GTE35 Backblast | Maj. Payne

The first GrowRuck of 2023 came and went just as fast as the Washington DC cherry blossoms bloomed and fell during the last week of March. F3TheCapital hosted GTE 35 during “peak bloom,” and although Mother Nature threatened a perfectly cold rainy weekend, the ruck phases provided for some unforgettable scenery and unparalleled leadership development. Cadres Bloodhound, Anaconda and Uncle Rico along with Trainers Bono and Noonan (Captain Planet and Major Payne on Trainer Apprentice duty) impacted the lives of nearly 100 PAX from 22 regions over the course of the weekend.

The Friday evening Rally featured revelation that the PAX of F3 Nation had helped raise more than $22K for the Donovan & Bank Foundation and provided a forum for all in attendance to put together kit bags to support Miriam’s Kitchen and their mission to eradicate homelessness in DC.

Then at 0630 Saturday morning in the misty gloom, the Trainers led 91 PAX in a classic beatdown at Long Bridge Park, teaching the G3L through love and pain in a way that only the Head of F3 Nation’s Leadership Development Bono could engineer. Special thanks Captain Planet for the super fun burpee sprints!

Grow School, just mere footsteps away from the King Builder fields, first brought an awesome breakfast to the PAX, then a new understanding of leadership development that few likely expected.        

The event featured both an Impact and Crucible Ruck, allowing 72 PAX (45 Crucible + 27 Impact) to experience turning head knowledge to heart knowledge like never before in our nation’s capital! Learning proper squat form, hydro-burpees in the Potomac and “Bloodbath Games” may have exposed some demons, but there’s no question that hauling 60, 80 and 120lbs sandbags up the Georgetown Exorcist steps was painfully scary!

All-in-all, this event brought together PAX from across the F3 Nation to change lives, like GTEs do every single time. Special thanks to Host Q Old Bay, F3TheCapital Nant’an Hightower and Cadre Flight Nurse who helped out as a photographer. He took most of the great pics and covered down on the Livestream (see the F3 page on Facebook!) It really takes a village to make these events happen, so huge gratitude goes out to all who contributed their time and effort to make it special!