Kentucky Soldiers Hold Inaugural Memorial Event with Mountain Warrior Ruck March
Soldiers of the Kentucky Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry, held the Inaugural Mountain Warrior Memorial Ruck March this past December. It was a three-day, 202-mile cumulative ruck march that brought together over 250 Soldiers from the 1/149th to honor the battalion’s former commander.
“It’s one of those things that is part of our identity,” said MAJ Jason Mendez, Operations Officer of the 1/149th Infantry. “Infantry Soldiers ruck a lot. They road march. We were looking for an opportunity, as a team-building event, to do an armory-to-armory ruck march. It gained a lot of traction when we recognized that this could be a memorial event.”
The unit, known as the Mountain Warriors, put together the ruck march in honor of LTC Jeff Cole, the former commander of the infantry battalion who passed away from cancer in 2015. The march allowed Soldiers to turn their December drill into an exciting community event that paid tribute to LTC Cole.
“We are really proud about not only who he was in uniform, but also how he fought the fight of battling cancer,” MAJ Mendez explained. “It can be [inspiring] to find leaders who show that level of character, integrity and personal courage.”
The traits described by MAJ Mendez were apparent to those who knew LTC Cole. In LTC Cole’s blog, These Are the Good Old Days, he documented his journey through his battle with cancer. His explanation for his choice of blog title gave insight to his character and positive outlook on his diagnosis.
“Why would someone who just found out that he has leukemia think these are the good ol’ days? Easy answer: It’s a matter of choice,” LTC Cole explained in his first blog post. “No matter what a disease does to one’s body, it cannot take away the power to choose. Despite the cancer, I am a blessed man with an incredible Family.”
When plans began moving forward to honor the lieutenant colonel with the ruck march, interest in the event swelled among Soldiers.
“I think for those who knew LTC Cole, it was a no brainer,” said MAJ Mendez. “It’s one of those things that you can absolutely get behind. It’s really easy after knowing his service to this battalion and what he meant to other Soldiers, both officers and enlisted. [The march] was a memorial for a very special Soldier and his Family.”
Christi Cole, LTC Cole’s widow, attended several segments of the march throughout the weekend. She believes LTC Cole would have been extremely pleased and grateful to know his battalion was conducting the march in his honor.
“Jeff would be honored, and completely blown away that [the Guard] would want to do something this huge,” she said.
Planning for the march began last summer after the idea for the event was spurred by MAJ Mendez and 1/149th Battalion Commander LTC Eddie Simpson. The planning process fostered collaboration amongst Soldiers who knew LTC Cole and those who had only recently learned about his impact on the battalion.
“I’ve had great opportunities to talk with and receive feedback from Soldiers,” MAJ Mendez said. “When we were in the planning phase, there was a young Soldier who never knew LTC Cole, but when he realized what we were trying to accomplish, he wanted to be a part of the conversation. He wanted to contribute and share ideas on how we could elevate this opportunity.”
SGT Jordy Brewer said that despite not knowing LTC Cole personally, it was important for him to contribute to the march.
“I have always heard people say how great of a man he was. It is always an honor to [give tribute to] a veteran,” said SGT Brewer.
The march began on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, with an opening ceremony that included a flag folding presentation by the color guard.
“We attached the flag to a ruck sack and that ruck went the full 202 miles hitting every armory in our battalion,” said CPT Michael Moynahan, who was part of the ruck march planning committee.
On Sunday, Dec. 3, the flag was presented to LTC Cole’s Family during the closing ceremony.
“The holiday season has been especially hard for me and this weekend has been a really bright spot,” said Christi Cole. “The idea that the Guard would conceive of something like this was amazing to me. Just seeing these guys remember Jeff and his legacy – it’s just really powerful.”
In addition to honoring LTC Cole, the battalion also wanted to use the march as an opportunity to engage with the local community.
“Our goal with this event, in addition to giving back to a fallen Soldier, was to provide the communities our armories reside in with the opportunity to see our Soldiers performing military tasks,” said LTC Simpson.
“Instead of marching directly to our training areas and military installations, we wanted a community-oriented event,” explained CPT Moynahan. “What better way than to do the ruck march out in the community, walking through the different cities. Our battalion is based out of eastern Kentucky, and we have six armories that we connected by the ruck march.”
Seven companies, consisting of over 250 Soldiers, participated in the event. The ruck sack march was separated into six segments with each company marching a different segment. Charlie Company marched from Ravenna to Mt. Vernon. Bravo Company marched from Mt. Vernon to Somerset to London. The Forward Support Company marched from London to Barbourville. Headquarters and Headquarters Company marched from Barbourville to Pineville. Alpha Company marched from Harlan to Pineville. And Delta Company marched from Pineville to Middlesboro.
The companies marched in teams of five to 12 Soldiers at a time, and swapped out marchers every four miles. Throughout the march, which took approximately 51 hours to complete, community residents lined the streets to show their support for the marching Soldiers. Local citizens and Family members participated in the last 1.5 miles of the march, going into Middlesboro.
“We want to be visible and be involved [with residents] because we ultimately work for the community and the citizens,” CPT Moynahan said. “I think the community engagement has been really great and we’re appreciative of any opportunity we can use to expand on the public’s awareness of what we do.”
MAJ Mendez shared that being a part of the march was, on a personal level, especially meaningful to him.
“It’s been great and very rewarding,” said MAJ Mendez. “I had a personal relationship with LTC Cole, having deployed with him twice. It had a very special meaning for me. But aside from that, it was neat to see our Soldiers come together and pull off this event, going over 202 miles for 51 straight hours. I’m very thankful for it.”
While most Soldiers involved in the event participated by marching, there was also a great number of Soldiers who took part in other ways, like helping with logistical support or driving the buses that took Soldiers to and from the march start and finish points. It was an event that many wanted to participate in, whether they were an active part of the battalion or not.
“We had one Soldier who came out who had previously been with the unit and recently retired,” MAJ Mendez said. “He came back, joined his company and he rucked alongside them for almost 50 miles just to get out there with his old unit [in support of] a great cause.”
The march also required support from the Kentucky State Police and the State Department of Transportation. Both organizations assisted with city permits and traffic control as the Soldiers marched through the city streets.
Reflecting on the success of the ruck march and the level of support it garnered, the leaders of the 1/149th have plans of holding similar events in the future.
“I think we will continue with memorial-style events that connect us with Soldiers who have passed and the contributions of their Families,” MAJ Mendez said. “We want to carry on with not only honoring Soldiers that have served, but also with connecting with our local communities as Guard Soldiers.”
By Staff Writer Tatyana White-Jenkins
