CAMP HOVEY, Republic of Korea -- To prepare for the "Sandhurst Military Skills Competition," South Korean cadets from the Korea Military Academy, Seoul, South Korea, trained with Soldiers from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team "Ironhorse," 1st Cavalry Division at Camp Casey and Camp Hovey from X to Y.

Sandhurst is a competition that pits nine-member squads against each other to determine the best squad through a wide array of challenges.

From the U.S., squads from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut; and the U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; will compete, along with 36 squads from West Point, one from each company.

Internationally, squads from Britain's Royal Military Academy Sandhurst; Australia's Royal Military College-Duntroon; The Royal Military College of Canada; the Escuela Militar in Santiago, Chile; The People's Liberation Army University of Science and Technology in Nanjing, China; the Offizierschule des Heeres, in Dresden, Germany; the Heroico Colegio Militar, Mexico City, Mexico; the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Nigeria; and the Korea Military Academy, will tackle the challenge.

This year, Korean cadets went through their culminating training before the competition by running the "Ironhorse Gauntlet" with members of the Ironhorse team including a three-time competitor from West Point, Capt. James Teskey, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st ABCT.

"The training we put them through today should have given them a little taste of what they should expect in the Sandhurst competition," said Teskey, the officer in charge of the training. "Since this is a squad-based movement and skills competition, we tried to mirror that here with a half-a-dozen different stations, plus two or three miles in-between them."

Teskey, who is competing in the Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Georgia, April 15-17, also said this training was as much about building them up as a strong team as it was about pushing them to their breaking point.

"I know four of them have already competed before, so I'm sure they have talked about what to expect with their team," said Teskey. "But until you go through it for yourself, you really have no clue how it will feel. Hopefully today helped them in their preparation for Sandhurst."

For past competitors like 4th Grade Cadet Huh Choong Bum, this competition is a great way to build leadership skills while negotiating tough obstacles.

"This gauntlet was a great experience because I was leading a squad on my own and I had to work with my team to find the best ways to accomplish the missions effectively," said Choong Bum. "I believe this train-up will help me achieve good results from the actual competition."

The Ironhorse training pushed the Korean cadets to learn how much they can do and how much they can't.

"At the Sandhurst competition, I know I will reach my physical limits," said Choong Bum. "By participating in this train-up, I was able to experience the limits in advance so that I can perform well as a representative of the Republic of Korea."

This isn't only an opportunity for the cadets to go through similar challenges like the ones in Sandhurst, but they worked with several Soldiers from the Ironhorse Team with years of leadership and combat experience.

"It was great to not only see how the cadets work through problems, but to be able to work with them and share some of the tips about working as a team that have helped me in my career," said Staff Sgt. Dustin Brown, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st ABCT. "These cadets have an opportunity to travel and see how they match up against cadets from around the world. It was an honor for me to help them prepare for Sandhurst."