NIJMEGEN, Netherlands- Two officers in U.S. Army Garrison Poland (USAG-P) earn the “Cross for the Four Day Marches” medal by completing the longest multiple day marching event in the world: The “De 4 Daggse” also known as the “International Four Days Marches Nijmegen”.
The origins of the march can be traced all the way to 1924. Each year, the De 4 Daggse starts in mid-July in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Participants walk 30 km (19 mi), 40 km (25 mi) or 50 km (31 mi) daily, depending on their age and gender. When finished, they receive the “Cross for the Four Day Marches” medal. The event was originally a military march but now it is done mostly by civilians. Around 40,000 people participate in it each year and about 5,000 of those are service members.
This year, 1st Lt. J. Teal (from Forward Operating Site Trzebien, Poland) and Capt. Aaron Hinkelman (from FOS Swietoszow, Poland) followed in the footsteps of the generations who came before and took on the challenge of the four-day march. Crossing the finish line may have marked the end to the march but it is just the beginning to the new sense of accomplishment they will bring to their assignments in USAG Poland. A confidence that will help them be strong leaders and examples to the soldiers around them.
