New Guard recruits compete for Commander's Cup

NEVADA, Mo. -- Hundreds of members of the Missouri National Guard's Recruit Sustainment Program will descend upon Camp Clark for a Commander's Cup competition this weekend.

Soldiers representing all nine Recruit Sustainment Program Companies, which are located in St. Joseph, Springfield, Kansas City, Sedalia, Jefferson City, Cape Girardeau, St. Louis, Macon and Festus, will compete for bragging rights in a series of military events. The events include of an Army physical fitness test, drill and ceremony, common task training, boat races and tug-o-war.

"This is a chance for the Soldiers to develop teamwork as a company," said Staff Sgt. Joel LeMaster, the program's Springfield-area coordinator. "It will also provide them with a chance to discover their personal strengths and weaknesses to better prepare themselves for basic training."

The physical fitness test consists of a timed two-mile run and the number of pushups and sit-ups each Soldier can do in a pair of two-minute intervals. A 25-point test of common knowledge each Soldier learns throughout the year will make up the common task training. Events are scheduled to take place Saturday, with a Commander's Cup presentation at 10 a.m., Sunday.

The state-wide competition takes place annually with the purpose of building team cohesion and a healthy competitive spirit.

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