By Blake Dowson, Iowa State Daily
This Veterans Day, the ISU Army ROTC program is reaching to military veterans.
The first annual WOD for Warriors event will be Monday morning at 6 a.m. at the Lied Recreational Athletic Center.
WOD is an event ran by the ROTC program at Iowa State that hopes to raise awareness about veterans that attend Iowa State and live in the Ames community.
“We want to raise awareness to the community that we have veterans living here and we want to recognize that we know the sacrifice that they have made,” said Lt. Col. Richard Smith, professor of military science and tatics.
In its first year, the Iowa State WOD event is already one of the biggest in the country, with more than 200 participants signed up.
Each participant will be asked to do a 20 minute workout, involving two nine-minute “amraps” [as many reps as possible], and a two minute rest in between.
The amraps involve a 100-meter sprint, followed by 11 sit-ups and 11 air squats. Then you must complete another 100-meter sprint, followed by 22 sit-ups and 22 air squats. Participants add 11 reps to each additional round in the first nine minutes. After the two minute rest, participants must complete a similar workout involving pushups and box jumps.
“Our primary goal for this event is to honor veterans, but our secondary goal stems from how we plan on honoring them which is to improve physical fitness by honoring these veterans through a workout that will put participants under physical duress,” said Jon Lazo, project officer for the event.
Smith said that besides the physical part of the event, it’s also a great opportunity for future officers to connect with veterans in the community.
“Those who have served before the future officers of today hold a great deal of importance to us,” Smith says.
Lazo shares the same sentiment. “All of us are striving to become officers in the U.S. Military and to eventually become veterans ourselves. To hold this event and honor these persons provides us an opportunity to display our appreciation for all that they have done for our nation,” Lazo said.
“People should attempt to do something on Veteran’s Day to honor those who have served … something as small as thanking a veteran can go a long way.”