CAMP HANSEN, Okinawa, Japan -- Marines with Company K, Battalion Landing Team 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, completed a squad competition at Camp Hansen, Aug 8.
For the squad competition, Marines within the company were divided into six squads to accomplish a variety of challenges as fast as possible.
“This squad competition brought us together as Marines,” said Lance Cpl. Andrew Thompson, an infantry assaultman with K Co., BLT 3/5, 31st MEU, and a native of Lincoln, Nebraska. “It builds unit cohesion and a better bond among brothers.”
The competition started at 5 a.m. with one squad starting every twenty minutes. There were seven total stations the BLT Marines had to complete, which included a physical circuit course where the Marines performed squad pushups, jumping lunges and air squats. Another station challenged the Marines to answer infantry-related questions for points that helped toward their overall time. They concluded the competition with a swim before using their rifles to shoot at targets while moving from position to position.
Once the total points and times were calculated, the winning squad earned bragging rights until the next competition and the company sledge hammer, a symbol of pride and strength.
The Marines of BLT 3/5, known as “Dark Horse”, currently comprise the ground combat element of the 31st MEU.
The 31st MEU is the force of choice for the Asia-Pacific region and is the only continuously forward-deployed MEU.