{"id":438871,"date":"2025-05-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=438871"},"modified":"2025-05-08T05:17:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T05:17:56","slug":"washington-army-guard-soldiers-participate-in-norwegian-foot-march","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=438871","title":{"rendered":"Washington Army Guard Soldiers Participate in Norwegian Foot March"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment pose with Col. Josh Barrow, commander, 96th Troop Command, following the 5th annual Central Washington University Army Reserve Officer Training Corp. Norwegian Foot March in Ellensburg, Wash., May 2, 2025.
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\n Soldiers from Washington Army National Guard Medical Command Detachment pose for a photo prior to the 5th annual Central Washington University Army Reserve Officer Training Corp. Norwegian Foot March in Ellensburg, Wash., May 2, 2025.
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\n Soldiers from 341st Military Intelligence Battalion pose for a photo prior to the 5th annual Central Washington University Army Reserve Officer Training Corp. Norwegian Foot March in Ellensburg, Wash., May 2, 2025.
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\n Soldiers from Washington Army National Guard Medical Command Detachment pose for a photo prior to the 5th annual Central Washington University Army Reserve Officer Training Corp. Norwegian Foot March in Ellensburg, Wash., May 2, 2025.
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ELLENSBURG, Wash. – It\u2019s 8 p.m. at the John Wayne Trailhead near the Ellensburg Rodeo Grounds. After a three-hour drive through traffic, Lt. Col. Rob Goertzen, commander of the 341st Military Intelligence Battalion, arrives just in time to join his troops at the starting line of an 18.6-mile nighttime ruck march.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a highly motivated team who wanted to attempt the Norwegian Foot March in the middle of a three-day drill full of ranges and weapon qualifications,\u201d Goertzen said.<\/p>\n

Soldiers from the 341st joined fellow Washington National Guard members and ROTC cadets for the fifth annual Central Washington University Army ROTC Norwegian Foot March\u2014a challenging test of endurance under rugged conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe departed JBLM [Joint Base Lewis-McChord] for Ellensburg Friday after drill and checked in just prior to the start. Cadet Jada Hurst broke the women\u2019s record completing 18.6 miles in 4 hours and 6 minutes finishing a little after midnight,\u201d Goertzen said. \u201cThe entire team completed the full distance safely and we got back to JBLM with enough time for a shower and a nap before weapons draw. There were some tired eyes behind those smiles the next two days, but I expect we\u2019ll have an even bigger turnout next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cavalry scouts from the 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment also participated, traveling north from their pre-deployment training at Yakima Training Center. For them, the once-a-year opportunity was well worth the effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am very proud of our troopers who executed the Norwegian Foot March, which included our dismounted reconnaissance troop and leaders of our medical section,\u201d said LTC Eric Seeb, squadron commander, 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment. \u201cAll troopers showed the mental and physical toughness required to fight and win on today\u2019s battlefield by pushing themselves physically while continuing to support the squadron training for mobilization to the African Command later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maj. Brendan Thompson with the 1-303rd Cav. was the first-place finisher during the event. Thompson is part of both the Washington National Guard marathon and biathlon team.<\/p>\n

The Norwegian Foot March, sanctioned by CWU Army ROTC, attracted participants from across the state and beyond, including CWU Air Force ROTC cadets and members of organizations from Washington and Oregon.
Among them were Soldiers from the Washington Army National Guard\u2019s Medical Command who recently completed the grueling 26.2-mile Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cI signed up at the last minute, but I participated in the Bataan this year so I felt relatively prepared. What\u2019s funny is that these 18.6 miles felt harder than 26.2, as rucking in the dark is a whole different experience. Not to mention the high winds, and gravel 100 percent of the way. Next time, I will certainly remember to bring a head lamp,\u201d said Sgt. Madison Ivey, medical command. \u201cThe morale was high, and it was truly inspiring to see such a strong turnout from the Washington Army National Guard. Whether or not participants met the time hack, what truly mattered was their willingness to show up and push themselves beyond what they think they\u2019re capable of. At the end of the day, that\u2019s all we should be aiming for. This ruck was inspiring and had myself and my teammates ready to find \u2018what\u2019s next\u2019 on the challenge bucket list.\u201d<\/p>\n

To earn the official Norwegian Foot March badge\u2014known as the Marsjmerket\u2014participants must complete the course within four hours and 40 minutes while carrying a 25-pound rucksack. The badge, which originated in 1915 as a test of strength and endurance, is awarded in bronze, silver or gold based on the number of completions and may be worn on the U.S. Army service uniform when earned through an authorized event.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was my fourth Norwegian Foot March and I\u2019m going to go again next year for number five and the gold badge,\u201d said Maj. Tom Haydock, strategy and plans officer, Washington Army National Guard. \u201cThis event seems easy since the ruck is just 24 lbs and there\u2019s no weapon or other gear. But when you get to about mile 14 and still have 4.6 more to go, and your legs hurt from stumbling over rocks because the ruck happens at night, you realize there\u2019s a big difference between the standard Army 12-miler and this event.\u201d<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nationalguard.mil<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/x.com\/USNationalGuard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1 \/ 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 303rd Cavalry Regiment pose with Col. Josh Barrow, commander, 96th Troop Command, following the 5th annual Central Washington University Army Reserve Officer Training Corp. Norwegian Foot March in Ellensburg, Wash., May 2, 2025. (Photo Credit: Courtesy Photo) VIEW ORIGINAL 2 \/ 4 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":438873,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-438871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438871","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=438871"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438871\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":438878,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/438871\/revisions\/438878"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/438873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=438871"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=438871"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=438871"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}