Last weekend, 35 members of UR’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps traveled to Villanova University for the 49th-annual Villanova Invitational Drill Meet and the 17th annual Villanova University Excellence Competition.
The ROTC Units practiced for months for this competition, which is one of three regional bouts. Last semester, the team competed at another drill competition at Cornell University.
Teams from 19 other schools, including the U.S. Naval Academy, also traveled to Villanova to compete.
Some of the events included the Platoon Basic and the swim relay. UR won second place in these events and third place overall in Drill.
The ROTC units also competed in a Military Excellence Competition. The MEC is an athletic contest including a 10-kilometer run, swim meet and basketball tournament. UR won third place overall in the MEC.
One of the most challenging parts of the competition is the inspection, which is a test of military knowledge. The Marines who question the ROTC members try to be intimidating. In order to get a high score, team members need to answer as fast as they can and exude confidence. UR managed to take a first- and second-place spot in this event.
ROTC participated in another competition at Cornell University in November, where the team received second place. Midshipman and junior Alex Judd expressed his optimism for the Villanova competition last November in a Campus Times Features story; his enthusiasm turned out to be well-founded.
Schneier is a member of the class of 2011.
