FORT HAMILTON, N.Y. – The U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion New York City is inviting local media to attend the U.S. Army’s Liberty Challenge Saturday at Fort Hamilton’s Taylor Field from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Media will have the opportunity to cover more than 200 U.S. Army recruits battle testing their physical endurance and mental wits against each other while building esprit de corps in buddy teams before reporting to Basic Combat Training this summer.
The day’s attractions are scheduled to feature multiple opportunities for strong visuals of the Future Soldiers, including six round-robin competitions: pushups, sit ups, grenade toss (water balloons), relay race, pull ups and finally, a round of Sgt. Says, the U.S. Army’s version of Simon Says, where the last Future Soldier to have correctly completed all facing movements stands to win the title. A team tug-of-war will round out the day.
Featured tactical exhibits include a Blackhawk helicopter from Fort Drum, N.Y., troop and cargo-carrying vehicles from the U.S. Army Reserve and the U.S. Army’s New York National Guard, inflatable sports games, interactive kiosks and U.S. Army educational and career exhibits. Stationary exhibits are scheduled to be prepositioned on Taylor Field, which boasts a modest, green landscape with the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge towering in the background. News media requiring either visually-appealing photos or space to conduct stand ups are encouraged to take advantage of the landscape for their newsgathering purposes.
During lunch, media can participate in the cooking demonstration where a noncommissioned officer will teach the Future Soldiers how the U.S. Army leverages science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) during meal times.
Finally, media are also welcome to hop aboard an Army-chartered bus for a two-hour tour of the U.S. Army Future Soldier Resource Center in the Fort Hamilton Fitness Center, the post exchange, commissary and military housing. The presence of the parents of U.S. Army Future Soldiers on these tours will present a unique interview opportunity for news media as well.
Media interested in attending are required to RSVP no later than 3 p.m., May 11, 2012. U.S. Army personnel will consolidate special interview requests and provide attending news media with link up times & locations.