Veterans march from Auburn to Tuscaloosa during the annual Iron Ruck

On November 28, 2024By Pranco

AUBURN, Ala. (WTVM) – Nearly 100 military veterans are taking to the streets for a military cause in East Alabama, marching 100 miles from Auburn to Tuscaloosa in the 2024 Operation Iron Ruck.

The vets left Jordan-Hare Stadium on Wednesday morning.

“We raise awareness, we build community and we dig in. We stand up to our brothers and sisters, and we make sure they get help when they need it,” said coordinator Bill Schwenk.

The annual Operation Iron Ruck is a student-led event by student veterans from Auburn University and the University of Alabama. The Iron Bowl will be held at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, meaning the 151-mile, or ruck, journey begins at Jordan-Hare Stadium and ends Saturday in Tuscaloosa.

“It’s not just about awareness. It’s about a connection and relationships built on the ground. It has been a student-led thing,” Schwenk said.

The first Ruck in 2018 had only 18 participants. Now there are 93 veterans headed to Tuscaloosa.

Bill Schwenk is this year’s coordinator of Operation Iron Ruck. He says he is living proof that the event works. He says he was dealing with thoughts of suicide and the Lord led him to ask his fellow veterans for help.

“He put those things on my heart and I woke up the next day and I called some guys from Iron Ruck and some guys who have been through similar things. “I told them I wasn’t in a good place and they rallied behind me,” he said.

Each year, the veterans carry backpacks weighing 22 pounds and wear nameless dog tags to symbolize the 22 veterans who take their lives every day. Puck Esposito, the director of the Auburn Veterans Resource Center, says through tears that the Ruck is deeply personal after losing three of their veterans to suicide.

“These are our children and that’s why this is so important. That’s why… That’s why we keep doing it,” Esposito said. “It is important every year to ensure that this message gets out.”

During the four-day trip, each student veteran will hike approximately 50 miles.