Courtesy Photo | Sgt. John Oglesby (right), a convoy escort team gunner with Alpha Company, 1st...... read more read more
by Staff Sgt. Jacob Parker
CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq - While deployed, soldiers often find new hobbies to occupy their time when they are not out on a mission or doing other training. Some play instruments, others read and many play video games.
One of the most unique hobbies some soldiers from 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, have taken up is sparring with padded swords.
Sgt. John Oglesby, a gunner with Alpha Company, 1st CAB and a Billings, Mont. native, brought his hobby of sparring or “ditching” with him to Iraq and has since gained several new members to his group of swordsmen.
Their battles take place in a large hole across from the soldier’s living area that they have dubbed “The Pit.” The lower elevation of “The Pit” with its raised viewing area gives spectators the sense of watching gladiators in an arena. The foam-padded weapons in the bright sun of the Iraq desert have a shine to them resembling polished steel, although without the metallic ring of metal to metal contact when struck against each other.
Oglesby has been sparring for more than 25 years with organizations such as Amtgard and the Society for Creative Anachronism, which are two international organizations dedicated to recreating the arts of the renaissance and the Middle Ages.
“I am almost 50, I don’t think I’ll ever quit doing this,” Oglesby said. “It’s a good stress reliever and it’s an awesome exercise.”
SCA promotes sparring and mock battles using weapons and armor that are inspired by pre-seventeenth century armaments. Their battles can involve just two people dueling or many people representing opposing armies. The rules for each organization differ somewhat to represent the nature of combat involved within the organization.
Amtgard, which is fantasy-based, allows magic to be used by its participants and has armor and clothing that is given a point value reflecting how much force is needed from certain weapons to deal damage to the wearer of the garb. It is up to the individual’s honor to say if an opponent’s strike was hard enough to be considered a death blow.
The SCA, which is devoted to historical re-enactment and does not have spell casters, allows its members to have armor materials best-suited to offer protection against the strikes of the contender’s weapon. Authentic armor can be worn, but some contestants wear armor made of carpet or other material that offers padding and protection.
There are certain rules for the use of weapons that have been improvised to prevent injury to the contestants. Blunted tips are used to prevent the likelihood of eye injuries, and the required thickness of padding on the weapons is established to prevent bruises and other injuries from blows.
Other rules that apply are if a limb is struck it becomes unusable, if two limbs are struck, the combatant is considered dead. If a contestant is struck with the flat edge of a sword or blade it does not count as a kill, nor is a hit on a hand considered debilitating. Referees can be used to call the battles and make sure everyone is abiding by the rules established for duels or battles.
Organizations offer some creative freedom to their participants on what kind of armor they wear. It doesn’t necessarily have to match from head to toe nor be from the same era.
The weapons and armor Oglesby uses, which he made himself, consists of a combination of Roman, Greek and Viking attire.
His helmet is a Viking ocular, which is a domed helmet with a goggle style visor for eye protection. His cuirass, which is based off of the Roman style segmentata, is worn as body armor. Leather greaves and leather bracers protect his legs and arms, and his shield is a typical round shield.
His weapons vary from single to double swords, or the use of a weapon called a glaive, which looks like a pole with a large knife at the end.
Oglesby and the other participating soldiers start their match with a round-robin warm-up where the winner of each duel remains to fight the next.
Following the end of their warm-up, the soldiers are already sweating profusely, they move into a two-on-two battle. The teammates stand side by side, using cooperation in order to not expose their battle buddy as they fought and moved around the pit.
Oglesby usually has four to six people that join him in the pit.
Spc. Brandon Thronson, a Billings, Mont. native and Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle driver with Co. A, 1-163rd Inf. Regt.; Spc. Nicholas Vanmierlo, a Roundup, Mont. native and MRAP gunner with Co. A; Spc. Paul Hanson, a Billings, Mont. native, and MRAP gunner with Co. A; and Staff Sgt. John Arnold, a Butte, Mont. native and convoy escort team commander with Co. A; often join Oglesby in the pit.
“I like history and medieval stuff just fascinates me,” Thronson said. “It makes the time go by faster.”
As stories spread via word-of-mouth, other members of their unit have expressed interest in joining the group.
“My advice to skeptics is, don’t knock it until you try it,” Oglesby said.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 06.19.2011 01:58 |
| Story ID: | 72359 |
| Location: | CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ |
| Web Views: | 3,989 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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