Army-ROTC Cadet's Team

Places in Competition

Carolina Brigade's Army-ROTC Ranger Challenge Competition was held at Fort Jackson, S.C., with Campbell University's varsity team placing third out of 30 entries. Team captain, Greg Darling, of Warren Center, a four-year member of the team, co-ordinated the training efforts of the North Carolina university's two teams. The junior varsity team took first in the second division.

Among the events are physical training, marksmanship, rope-bridge construction, weapons assembly, grenade operations, land navigation and a 10-kilometer road march. Campbell took first in marksmanship.

Darling ranked first individually in weapons assembly for his third year in a row. Cadets must run 50 yards, disassemble and reassemble an M-16 rifle, and run back 50 yards. Darling's time was 1 minute, 15 seconds.

Campbell and the Citadel, a military academy, are long-standing rivals, usually vying for the top two positions in the competition, according to Darling. Campbell hoped to capture first since they advanced ahead of the Citadel as the contest unfolded. But they were edged out of first by Appalachian State with Furman University placing second in the elite division.

Campbell held its Fall Awards Ceremony recently and Darling was awarded the Leader Stakes Award for his performance at Advanced Camp in Fort Lewis, Washington, over the summer. He was also honored with the Certificate of Achievement by the Department of the Army. Campbell's ROTC unit was selected for the prestigious MacArthur Award as the top ROTC unit in the nation this year.

Darling is the son of Pastor Pete and Jill Darling of Faith Christian Fellowship in Apalachin.