European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday june 22, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9 cavalry team finds mystery plenty tense by John Millar Wurzburg Bureau Wil Flecken West Germany a ten soldiers sat on the Edge of their seats As the mystery unfolded before them. 1st it. Brian Anderson of the 2nd in 6th inf 1st army div told the group about rocks rough terrain and obstacles they would encounter. A a it a dangerous a he said. A we had a Man break his Arm out there yesterday. It was a clean  a a that a reassuring a one of the soldiers said. The 10-Man team of cavalry scouts from i troop 3rd so 2nd army Cav regt was getting ready monday for the infamous mystery event in this years Usa eur cavalry cup Competition being held this week at the Wil Flecken training area. Each year the Cream of usage urn a cavalry crop gathers for a grueling seven Day six event Competition. Known As the Cav cup the event is designed to test the strength stamina tactical abilities cohesion and marksmanship of usage urn a cavalry troops. A the Pace of the come petition is very rugged a said maj. James Hindman wild Flecken a executive officer. A a they re not going to get a lot of  during the week 18 teams representing cavalry units throughout Usa eur try to outdo each other m two separate reconnaissance missions a physical fitness event marksmanship nighttime land navigation and the mystery event. Hindman said physical fitness is tested not Only by haying the soldiers do the Standard army physical training test but also by having them swim their gear across a 14-foot deep Pond. And soldiers done to just fire rifles for marksmanship. Five different weapons ranging from hand grenades to machine guns Are used during the event. Then there a the mystery event. The purpose a is to give them something that they really can to train up to beforehand a Hindman said. Usa eur Competition officials decided the mystery event would be an obstacle course and Hindman gave the competitors a monster. The event had a Start and finish Point about 2.5 Miles apart Hindman said. A and As we went we just started throwing in everything  what he threw in was a disco smoke machine recorded Battlefield noise and pyrotechnics that added realism and distraction to the course he said. Soldiers started the course with an Uphill jog of about one mile through 10 obstacles. Some of those obstacles were As simple As a ditch or Low Wall while others forced the soldiers to crawl on their bellies under bar Over Here _. A a a. Photos John Millar sgt. Kirk Alcorn top left British army Chi. Frankie Caldwell left and 1st it. Alan Statham lift a teammate Over an obstacle. Caldwell who got a bloody lip during his participation in the event follows pfc. Jack Tripp on a penalty Lap. Bed wire and through culverts. For a Little added punishment Hindman also threw in a penalty Lap Rule that applied to three stations at the courses Halfway Point. At the first station a designated thrower from the team had to hit a target with a Dummy hand grenade from 66 feet. He had two grenades. If he failed the whole group ran a penalty Lap which took them Back downhill past the first grenade throw and eventually to a second grenade throw. If the designated thrower failed to hit his Mark at the next grenade throw the group had to run another slightly longer penalty Lap before going on to a Rifle Range. At the firing Range the team As a whole got 48 bullets. There were 48 targets to Knock Down. Hindman said the team had to work together As there was Only one Bullet per target and they had to Knock Down at least 32 targets. After firing groups moved to another grenade throwing station. Teams had Only one grenade however to throw at a Bunker. Hindman said failing at either the Rifle Range or the grenade Bunker meant another penalty Lap this one a half mile Long. A a it a a psychological thing a Hindman said with a smile. A to have to run Back Down that Hill on a penalty run is mentally  teams next moved to an eight obstacle Confidence course designed to toy with any fear of Heights or sense of balance soldiers Haa. One obstacle for example had teams climbing up a rope for one Story walking Over a series of beams spread several feet apart climbing a ladder for another Story and then slipping Down another rope to the ground. One Soldier from the 2nd army Cav regt said the Mammoth obstacles weren to too Tough. A i was too tired to be worried about being scared a he said. From the Confidence course soldiers moved to a vehicle identification station where they peered through binoculars at Model villages set up on the ground. They had to pick out Friendly and threat vehicles. Then it was a a Short one mile run to the finish Quot Hindman said. A it was physically and mentally draining a said sgt. Mathew English 3rd so 1 Ith army Cav regt. A especially if you had to do a couple of penalty  sgt. Frank Belonus of 3rd so 11th army Cav regt said the mystery event gave him the feeling of a progressive exhaustion. It becomes More and More  he said he  forget the event for a Long time. A my grandchildren will hear about that  a fall of the soldiers were unanimous on two things a Wil Flecken commander it. Col. David White said about the mystery event. A they All liked it and they done to Ever want to do it  sgt. Kirk Alcorn left and pfc. Shawn Foley peer through binoculars to scan a Model Village for Friendly and enemy vehicles during the mystery event. A amps John Millar