TACOMA, Wash. - Pacific Lutheran University women's rowing student-athlete and ROTC Cadet Ali Smith tested her mettle against some of the best in the world, graduating from the U.S. Army's prestigious Air Assault School on June 14 in Hawaii along with football student-athlete Liam Nabors. 
 
About 90 of the 135 individuals in Smith's class graduated on June 14 from Air Assault School, considered the "10 hardest days in the Army." Smith was one of just four females included in that graduating class. Smith and her classmates will proceed in their military careers wearing the prestigious pin that indicates the physical and mental discipline that one must have to pass Air Assault.
 
Air Assault is a three-phase, 10-day course in which students learn helicopter capabilities and uses, learn the painfully-detailed process of loading them (known as "sling-loading"), and eventually learn the art of rappelling in order to finally do so out of an airborne-helicopter. This school is filled with opportunities to earn a "no-go", at which point the student may be dropped from the program to return home without graduating.
 
At the start of the spring semester, the PLU ROTC cadre offered Smith a coveted slot for the school. Smith had a full plate: she participates in all corners of campus life and took leadership positions in nearly all of them. On top of 5 a.m. practices, afternoon lifts, supplemental workouts, and competition weekends for the four-time Northwest Conference Champion women's rowing team, Smith would balance her role as Class Leader for her Military Science class and additional ROTC activities including weekend-long field training exercises, and morning Labs. And on top of that, Smith performed in the spring dance showcase, which meant over 12 hours of rehearsals every week, frequently ending just hours before the alarm for rowing practice went off. Somewhere in there, Smith took classes and did homework, too.
 
It was on top of this schedule that Smith took on the extra challenge of preparing for the test of character that is Air Assault School. 
 
"All year long as we rowed and competed, I didn't think about anything except making it to the NCAAs. Concurrently, I'd been working to achieve high marks in ROTC and earned a slot to attend Air Assault School in Hawaii. I'm grateful for the efforts of both my Coach Andy Foltz, and my cadre for trying to achieve a schedule that would allow me to do both," said Smith. 
 
Shortly after winning the 2019 NWC Championships as a member of the second varsity eight boat, Smith found out that she would not be able to compete with the Lutes in Indianapolis at the 2019 NCAA Division III Championships and make it to the beginning of Air Assault School and that she had to pick one. Understanding the likelihood of failing and being kicked out of the school on "Zero-Day" (nearly 1/3 of participants do fail that day), Smith gave up her seat, risking being sent home from Air Assault the very same day her boat would be competing at the NCAA Championships. 
 
"When it became clear that I had to choose one, I chose Air Assault. I really wanted to represent women in a male-dominated field and I wanted to find out how I'd stack up against both men and women in a physically demanding environment."
 
Smith made it through Zero-Day, and every day after that, including the 12-mile ruck (a run/walk of 12 miles with 45+ pounds of gear on) under the time limit of three hours, completing the final Go/No-Go event beginning at 2 a.m. on graduation day. 
 
"The temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest did not prepare me for the heat and humidity of Hawaii. It was brutal, but I was able to reach out to my coaches and my teammates to give me training tips to take any edge I could get. Looking back, Air Assault was the hardest thing I have ever done, and I'm grateful for the foundation of mental and physical grit I gained from being on the rowing team."
 
In addition to graduating from Air Assault School, Smith was awarded PLU's Top MSII Cadet Award in ROTC, was recognized as the team's Most Inspirational Rower, while competed on the Lute 2V that won the NWC title and finished fourth at the Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships.