Junior ROTC cadets from eight high schools in the Wichita area tested themselves in the annual City League Raider Challenge on October 1, 2026, at Northwest High School in Wichita, Kansas, with support from soldiers assigned to the Army Reserve's 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command.
The competition pushed 11 teams of cadets through a demanding series of events, including a rope bridge, a mile team run, an obstacle course, wall traversals, rope obstacles, and a muddy low crawl, according to the Army.
Soldiers from the 451st ESC, a Wichita-based Army Reserve unit, volunteered their time to help score and mentor the cadets throughout the competition. Army Maj. Chris Cooper, who served as a grader on the obstacle course, noted that the cadets "showed a lot of encouragement towards one another."
The Army Reserve unit's participation reflects the command's identity as soldiers who serve the nation while living and working as civilians in their local communities.