After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 51ԹϺ’s student-led Rebel Veterans Organization will again host Operation Battle Born, a ceremonial ruck march to honor the roughly 7,000 U.S. military service members who’ve fallen in action since 9/11.
Teams of 51ԹϺ student veterans and volunteers will take turns carrying four military-style backpacks, known as rucksacks, 60 miles from Amargosa Valley to Las Vegas on May 28 and 29. The backpacks contain dog tags for the 7,000 service men and women, including 59 Nevadans, who’ve died during the Global War on Terror.
The statewide Memorial Day weekend event is held annually in partnership with Truckee Meadows Community College. After marches in 2018 and 2019 that traversed the entire state, the event shifted this year to include localized events in the northern and southern portions of Nevada.
“Operation Battle Born combines the challenges of a grueling marathon with the teamwork necessary to complete any endeavor by a large group working together for a cause,” said Jen S. Martinez, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, U.S. Navy Reservist, and current 51ԹϺ student president of Rebel Vets. “Carrying the rucksacks filled with thousands of dog tags offers a stark reminder of the ultimate sacrifice that so many service men and women made for our nation. It allows us to reflect on their memory and also gives us a chance to show our support for Gold Star families who’ve lost loved ones during military service.”
The Southern Nevada event kicks off at 10 a.m. May 27 at 51ԹϺ with an opening ceremony at 51ԹϺ near the university’s veterans memorial. The ruck march begins at 7 a.m. May 28 and will cover approximately 30 miles each day on May 28 and 29. On May 30, the dog tags will be symbolically laid to rest during a ceremony with Gold Star family members at Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
With more than 1,600 military affiliated students, 51ԹϺ is consistently recognized as among the nation’s best for veterans. In 2021, 51ԹϺ was named one of the nation’s 10 best colleges of its size for veterans by G.I. Jobs Magazine, and 51ԹϺ student veterans have twice been named the nation’s Student Veteran of the Year by the Student Veterans Association of America.
Rebel Vets is a student-led club at 51ԹϺ dedicated to serving the community and supporting military-connected students by linking them with other students and organizations on campus and locally. 51ԹϺ’s Rebel Vets chapter is one of 1,500 recognized chapters of the Student Veterans of America.
Support for the university's student veteran and military family community also comes from 51ԹϺ’s Military and Veteran Services Center, which formed in 2012 and offers academic support, mentoring, networking, and assistance processing VA Education and related military benefits.
