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sports Army of One A local policeman wins on The Discovery Channel's "One Man Army" BY KELLY TWEDELL M of titles that what he has been doing since the age of 17 when he first joined the Army. He went into the Army with the intention of being a heli- copter pilot and ended up landing in the 82nd Airborne as a helicopter crew chief. He was prepared to go to flight school before he incurred injuries during an airborne operation. So, in 1994 he became a police officer, though still pursu- ing his flying dream by becoming a pilot on the side. While he enjoys flying single engine aircraft, the Fayetteville Police Department's Lieutenant Ruff, now a member of the Depart- ment's Emergency Response Team (ERT), said he just does not have the time to take it further. As soon as he became a law enforcement officer he knew it was exactly what he was supposed to do. Now he has added "Deadliest Guy on the Block" to a list include cop, soldier and pilot. Ruff was the sea- 32 | November/December • 2011 IKE RUFF ALWAYS KNEW he wanted to either fly helicopters or be a policeman. All of his childhood draw- ings depicted either a helicopter or a police car. Ruff knew he was built to live a life of service, and that is just son one, episode six winner of The Discovery Channel's show "One Man Army." For proving his mettle against other equally matched competitors in a grueling four rounds of competition Ruff received $10,000. The Discovery Channel's hit show is a battle of testosterone and a match of speed, strength and wits as during each epi- sode the competitors face a complex web of lasers, a gladiator style tug-of-war, and every soldier's worst nightmare: enemy capture. "One Man Army's" host Mykel Hawke, a former Spe- cial Forces soldier, guides the competitors through the elimi- nation process. Ruff said he decided to apply to be on the show simply be- cause he wanted to see if he was up to the challenge. "We've all seen shows like "Combat Missions" and "Fear Factor", and you sit back and think — I can do that," he said. He first heard about the show through an email he received from a former lieutenant. It was a call for applicants with special skills. He responded to the email, telling the producers about what he does for a living. They invited him to fill out an application in late Novem- ber 2010. His episode was filmed in May 2011. "As far as law enforcement, we are well rounded as far as

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