Sideline cheers, whistles and smoke from a barbecue pit filled the air around the Parade Ground Thursday as two ROTC branches ended their week-long competition.
Cadets from Air Force ROTC and Army ROTC competed against one another Thursday in flag football games and a tug-of-war competition.
Instead of simply Air Force competing against Army, the two groups of cadets were split up into classes — freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.
The final day of events lasted about two hours, concluding with a barbecue put on by the ROTC groups.
Caroline Kenelly, an Air Force cadet lieutenant colonel and political science senior, was on hand to help with the events.
“We started with the Warrior Run on Monday and now we are finishing up here,” Kenelly said. “It is good for all the cadets.”
Scotch Guard, the Army support group, and Silver Wings, the Air Force support group, were both there to help out with the events.
“We are out here showing support for these wonderful guys and girls,” said Kayla Smith, a biological sciences junior and Scotch Guard member. “These are the people who will one day fight for freedom and lead our nation — so we are proud to help.”
While some cadets were on the field playing, others stood on the sidelines cheering for their teammates. On this day, the rivalry that usually exists between the Air Force ROTC and the Army ROTC did not seem evident.
One cadet, who did not wish to be identified, said sarcastically that if it was just the two groups against each other — instead of being broken up into classes — the two would “kill each other.”
“It is real fun being out here,” the cadet said. “It is good that they got both ROTCs together.”
The Corps Wars week also featured a motivational run Monday, a blood drive and pistol competition Tuesday and dodge-ball Wednesday, said Adam Griffin, an Air Force cadet third class and electrical engineering sophomore.