Army Reserve Unit Supports Local Junior ROTC Raider Challenge

Oct. 8, 2026 | By Army Capt. Robert Smith, 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command |

Mud, sweat and chants of esprit de corps filled the air at Northwest High School in Wichita, Kansas, Oct. 1, 2026, as the next generation of military leaders were put to the test.  

Junior ROTC cadets from eight high schools across the area converged for the annual City League Raider Challenge, a grueling competition of physical strength and mental fortitude. Providing support and encouragement throughout the event, and often right in the thick of the action, were soldiers assigned to the Army Reserve's 451st Expeditionary Sustainment Command.

The Raider Challenge pushed 11 teams of cadets to their limits with a demanding series of events, including a rope bridge, a mile team run and an obstacle course. Cadets traversed walls, navigated rope obstacles and powered through a muddy low crawl, demonstrating exceptional teamwork and grit. 

"There was a lot of motivation out there," said Army Maj. Chris Cooper, command inspector general, who served as a grader on the obstacle course. "They really liked getting in the mud. I thought they'd all be hesitant, but they dove right in and showed a lot of encouragement towards one another."

Soldiers assigned to the 451st ESC, a Wichita-based Army Reserve unit, volunteered their time to help score and mentor the cadets throughout the competition. Their presence provided more than logistical support; it offered the students a direct link to service members living in their own community. 

"It's important for them to see a representation of what being a service member looks like and to know that we are out here supporting our community," said Army Master Sgt. Brian Michael Poe Jr., command assistant inspector general. "If they are curious about the military after high school, they can pick our brains a bit." 

Their presence is a cornerstone of the Army Reserve's identity as "twice the citizen" —soldiers who serve the nation while living and working as civilians in their local communities. For the command, participating in events like the Raider Challenge is a direct investment in the future of Wichita.

"This is the youth, this is the future," explained Army Sgt. 1st Class Lewis Nicholson, an operations noncommissioned officer with the unit and a former high school Junior ROTC cadet. "By getting ourselves involved with the high school and the JROTC program, it's another way to give back." 

The sentiment was echoed by retired Army Lt. Col. Bob Bystrek, senior Army instructor for the Northwest High School Junior ROTC program and a former member of the 451st ESC. 

"Today is where months of training and dedication come to fruition for these cadets and seeing that hard work pay off is incredibly gratifying," Bystrek said. "A huge thank you to the team at the 451st ESC for coming out and helping us." 

As the final teams crossed the finish line, it was clear the event was more than just a competition. It was a powerful demonstration of community, mentorship and the enduring bond between the city of Wichita and the citizen-soldiers of the sustainment command.

Family Support Network Helps Families During Marine Deployments

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

April 7, 2008 - Dealing with a loved one's deployment can be difficult. But for Marine families based thousands of miles from home, the challenges might seem even more daunting if not for an active family support network in place to help them. Here at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, home to more than 11,000 Marines and sailors and their families, the Marine Corps Family Team Building program plays a critical role in helping families through multiple deployments.

Historically a volunteer-based effort, the program now benefits from a recent Headquarters Marine Corps decision to create permanent, paid positions at every Marine base to ensure consistent, continuous family support programs throughout the Corps, explained Xiomara Bowes, the program's director.

The Marine Corps dedicated other expanded resources to the program, as well, introducing broader family support efforts. "We have supplies; we have equipment; we have office spaces; we have facilities," as well as additional child care and extended-hour training programs, Bowes said.

Now, she said, the program can provide additional services and training, not only to spouses, but also to children of deployed Marines and sailors, as well as their parents and extended families. "It opens it up for more training opportunities, more learning opportunities to just get through the challenging lifestyle," she said.

But even with this seven-person paid staff, Bowes said the network couldn't serve the families of about 1,700 currently deployed Marines without a vast volunteer network. The 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force's 2nd Battalion is deployed now, and the 1st Battalion is preparing to deploy later this year.

"We're busy when it comes to deployments, especially with the times we are in," Bowes said. "There's simply no way we could provide the support families need by ourselves, without the commitment of our volunteers."

Bowes described the far-reaching efforts she said are particularly important here, because there's no way to hop into the family car and drive home, and airline tickets home cost hundreds of dollars.

"There's a sense of isolation for many of them," said Bowes, a Navy wife herself who understands the challenges deployments bring. "When you're here in Hawaii and your family is Montana, it's not like you can get on a plane and go to Montana."

The isolation can be particularly difficult for younger spouses experiencing their first deployment, she said. The average Marine here is 19 to 20 years old, and about 25 percent of the base population is married.

Even spouses able to pick up and fly home during the deployment can run into a quandary, explained Cheryl Roy, the base's readiness and deployment support trainer and wife of a 30-year Marine who recently retired. If they leave their base housing for more than 90 days, they're required to give it up to the next person in line for housing and to get back on the waiting list when they return.

Their medical benefits can transfer with them, but change because the family is moving from a base outside the continental United States to one within CONUS. And if they have pets, they have to consider the quarantine requirements on their return to Hawaii, Roy said. "It's not an easy move; even if they decide to do that, it has challenges, as well," Bowes said.

These factors, she said, make a solid family support network especially important.

Spouses often seek out the Family Team Building staff to help them deal with a particular problems, but get something far more important, Roy said. "I think what they're looking for and what we're trying to give them are possibly two different things," she said, "because they come looking for services, and we want to teach them how to take care of themselves. And if you look at each one of our programs, you'll see that the commonality is in teaching them and educating them in different ways to do just that."

Training programs are offered on base and online, and they run the gamut from courses that promote personal development such as communication skills and financial awareness to those that develop career skills.

"Our focus is on empowering them. We're building resiliency," Bowes said.

