Students at Lehigh University have the opportunity to take part in Military Science classes (Army ROTC) as an elective, in addition to their general undergraduate coursework. ROTC cadets learn leadership qualities and team building through intensive physical training, which often takes place at 5 a.m. before other classes begin. Army personnel teach cadets self-discipline, critical thinking skills, as well as many other qualities that will help shape the students into well-rounded and courageous individuals.

Participating in ROTC also opens up the possibility of receiving academic scholarships. After finishing a baccalaureate degree, as well as the requirements in the ROTC program, a student can obtain a commission as a second lieutenant and become eligible for assignment with the Active or Reserve/Army National Guard Forces of the U.S. Army.

The ROTC has training labs as well as classes to create simulations of real military scenarios. Some of their field training exercises consist of breaking down into squads to figure out how to execute the training. All squads are given a mission and have to go through procedures as a team to execute missions in the field.

Lehigh ROTC has a Ranger Challenge team, a prestigious club within the program that sends students to an intensive inter-school competition every fall that tests ability to succeed in rigorous tasks such as land navigation, weapons assembly, evaluating and moving casualties, and extreme obstacle courses. Lehigh’s Ranger Challenge team committed to many hours of training and returned to campus before the semester began to start training.

The team meets 18-20 hours a week outside of other ROTC classes and training. All the hard work paid off, according to Team Captain Jacob Matus.

“There are 44 teams that compete from all over the northeast,” Matus explained. “This year, we came in second overall after coming in third last year, so we did pretty well all around.”

Kevin Loughlin, sergeant of the Ranger Challenge team, said everyone involved in the competition works tirelessly, devoting a significant amount of time preparing for and participating in the competition.

“It was pretty commendable how much work people put into it because it’s cadets from Lafayette, Lehigh, DeSales, but they all put in a lot of effort regardless of where you go to school,” Loughlin said. “To see it all come together in the end is pretty huge.”

Lehigh’s team stands out among the other schools. In addition to the strong physical condition of the team, its members have formed a close-knit group and share a sense of community.

“What we are doing is a lot of skill-based and physical stuff, but probably one of the most important things is the team chemistry,” Matus said. “We are all pretty close friends, which I think separates us from a lot of the other teams.”

The close bond that brigade members share allows them to collaborate and succeed even when faced with challenging tasks.