Dragon Challenge - competition for military police - Brief Article

Military Police, May, 2000 by Jody T. Fahrig

The Fort Myer, Virginia, military community has developed a three-day competition for military police soldiers it calls Dragoon Challenge.

Fashioned after the battalion-level Warfighter Challenge familiar to soldiers who have competed at Fort McClellan, Alabama, the Fort Myer, Virginia, military community, or FMMC, has developed a company-level competition it calls Dragoon Challenge.

A three-day competition for military police soldiers, the first Dragoon Challenge tested eight three-man teams from East Coast Army installations and organizations. The event was staged at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.

As with most Army competitions, this one began with an Army Physical Fitness Test, but organizers selected a nonstandard running course that was mostly uphill. The remainder of the events tested soldiers' abilities in maintenance, crew drills, common soldier tasks, land navigation, an obstacle course and a 12-mile road march. The soldiers also completed a written examination, covering subjects common to military police and all soldiers, and competed in rifle and pistol marksmanship events.

FMMC MP Company 1SG Robert Loe said he hopes the competition will continue next year as a preparation for the Warfighter competition at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

"The Warfighter competition couldn't take place this year due to the moving of the MP training facility from Fort McClellan to Fort Leonard Wood," Loe explained.

This year's winners were SGT Roderick Wright, SPC Jeremy Howe and SPC Jack McFadden--representing FMMC MP Co. Also competing were MPs from the U.S. Army Security Force, Fort Detrick, Maryland; Fort Meade, Maryland; 3rd U.S. Infantry (The Old Guard), Fort Myer; the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York; Fort Drum, New York; Fort Benning, Georgia; and Fort Stewart, Georgia. "All the units were well represented," Loe said. "The soldiers who came and competed were totally professional.

"The bottom line is that FM 25-101 tells us to provide tough, realistic and rewarding training; and all the soldiers who participated in the competition can truly say they were challenged both mentally and physically."

Reprinted from Soldiers, April 2000.