Photo By Damien Salas | U.S. service members from the National Capital Region rucking for the German Armed...... read more read more
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - More than 300 American service members reported to the German Armed Forces Command headquarters Sept. 25 for a ruck march through paths around Lake Audubon in Reston, Va.
More than 50 service members from the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and Headquarters Command Battalion participated in the event.
Ruckers lined up at 6 a.m. in rain that would continue through the day, to weigh their bags. Next to them, stood a piece of the Berlin Wall, German flag and a sign engraved with the German word “Bundeswehr” across it, which translates to “Federal Defense."
The ruck is a step in earning the German Armed Forces badge for military proficiency. Each rucker had to carry a minimum of 33 pounds throughout the 12K exercise up winding paths, down steep hills and on pavement slick from rain.
The coveted badge allows U.S. service members to complete the same physical fitness standards upheld by the Bundeswehr, according to Maj. Stefan Labouvie, GAFC headquarters.
“This marks the 22nd German-U.S. Day in the GAFC’s history,” said Labouvie. “It is very important for our liaison work with U.S. forces to bond regularly because we are brothers in arms.”
According to Labouvie, he and other members of the GAFC travel throughout the country to different units and forts for German proficiency exercises, and that they are a good way to bond outside of missions in war zones.
Having served two missions abroad with U.S. forces in Afghanistan and Kosovo, Sgt. Maj. Sven Theede, GAFC, said the event is about a friendship.
“This is an amazing event for our friendship with U.S. troops,” said Theede. “Sharing this together as two nations bonds you; this is the reason we are here.”
Theede said he was familiar with the rainy weather having come from a town in northern Germany close to the border of Denmark where “it rained a lot.”
“We don’t care about the rain,” he said. “War doesn’t stop because of the rain.”
| Date Taken: | 10.02.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.02.2014 13:28 |
| Story ID: | 144062 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 548 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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