The Gauntlet Award is a badge issued to Army ROTC Cadets who earn a qualifying score in a competition of the same name, but a review of the documentation regarding the award makes it clear that the structure and composition of that competition varies significantly between ROTC organizations.
According to the 1984 edition of the Michigan State University Army ROTC Cadet Handbook, the Gauntlet Award is presented to Cadets who "meet criteria established by the ROTC Basic Camp Commander." It goes on to provide guidance on wearing the award, to wit, "It is worn on the AG [Army Green] uniform coat centered on left breast pocket between the bottom of the flap and the bottom of the pocket."
Several ROTC documents describe the Gauntlet as team-based competition structured almost exclusively on tests of physical strength and endurance that also require some degree of teamwork. but the guidelines for the Gauntlet at other ROTC institutions point to an individual rather than a team award. At Truman State University in Missouri for instance, the Gauntlet Award is “Presented to those cadets scoring at or above the company average on the Army Physical Fitness Test, Land Navigation, Basic Rifle Marksmanship, and Cadet Common Tasks Test.”
The Institute of Heraldry identifies the inscription PER ARDUA AD ALTA REVIRESCO as belonging to the ROTC Basic Camp Gauntlet Award but does not provide a translation, and Latin translation sites yield wildly different results, such as “Refresh from the cliffs to the tall,” and “Through towering to tall reviresco.” We encourage Gauntlet Award Winners or others with information on the motto to
contact us here at The Salute Uniforms.