Earlier this month, F3 pax completed the Freedom Ops Growth Training Exercise (GTE) number 67. While the majority were bonafide F3 Louisville HIMs, we were also joined by some down-rangers from F3 regions in St. Louis and Illinois. All in all, 24 men started and 24 finished.
The weekend began Friday night with a rally at 3rd Turn Oldham Gardens brewery. We broke bread, met our cadre, and welcomed our out-of-towners to the region.
The following morning some 50 + pax gathered at The Patriot for a Kingbuilder Convergence. Some pretty big names were enlisted to promote the workout. In addition to the workout, our Q, F3 Slaughter, wove in lessons on leadership for all in attendance (when in charge, take charge!)
Later that morning, we gathered for Chick-Fil-A sandwiches (Thanks, BoyRD!) and GrowSchool – a 3 hour long seminar focusing on strategies to help us become better leaders for our families, communities, and F3 region.
Around 6pm we-reconvened and began the 14-hour overnight crucible ruck. Throughout the night we covered more than 18 miles with around 50 pounds of weight and supplies on our backs, not to mention the various sandbags, logs, and other surprises thrown in along the way. In addition to long ruck segments, we also tackled a PT test, water obstacles, and various team-building exercises cooked up by our diabolical cadre.
Around 4:30am, some absolutely massive logs were introduced which we somehow managed to carry for miles. Seriously, how did we do that?
At sunrise we paused to share what was on our hearts thanks in part to our state of temporary exercise-induced neuroplasticity.
After a few more challenges we reached endex, received our patches, and limped off for breakfast casserole (Thanks, DRP!)
All in all, pax got tougher, stronger, became better leaders, and forged stronger bonds of brotherhood.
Thank you to last year’s Nant’an Steve-O for bringing to event to our region. And thank you to the cadre at Freedom Ops for giving us such a unique experience that lit a fire in our souls to be better men.
We won’t let it go to waste.
P.S. If you have 10 minutes, check out the GTE-67 video recap on YouTube.
F3 Louisville 