The COVID-19 pandemic has been globally devastating, and especially so in America. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus rendered 2020 the deadliest year in U.S. history (the 3.2 million deaths was about 400,000 more than those recorded in 2019). Just last month, the U.S. endured its most deadly day yet, with a total of 5,077 fatalities directly attributable to COVIID-19. And though the promise of force-wide vaccinations have helped slow the viral onslaught and afforded the first few glimmers of a someday return to normalcy, much of what we once knew remains suspended, postponed, cancelled, and disrupted—to include the JAGWAR’s administrations of the Triple-R Challenge.
Yet the news isn’t all bad; in response to COVID-19, previously unheard of opportunities are materializing in time for the brave-and-the-bold to seize them! Exhibit A: the chance to knock out the Norwegian Foot March, which circumstance and logistics may previously have compelled you to put on the back burner.
The Order of the JAGWAR can confirm that the Norwegian Embassy has temporarily (through 1 August 2021) suspended the usual requirement that a Norwegian official be present to certify participants’ successful completion of the event. In response, U.S. Army installations worldwide are scrambling to orchestrate their own administrations of this grueling challenge, thereby delivering to Soldiers a fleeting opportunity to earn one of the DoD’s few recognized foreign badges. (Official Norwegian certification will be provided remotely.)
The standards for this event, as we’ve detailed over the years on our Events page, are as follow:
Completion of the 18.6 mile (30 kilometer course) within the applicable time standard (see below) wearing the duty uniform and boots.
Your issued Army rucksack must weigh a minimum of 25 pounds. (Some units may also require the hand-carry of their assigned weapon (or rubber ducky)).
Completion of the event prior to the start of Begin Morning Nautical Twilight (BMNT), followed by participants’ reporting for a full duty day following the event.
Hooah.
TIME STANDARDS
Age Male Time Standard Female Time Standard
18-34 4:30 4:50
35-42 4:35 5:00
43-49 4:40 5:15
50-54 4:50 5:30
55-59 5:00 5:45
60+ 5:15 6:00
There are three different Norwegian Foot March Badges available to those who undertake the challenge:
Bronze signifies 1-3 completions of the March
Silver signifies 4-6 completions
Gold signifies 7 or more
Looking to upgrade your badge? Knocking out multiple marches over the next few months is a once-in-an-Army-career opportunity; don’t let it go to waste!
Below is a curated list of installations hosting the Norwegian Foot March throughout the next five months, courtesy of an intrepid Good Samaritan on Reddit. Start poking around your unit, and see if you can seize 2021’s lowest of hanging fruits to meet the criteria for JAGWAR membership!
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7 March – Camp Arifjan, Kuwait – Hosting Unit: 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary)
14 March – Camp Arifjan, Kuwait – Hosting Unit: 310th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) 19 March – JBLM – Hosting Unit: 514th Medical Company (Ground Ambulance)
17 April – Camp Beuhring, Kuwait – Hosting Unit: 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade
30 April – JBLM, WA – Hosting Unit: D CO, 1-14 CAV
