FRANKFORT, Ky. –
For U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Lear, rucking for 12 miles seemed familiar. The weight of the ruck. The steady rhythm of boots on pavement. The tired legs, sore feet and inevitable blisters.
But this time, there was something different.
Lear, who is nearing the end of a 39-year career in the Kentucky Army National Guard, participated in the Royal Danish Air Force Flyver March at Boone National Guard Center in Frankfort, Aug. 28. It was his final official ruck march as a Guardsman.
“Ruck marching is just another part of what I’ve done throughout my career,” Lear said. “There have been several times over the last year that I’ve thought, ‘This is the last time I will ...’ For this one to be my official last ruck makes it special.”
The event brought together 146 participants for a 12.43-mile march carrying a 23-pound rucksack while wearing their duty uniforms.
It was also the first opportunity for Kentucky Guard members to earn the Danish Flyver Medal, a foreign award newly authorized for wear on U.S. Army dress uniforms.
For Lt. Col. Jimmie Warinner, the event organizer, the march was designed to accomplish more than simply putting miles on Soldiers’ boots.
“The primary goals of the Royal Danish Flyver Ruck March were to reinforce physical readiness, stress mental resilience, and give our Soldiers the opportunity to earn an authorized foreign award, the Danish Flyver Medal,” Warinner said.
Unlike some ruck marches, there was no time limit for completing the course. While organizers did not keep an official clock, Warinner estimated the fastest two participants finished in about two and a half hours.
The real measure of success, he said, was that every participant who stepped off completed the march.
“We have some tremendous athletes in the KYARNG, and this event was right in their wheelhouse,” Warinner said. “We also have Soldiers who had to dig a little deeper and grind a little more, but they did, and in the end, everyone accomplished the task.”
A strong interest in participation presented challenges for organizers, who capped the event at 173 registrants. Of that group, 146 ultimately stepped off, completed the march and earned the medal.
“Demand was going to surpass our ability to conduct a safe event, so we had to cap participation this year,” Warinner said. “Next year, with a refined plan and more dedicated support, we hope to have more participation in order to give everyone who wants to march that same opportunity.”
For Warinner, the ruck march offered Soldiers something that cannot easily be replicated in a classroom or during routine physical training.
Before the march began, Warinner reminded participants that the event was not a race nor a competition against one another.
“It’s a team event,” Warinner said. “Everyone should motivate each other and share resiliency with each other. And at our event, that’s exactly what happened.”
Throughout the route, groups of Soldiers encouraged one another and crossed the finish line together.
Some participants were experienced ruck marchers. Others had to push through considerably more discomfort and fatigue to reach the end.
But the outcome was the same.
“Not one person quit. And more importantly, there was a lot of teamwork and encouragement going on throughout the march,” Warinner said.
Lear witnessed that same dynamic repeatedly throughout his career.
Although rucking is an individual physical effort, he said, the presence of others can provide the motivation necessary to keep moving forward.
“Having a group of individuals complete it together brings out the extra effort and the feelings of belonging. And not wanting to ‘let down’ your teammates is where endurance and resilience come from,” he said.
Lear often found himself at the front of the formation, leading the way alongside his Soldiers.
“One thing rucking has taught me is that it’s better [for me] if I’m setting the pace, so for several years I’ve been the guy at the front of the march,” Lear said. “Even though it’s an individual effort, most people won’t or can’t do this alone.”
“My hope is that seeing me, a brigadier general, out there with them inspired some of them to not ‘let down’ the general,” Lear said. “Most likely they thought, ‘If that old man can do this, I can too.’ Either way is fine with me.”
Warinner said the event provided an opportunity for an existing characteristic of the Kentucky Guard to shine.
“I think it gives the already existing culture of the Kentucky Army National Guard a chance to thrive,” he said. “Our Soldiers love challenges. That’s one of the reasons they’re Soldiers.”
The march also demonstrated the importance of the support network behind every successful training event.
The United Service Organizations (USO) at Fort Campbell provided drinks and snacks for participants and operated a station along the route. The Kentucky Army National Guard Holistic Health and Fitness program conducted pre-march stretching and provided post-march recovery protein shakes.
Kentucky Guard Family Programs provided information on suicide awareness, while volunteers from organizations and directorates across Boone National Guard Center staffed registration and check-in stations and seven water points along the route.
Those volunteers included personnel from the G-1, G-3, inspector general, Joint Force Headquarters, Public Affairs Office and Medical Detachment, among others.
Warinner said the support was critical, with personnel arriving early to begin preparing for the event.
“Without that support being on site and ready to set up at 0300 hours Friday morning, we couldn’t have held this march,” he said.
The success of the inaugural event has organizers looking toward the future.
The current plan is to make the Royal Danish Flyver March an annual event for the Kentucky Army National Guard, with organizers planning to use feedback from this year’s after-action review to improve the event and expand participation.
For Lear, however, the significance of the march went beyond medals, miles or the completion of another physical challenge.
Looking back on nearly four decades in uniform, he said the opportunity to serve alongside Kentucky’s Soldiers is what has kept him coming back.
“I thank God often that I’ve been able to be a part of our organization,” Lear said. “The men and women of the Kentucky Army National Guard are the absolute best of the Commonwealth.
“Serving alongside these heroes is the main reason I’ve stayed in for 39 years and seven months, and getting the privilege to lead them has made me the best version of myself.”
As he completed his final official ruck march, Lear said there are parts of the experience he will not miss.
“I won’t miss the blisters, sore feet and tired legs much,” he said. “But, I will miss the feeling of belonging to part of something that is bigger than myself.”