Cavalry scout teams vie for Gainey Cup

By SGT. 1ST CLASS RAYMOND PIPER
Army News Service
Five cavalry scouts from U.S. Army Alaska won the inaugural Gainey Cup Competition, earning the right to call themselves the best cavalry scout team in the Army.
The five-day event held at Fort Benning, Ga., March 1-5, tested the Soldiers  physically and on the basics of being a cavalry scout. The competition was named for retired Command Sgt. Maj. William Gainey, who was the first senior enlisted adviser to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—a position created in 2005.
“It re-established all of the fundamentals of my job with me,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Miller, a team leader with 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. “It was just a great training experience, and I’ll take it back to my unit and teach it to my guys and make them a better team.”
The competition began with the “Disciplus Validus,” a four-hour physical test that incorporated trad-itional exercises, such as pull-ups, dips, push-ups and sit-ups, with nontraditional challenges, such as tire-flipping, pulling a wounded person on a casualty sled and pushing a Humvee uphill. The teams started at 10-minute intervals and were awarded points for each station based on their overall performance.
After the last obstacle, the scouts completed a written exam that tested their knowledge of the fundamentals of reconnaissance. With the tests completed, they completed the final three miles that took them to the finish line.
No matter what, win or lose, the experience is one that the scouts can use to hone their individual and unit skills.

Photo by Patrick Albright

SGT. HOOPER, FRONT, CRAWLED UNDER AN obstacle during the inaugural Gainey Cup scout competition on Fort Benning, Ga., March 5. Hooper is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division. Troops competed in the obstacle course shortly after they finished a 5.3-mile foot march.

DoD photo by Marvin Lynchard

SOLDIERS NAVIGATED A ROPE OBSTACLE DURING competition. The Soldiers are assigned to the 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Photo by Patrick Albright

A SOLDIER PUT ON HIS GAS MASK DURING A SIMULATED chemical attack.

Photo by Patrick Albright

STAFF SGT. DANIEL HANSEN, SGT. NICHOLAS GONNION AND SPCS. SERGIO ROBINSON, Scott Wasilevich and William Lahr moved out after dismounting from a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at the landing zone. Hansen, Gonnion, Robinson, Wasilevich and Lahr are assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division.

Photo by Patrick Albright

A SOLDIER PROVIDED SECURITY AFTER A SIMULATED chemical attack.

DoD photo by Marvin Lynchard

SOLDIERS NAVIGATED AN OBSTACLE COURSE. The Soldiers are assigned to the 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Photo by Patrick Albright

A MARINE SCOUT TEAM WAITED FOR A CH-47 CHINOOK HELICOPTER to move them to their final event of the Inaugural Gainey Cup scout competition.