After an overnight 15-mile ruck march the field has been cut down to the top 20 teams. The next event, the helocast. The Sappers first build a raft out of their ruck-sacks and ponchos, then board a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, fly over the water, execute a helocast and then swim to shore.

They're going to do a buddy poncho raft and they’re going to helocast as a buddy team out of a CH-47 and then they’re going to be required to do a swim with all their combat equipment across a lake.

As they approach the target area, the CH-47 slows over the drop zone. Twenty to 25-feet off the water, the Sappers push out their poncho raft and jump. Once all teams are in the water and lined up, the clock starts. They need to cover the 200-meters to shore as fast as they can with their poncho raft in tow.

The helocast is scored in two parts. First, the Sappers are timed on the construction of their poncho rafts; the second time comes from the swim to shore and run to the finish line. Combining the two times gives the Army engineers their total points.

Tired: SOTs The water’s really warm, actually it’s a lot warmer than out here, then out here, the air temperature.

It sort of a relief, getting in it’s definitely warmer than standing out here waiting.

I’m tired, but a lot of fun.

With the day barely started teams need to dig deep to find the energy to push on.