UH Army ROTC Cadets to Compete in Prestigious Sandhurst Military Skills Competition

The University of Hawaii's ROTC Warrior Battalion will send a team to West Point to test their physical and military skills against the world's best.

Mar. 15, 2026 at 4:04pm

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The University of Hawaii's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps Warrior Battalion will send a team this spring to West Point, New York, to compete in the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition. The competition brings together teams of cadets and officer candidates from around the world to test their physical fitness and military skills. UH ROTC recently won first place overall at the Army ROTC 8th Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition, earning them a spot at the prestigious Sandhurst event.

Why it matters

The Sandhurst Military Skills Competition is one of the most prestigious events for ROTC cadets, testing their abilities across a wide range of military disciplines. UH ROTC's strong performance at regional competitions highlights the high caliber of their training program and the dedication of their cadets. Doing well at Sandhurst would bring national recognition to the UH ROTC program.

The details

The UH ROTC team won first place overall at the Army ROTC 8th Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition in February, beating out 34 other ROTC programs across the West Coast, Alaska, and Guam. The team also won the Commander's Challenge Cup, an extreme endurance test. Now the UH team will travel to West Point at the end of April for a week of training before competing at Sandhurst on May 1-2. The Sandhurst competition is known to be more physically demanding than the regional Ranger Challenge events.

  • The UH ROTC team won the Army ROTC 8th Brigade Ranger Challenge Competition in February 2026.
  • The UH ROTC team will travel to West Point at the end of April 2026 for a week of training.
  • The UH ROTC team will compete at the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition on May 1-2, 2026.

The players

Warrior Battalion

The University of Hawaii's Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps unit.

Cadet Matthew Holdredge

A UH senior majoring in film who will commission as a logistics officer. He led the winning Ranger Challenge team.

Cadet Dominic Roudabush

A UH junior studying business management who is on the Sandhurst competition team.

Maj. Jake Wright

An instructor with UH ROTC who advises the Ranger Challenge team.

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What they’re saying

“If you see yourself maybe not like doing as well as like others, personally that drives me, and I've seen that (during those competitions ), like when someone kind of faltered a little bit, they snap back and they're trying to pick up the pace and just not wanting to drag down the team.”

— Cadet Matthew Holdredge, UH ROTC Cadet

“We've been to Sandhurst, so we kind of know what it's like and kind of know what to expect … and actually try to train how it's going to be. Kind of try to simulate it as best as we can with the limited time we have.”

— Cadet Dominic Roudabush, UH ROTC Cadet

“Ultimately they come up with the training plan, we review it, we support it, we resource it, but ultimately they're the ones competing. So if they were to have lost, I would have taken full responsibility, but I give them all the credit for actually winning, because they did all the work.”

— Maj. Jake Wright, UH ROTC Instructor

What’s next

The UH ROTC team will travel to West Point at the end of April 2026 for a week of training before competing at the Sandhurst Military Skills Competition on May 1-2, 2026.

The takeaway

UH ROTC's strong performance at regional competitions and their upcoming participation in the prestigious Sandhurst event highlights the high caliber of their training program and the dedication of their cadets. Doing well at Sandhurst would bring national recognition to the UH ROTC program.