Department Commander Ron Patterson in rucking 250 miles to celebrate America’s 250th birthday while raising money for the Veterans & Children Foundation.
When The American Legion’s USA 250 Challenge kicked off early July to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday next year, Department of Indiana Commander Ron Patterson was inspired to take part and encourage others to follow his lead.
Between now and America’s birthday on July 4, 2026, Patterson will ruck march 250 miles for the USA 250 Challenge. Participants of the challenge can engage in one or all three of the categories — fitness, mental wellness and community service — to track and complete 250 miles or hours.
Watch a testimonial of Patterson sharing why he joined the Legion’s USA 250 Challenge and encourages others to join it with him.
“The fitness side spoke to me a little bit, and so much of mental health has to do with physical fitness,” Patterson said. “I thought, if it’s really a challenge, I wanted to challenge myself. Part of that challenge in my mind was one of the most challenging things in the military was the ruck marches we had to do. It was grueling. Bi-annually we would have to do a 12-mile ruck march under three hours with at least a 40-pound rucksack. I said that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to ruck march 250 miles.”
For the past few weeks, Patterson has been carrying a 30-pound rucksack and walking four to five miles. He plans to add 5 pounds every 50 miles, so for the last 50 miles of the challenge he’ll be carrying 50 pounds. “And that’s a challenge” physically and mentally, he said.
Since he started rucking, Patterson has been reminded of the pain involved with rucking.
“Sometimes the struggle is real to get through, and I started thinking about that through the pain. It led me to think about our brothers and sisters, our veterans, the pain and the struggles they’re going through and even though there’s struggle and there’s pain, you have to persevere,” he said. “And I think that’s a big part of what The American Legion does is give a little hope to those who are struggling, have the pain.
“I’m using that pain that I feel every day as a drive to continue to hopefully motivate some people that you can overcome the struggle. There is hope out there.”
Registration fee for the USA 250 Challenge is $30, and proceeds benefit The American Legion’s Veterans & Children Foundation (VCF) that supports military families with financial assistance and veterans with VA disability claims. Patterson said his goal is to raise $25,000 for VCF through individual donors and sponsorships.
As the Department of Indiana prepares for its fall conference later this month, Patterson is going to bring his rucksack with him.
“I’m going to put it up on stage, and I’m going to tell the story of why I’m doing it (the USA 250 Challenge) and encourage the districts and posts to join as well,” he said. “You don’t have to do a physical challenge. Do 250 Buddy Checks. Buddy Checks serve two purposes. It’s to genuinely check on your brothers and sisters to see how they’re doing … ‘Can the post help you out? Can we personally help you out? Are you struggling, are you having pain? We want to help you out.’
That leads to a genuine commitment that veterans see we’re committed to them; not just ‘Where is your $45 dues?’ Once you have a connection with somebody, and they see you have a passion for what you’re doing, hopefully they have a passion for wanting to support The American Legion with renewing their membership.”
Patterson’s encouragement for Legion Family involvement in the USA 250 Challenge will not stop after the fall conference. He will continue to encourage others to join him during his district and post visit, and during Indiana’s mid-winter conference in the new year.
“If you’re going to be a leader, you need to lead from the front,” he said. “ I hope that me leading from the front will encourage others to be part of this challenge.”
Share your testimonial
If you are participating in The American Legion’s USA 250 Challenge, upload a video here like Patterson made about why you joined the challenge and your activity, and your encouragement to others to participate. We may share it on The American Legion’s social media channels. When you upload, please tag it following these guidelines: YYYYMMDD_FIRSTNAMELASTNAME_USA250.
- USA250 Challenge