CAMP SCHWAB, Okinawa, Japan -- Two Marines from 3d Reconnaissance Battalion, 3d Marine Division, overcame obstacles and pushed through pain in a closely contested race, taking first place at the 16th Annual Reconnaissance Challenge on April 25, 2025.
Competing on a 20-mile course, Staff Sgt. Joseph Singletary and Sgt. Zachary Petty, both 0321 Reconnaissance Marines, represented 3d Reconnaissance Battalion among 22 other participating teams. Held annually to honor fallen Reconnaissance Marines, the challenge tests participants in obstacle navigation, marksmanship, communications and radio proficiency, enemy stalking simulations, swimming, and rucking with 50-pound packs. After the event, Gold Star Families, relatives of the fallen Marines being honored, met the competitors with warm greetings.
Singletary and Petty have served in the same platoon for two and a half years. To prepare for the challenge, they focused on improving their long-distance running, rucking, and uphill endurance.
Upon arriving at Camp Pendleton, the competition began early in the morning at the Recon Training Company pool. “We did a 500-meter swim right into a mile-and-a-half run,” said Petty. After that, they rucked up and down steep hills on "Old Smokey," the mountain behind the Recruit Training Center. Petty further detailed that they went on to complete an obstacle course twice, ruck back up to a combat town, descend the fire break, complete a one-kilometer fin swim in the pool, and complete multiple other stations before reaching the finish line.
At each event station, teams received a plastic chip to signify completion. Teams missing any chips at checkpoints were penalized by having to flip a tire for a set distance, wasting valuable time and energy. Singletary and Petty completed every challenge without incurring penalties and ran directly to the finish after turning in their full set of chips.
“In the beginning at the 500-meter swim, we were the last out of the pool. So, during the ruck run, we were just ‘taking souls,’ keeping a good pace.” said Petty. “If it wasn’t for Staff Sgt. Singletary keeping a steady pace, I probably would have gone out too hard and been really struggling halfway [through the challenge].”
Singletary added, “For those long rucks, you just need to keep a steady pace and outlast everyone else. It’s a marathon.”
When asked about the most difficult part of the event, Singletary replied, “The 500-meter swim. I can survive in the water, but I’m not the fastest. I knew that going in, so we just had to make up the time elsewhere.”
Petty said, “[The hardest part was] gauging the competition, trying to figure out where everyone was physically, and knowing when the best time to kick it in was. During the last half mile, my quads were definitely cramping up. I was chugging water to try and keep the cramps at bay so we could finish. We knew the second-place team was just behind us, within seconds or minutes, so every step, every jog, mattered.”
Each participant’s rucksack bore the name of a fallen Force Reconnaissance Marine to honor their service and sacrifice.
Singletary shared, “We had a Vietnam veteran who was killed in action, 2nd Lt. Terrence Graves.” Graves had also at one time been assigned to the same unit that Singletary and Petty are currently serving in, 3d Recon. “After the race,” Singletary continued, “[Graves’] brother came up to us. We were not expecting any of his family to be out there, so that was a shock. It’s neat that the Gold Star families come out and get to watch.”
Singletary further added, “At the end of the day, you’re doing it for a reason. You’re wearing someone’s name on your back. For us, honoring them meant showing up prepared to give it our best for them. It’s not about me, it’s not about Petty, and it’s not about the competitors. It’s about the name on our backs and that family that’s watching you. The Recon Challenge, in my mind, isn’t meant to be about us. It’s meant for us to remember and honor those who have given it all.”