lye Outing Club at French Creek rark On Friday, October 13th, four cars carrying twelve people, sleeping bags, food and other assorted gear left this campus for a weckend in the wilder- ness. ell, not quite the wilderness, The Outing Club went to French Creek State Park which is about .an hour away from the school. ile had a camp- site vhich had a lodge with two fire- places, one inside and oner=-you guessed jt=--outside, There were a few cabins .. and we even had an outhouse=--we didn't have to rough it. : The ease and tranquility of the outdoors gave us a hit of energy when we got there. After unloading the gear and collecting firewood we went out for a walk. Not only did we get acquainted with French Creek, we also got acquainted with the people we were spending our weekend with, That nizht we sat around the fire outside. Dean Linder arrived with his portable. T.V. and the Jorld Series == which was an extra treat for those who .. wanted to catch the orld Series game. The next day was for activity. There was a hike through the woods and around the lake to Hopewell Village=--which is a restored colonial iron forge. The trout were abundant, so the fishermen in the.group cast their lines and caught plenty of perch. There were even a few bow hunting enthusiasts who tried their luck on opening weekend. ‘Unfortunately they didn't catch anything. That night there was another Yorld Series Game. = : How could anyone complain? The auturin scenery was pretty, the air was clean and brisk. There was an all around good feeling between everyone and everything was under control. The only complaint? It was over too soon. Any Epstein Ranger Recruit Training Cycle Ends As Fall Term winds down, this year's Penn State Delco Ranger Recruit Training is rapidly drawing to a close. On Saturday October 23, the new - ~ recruits faced .their final test: The Ranger Doards. The Ranger Boards consist of five skill performance tests which each Ranger Recruit must successfully complete in order to earn. the right to wear a black: ‘beret, ‘the symbol of a fully qualified Delco Ranger. The five skill tests include executing an Australian cliff rappel, constructing and crossing a one and two rope bridge, demonstrating pro- ficiency in knot tying skills, and finally, successfully completing a timed land navigation course, To prepare themselves for these tests; the Delco Ranger Recruits have spent each Saturday. since the term began participating in a variety of Ranger Training activities, Each new recruit learned basic rappelling techniques, first by going off the school wall here on campus, later by going off a 60 foot cliff, and finally by going off an eighty foot helicopter simulator at Fort Indiantown Gap iiilitary Reservation. During the course of his training, the recruit was also taught how to tie a variety of useful knots and how to construct a transport tightening suspen- sion system, that permits him to cross deep ravines or streams using a rope bridze. Furthermore each recruit par- ticipated in a three day bivouac and field training exercise that tasked the recruits with the difficult mission of escaping enemy capture, locating a food cache (the only rations available to the recruits during the three day exercise), and then returning to a friendly base camp without being recap- tured by the agressors..lo make the Escape, Evasion and Survival Training more realistic, each recruit was first stripped of all food and equipment aids, then blindfolded and led to a remote part of the training area where he was to make good his escape and begin his search for the food cache, It had. been many hours since he had been per- mitted to eat, so each recruit had a real incentive to locate the food cache, To make matters worse, the recruit had no idea of where his captors had taken him, and had to constantly avoid aggressor patrols which pursued and harrassed him as he attempted to return to his friend- ly base. : This past Saturday 13 recruits passed their Ranger Training program 0 earn their black berets-- the symbol of the Qualified Delco Ranger. Anyone interested in finding out more about Delco Rangers may contact Cpt Jlilson or SFC Fitzgerald in Rm AA-D
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