"It's always going to be up and down. It's just the nature of being in a military family. ... There are constant changes to our lifestyle," she said. "And so because of that, what we want to build is resiliency so they can accept change, transition from one thing to the next, and never skip a beat. ... We want to help build resiliency so they can get through those challenges.

The LINKS program -- better known by its acronym than its full name: Lifestyle Insights, Networking, Knowledge and Skills program -- is a vital part of this effort, Bowes said. She described LINKS as "Marine Corps 101," a program that teaches families about the Marine Corps and its traditions. This, she said, helps build pride among family members and helps them better understand the culture they live in and how it operates.

LINKS also covers topics ranging from how to read a leave and earnings statement, to what services are provided on base and where to go for them, to an overview of Hawaiian culture and language.

The base's programs also help families understand the family dynamics that take place before, during and after a deployment. Roy pointed to a seven-stage emotional cycle that begins up to six weeks before the Marine's departure and continues up to 12 weeks after the homecoming -- each stage involving emotional ups and downs for the family.

"We want to teach them about the emotional cycles of deployment, so they understand and are prepared for the emotional roller coaster," she said. The Family Team Building program's offerings span the full deployment cycle, from pre-deployment briefings to prepare families for what's ahead to support groups during the deployment to a warrior transition briefing that helps redeploying Marines transition back to their roles at home.

To help families reach out to each other and give them a little fun during the deployment the base also sponsors an active Operation Homefront program, said Louise Yeager, Marine Corps community services area coordinator. Each month, the program offers a free event for families of deployed Marines and sailors: a bowling day, pool party, picnic, or visit to the local Tiki Island amusement park.

"The families really look forward to these events," Yeager said. "It's a chance for them to have fun, but also to get together with the other family members for sharing and support."

As the Marine Corps Family Team Building program helps families, it's also helping improve the Marines' readiness for their deployments, Bowes said.

If the family is not ready for a deployment and not stable enough to handle the deployment -- to be alone, to be without the second parent -- then the Marine can't go off and do his job," she said. "A Marine has to be able to go out and concentrate solely on what the mission is. ... We have found that, in order to have mission readiness, you also have to have family readiness. They actually correlate."

A distracted Marine puts his or her entire unit at risk, Roy said. "And we can't have that, because we want our Marines and sailors to come home. That's why we're so committed to this program. We believe in what we're doing. We believe in our mission to help them achieve their mission."

Face of Defense: Former Sergeant Major of the Army Still Serves

By Beth Reece
Special to American Forces Press Service

Nov. 9, 2007 - Jack L. Tilley left the Army twice -- first after a tour in Vietnam, then again in 2004. But he still thinks he's a soldier. “You can't just all of a sudden say, 'I quit.' You can't get it out of your heart," the former sergeant major of the Army said.

Tilley retired as the Army's senior enlisted soldier in January 2004 after 35 years of service. He championed pay raises, saw the fielding of the black beret, and comforted soldiers and families after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the Pentagon.

Still a man of action three years into retirement, he is the senior enlisted advisor to the sergeant major of the Afghan National Army and serves on the U.S. Army's retirement board and the secretary of veterans affairs' special advisory committee for operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Tilley also supports soldiers through the American Freedom Foundation, which is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program that spotlights Americans' support of servicemembers.

Seeing the pain and startling motivation of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here moved Tilley to create the American Freedom Foundation, which raises money and awareness for veterans organizations helping soldiers wounded in the war on terror.

"I went to the hospital and talked to veterans, talked to wounded warriors, and it absolutely broke my heart," he said. "But it's sad for me, not them. They're all motivated and pumped up; they want to do things and get on with their lives."

Tilley gives motivational speeches and classes on team building and leader-development, focusing on something he said soldiers often take for granted. "The civilian sector needs people with a lot of leadership experience. You look at a guy like me, ... I came into the service at age 17 and went straight to Vietnam. I've been a battalion, brigade and division sergeant major, moved a lot of troops and trained troops," he said. "The civilian sector needs our knowledge and expertise."

Without discounting the value of formal education, Tilley maintains that experience turns soldiers into leaders. "The way to be a good leader is to be a leader. From what I've seen, development comes with time," he said.

During a recent presentation in Pennsylvania, Tilley spoke about things that have touched his life: war, family separation, God, and the fact that America has seen about 3,800 soldiers killed and 27,000 wounded in the war on terrorism.

"Then I got them to close their eyes and listen to a song from Lonestar, called 'Message from Home.' Everybody cried," he said. "My point to them was that we need to not just talk about things. Don't just talk about taking care of soldiers. Take care of them; show them your support," he said.

Tilley said he's deeply concerned about post-traumatic stress disorder and mild traumatic brain injuries plaguing today's combat veterans. "I don't think we really know the damage we've done to the Army, and I don't think we'll know for years," he said. "But the Army will get through it."

He also said he's a fan of the Army's current focus on families. "Families are taking so much stress right now. I think our country needs to be more aware of the things they're sacrificing for us. ... My spouse was just as much a soldier as I was."

When Tilley left the Army after Vietnam and began work at a paneling factory, he still felt drawn to the military. He couldn't drive by a recruiting station without going in just to talk. And while in Seattle, he visited Fort Lewis just to watch soldiers train. "I got out of the Army, but the Army was still in me," he said.

Eventually a recruiter called Tilley to say he had one week left to rejoin and retain his rank of staff sergeant. "The next morning I was down there signing up," he said.

Tilley said he credits dumb luck for his selection as the 12th sergeant major of the Army. "You look at guys like SMA (Richard) Kidd and SMA (Robert) Hall, ... they were my idols. To say I was as good as they were, that was a big step," he said.

(Beth Reece works for the Soldiers Media Center.)