MONTEREY, Calif. – Twelve Sailors from Information Warfare Training Command (IWTC) Monterey recently participated in a Norwegian Foot March hosted by the Presidio of Monterey Marine Corps Detachment, at Fort Ord, Calif.
 
The Norwegian Foot March is an 18.6-mile military endurance test in which competitors must carry at least 25 pounds of dry weight while in military uniform from the start to the finish line within a specific timeframe set for their gender and age group.
 
The consensus among participants for wanting to attempt the march was the desire to challenge themselves and see if they could complete this competitive military challenge.
 
Originating during WWI in 1915, the Norwegian Foot March was designed for soldiers serving in the Norwegian military to test marching endurance, with the end goal of moving large units over long distances while maintaining combat-readiness. More than a century later, the event has become an opportunity for service members to come together from across services and nations and earn a foreign service badge to wear on their dress uniforms.
 
This year’s event at Fort Ord brought together service members from the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, and the Norwegian Army. Of the 86 joint and multinational service participants who started the event, 48 finished within the established standards to earn their Norwegian Foot March badge, six of these were IWTC Monterey Sailors.
  
One of the IWTC Monterey Sailors, Seaman Forrest Aguilar, completed the 18.6 mile march in 5 hours and 31 seconds. Though not fast enough to earn the badge, he said that he looks forward to attempting the march again next year with more training and will encourage others to do the same.
 
He reflected fondly on the march.
 
“I knew I was going to finish,” said Aguilar, “but it was my first time going that far with that much weight in 14 years. Towards the end I did have a little hip and knee pain, but I knew I needed to push through and represent the Navy well.”