30 April – Fort Hood, TX – Hosting Unit: 8 BEB
30 April – Fort Riley, KS – Hosting Unit: 1-1 BEB
30 April – Fort Bliss, TX – Hosting Unit: WBAMC Troop Command
30 April – Fort Harrison, MT – Hosting Unit: MTARNG
1 May – Fort Sill, OK – Hosting Unit: FCOE
1 May – West Point, NY – Hosting Unit: USMA
1 May – Letterkenny Army Depot, PA – Hosting Unit: LAD MP
3 May – Camp Atterbury, IN – Hosting Unit: Operations Group Wolf, 1st Army
3 May – Morehead State University, KY – Hosting Unit: MSU ROTC
4 May – JBER, AK – Hosting Unit: 6 BEB
5 May – Fort Campbell, KY – Hosting Unit: 1-75 CAV
6 May – Eglin AFB – Hosting Unit: 7 SFG
7 May – Camp Casey, South Korea – Hosting Unit: 1-41 FA
7 May – Fort Huachuca, AZ – Hosting Unit: 40 ESB
13 May – JBLM, WA – Hosting Unit: C CO, 1-23 IN
14 May – JBLM, WA – Hosting Unit: HHB, DIVARTY
14 May – Fort Bragg, NC – Hosting Unit: 122 ASB
14 May – Fort Lee, VA – Hosting Unit: Transportation BOLC
14 May – Fort Gordon, GA – Hosting Unit: 782 CY BN
14 May – Brainerd, MN – Hosting Unit: Brainerd Recruiting CO
14 May – Fort Lee, VA – Hosting Unit: Transportation BOLC
15 May – WCEC/Taylor, TX – Hosting Unit: 343 MCT
18 May – Camp Humphreys, South Korea – Hosting Unit: 643 ESC
21 May – Syracuse, NY – Hosting Unit: Syracuse ROTC
21 May – Fort Hood, TX – Hosting Unit: 1-5 CAV
21 May – JBER, AK – Hosting Unit: 1-40 CAV
21 May – Fort Lee, VA – Hosting Unit: Transportation BOLC
24 May – Fort Riley, KS – Hosting Unit: 1-1 BEB
26 May – Fort Campbell, KY – Hosting Unit: 1-187 IN
27 May – Camp Parks, CA – Hosting Unit: JIOC-W
27 May – Camp Bullis, TX – Hosting Unit: 470 MI BDE
27 May – Fort Carson, CO – Hosting Unit: 576 RCC
27 May – Fort Wainwright, AK – Hosting Unit: 1-52 GSAB
27 May – Rota, Spain – Hosting Unit: PHA-Italy, Rota Branch
28 May – Lubbock, TX – Hosting Unit: 2-142 IN
28 May – Ellensburg, WA, – Hosting Unit: Central Washington University ROTC
28 May – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Hosting Unit: State College Recruiting Company
28 May – Fort Wainwright, AK – Hosting Unit: 2-8 FA
29 May – Concord, NH – Hosting Unit: NHARNG
2 June – Fort Riley, KS – Hosting Unit 2-34 AR
2 June – Fort Drum, NY – Hosting Unit: DIV OSJA
4 June – Fort Bragg, NC – Hosting Unit: 50 ESB-E
6 June – Mountain View, CA – 445th CA BN
14-16 June – Grafenwöhr, Germany – Hosting Unit: 41 FAB
16 June – Fort Stewart, GA – 92 EN BN
17 June – Fort Bragg, NC – Hosting Unit: 82 STB
18 June – Fort Bragg, NC – Hosting Unit: 50 ESB-E
18 June – Fort Lee, VA – Hosting Unit: Transportation BOLC
18 June – Schofield Barracks, Hawaii – Hosting Unit: 2-27 IN
20 June – Grafenwöhr, Germany – Hosting Unit: 457 CA BN
30 June – Rota, Spain – Hosting Unit: PHA-Italy, Rota Branch
1 July – Fort Meade, MD – Hosting Unit: 302nd SIG BN
1 July – Fort Gordon, GA – Hosting Unit: 150 CPT
6-9 July – Fort Drum, NY – Hosting Unit: 59 CM CO
11 July – Grafenwöhr, Germany – Hosting Unit: 457 CA BN
16 July – Fort Detrick, MD – Hosting Unit: 114th SIG BN
18 July – Mountain View, CA – Hosting Unit 14 PSYOP BN
30 July – Rota, Spain – Hosting Unit: PHA-Italy, Rota Branch
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The Norwegian Army instituted the NFM in 1915 as it built up its own conscript Army to support the country's armed neutrality posture during World War I. Today the Norwegian Army uses the foot march, or marsjmerket, to assess Soldiers’ overall physical fitness and to build unit cohesion.