle end to end forming an inverted V, The soldier facing upright must negotiate the ladder, weaving first under then over, each of the beams.

Soldiers participate in the mystery event during the Toughest Air Assault Soldier Competition

After the obstacle course the soldiers proceeded to the repelling tower. After they donned their equipment, and were inspected by the Air Assault School Staff they proceeded to the repel tower where they would go through a total of 4 different repels.

After this the intense physical exertion of the morning complete, and it was testing time. The soldier’s knowledge of the procedures and requirements of their job as an Air Assault Soldier were confirmed. Following which the contestants were put through a practical test where they had to prep a package for sling loading.

The final activity was a mystery event which in this case was an air evacuation exercise. This contest and its various stages were designed to put the soldier through the various tasks they would be required to fulfill during their time as member of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), and every one of these soldiers takes that job very seriously.

The winners of the Toughest Air Assault Soldier Competition, 1st Lt. Jackson Wittkamper and 2nd Lt. Samuel Wilkins, both infantry platoon leaders with 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. (Rear Center, Team 26))

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