Bloodhound Olympics
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on June 19, 2016 1:45 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Dominic McClarin pulls from the front of the rope as he and a group of Army recruits compete in a tug-of-war Saturday near the Wayne Community College obstacle course for the quarterly Bloodhound Olympics.
A group of fresh United States Army recruits -- all of which ship off to basic training later this year -- are standing in a huddle in a field behind Wayne Community College.
Each recruit in the group is from Goldsboro, and all of them have reached this point in their lives for different reasons.
Some to follow in their family's footsteps, others to focus on serving their country.
But at 10:15 a.m. Saturday morning, they are focused on one thing -- picking a name for their team.
That team is about to compete in the Bloodhound Olympics -- an exercise of five events to see which team of Army recruits in the eastern North Carolina region will come out on top.
Eventually, they settle on "U.S. Thunder" as a team name -- and then immediately enter a competition against teams from Elizabeth City, Greenville, Rocky Mount and Smithfield.
The Bloodhound Olympics includes an obstacle course, push-ups, sit-ups, a relay race and a knowledge test filled with things they will need to know in basic training.
"'Bloodhounds' is the motto for our company (the Greenville Army Recruiting Company), which is why we call it the Bloodhound Olympics," said Capt. Charles Thomson.
Roughly 50 recruits participated in Saturday's events, ranging from 17 to 27 years old -- about 15 of them were from Wayne County.
"This is a chance for us to get the entire region together and train as one before they ship off to basic," Thomson said.
When Staff Sgt. Rambo Tran gave the command for the teams to begin the different events, all the teams sprinted off in different directions.
Some toward the obstacle course, some to the physical fitness tests and one team to the knowledge test station.
The obstacle course consisted of stairs, walls, weighted doors that had to be knocked in and monkey bars, as well as a run around a dirt track.
The first team to go through the course had several members that shot ahead of the group, which brought about a reprimand from their team leaders to remind them that the course -- and the military -- is about team effort and each unit is only as strong or fast as its slowest or weakest person.
Evan Barnes, 18, who attended Rosewood High School, demonstrated this team leadership as he reminded his team to cross the finish line of the events as one unit.
"I've been decided on the fact that I'm joining the Army since I was in the eighth grade," Barnes said.
Barnes said his stepfather and three brothers all joined the Army before him.
"I'm doing this because of my family, and because it's been the only thing on my mind for such a long time," Barnes said. "Its always been a dream of mine."
And while Saturday's events proved to be grueling for the fresh recruits suffering through the heat, Barnes said he expected it.
"It's hard, but it's an honor," Barnes said. "It makes me feel good to know I can do something that others have done before me. It's the hardest thing I've ever done -- it's the Army."