Photo By Master Sgt. Darnell Cannady | The service members and their skills coaches pose for a group photo during the mini...... read more read more
For the third year, the Washington Redskins and USAA hosted the camp for fifty service members as part of the Salute to Service military appreciation event.
“This is an opportunity to recognize the service that our service members are providing to our country,” said Joel Vargas, USAA Military Affairs. “We did this to just say thank you for everything that they’ve done.”
The 10 teams were comprised of five members from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy Marine and Coast Guard stationed on Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Fort Lee, U.S. Coast Guard Base Portsmouth and Naval Air Base Oceana.
They competed in five skill events for the title of NFL Boot Camp champions and tickets to a Salute to Service game Nov, 20, 2016 at Fed Ex Field. The five events were team ball catching, the gauntlet, tackling dummy team relay, sled push, and kneeling power ball launch.
“My favorite event was the gauntlet, it took each team the longest to complete,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Jacob Griffith, 27th Intelligence Squadron client systems technician. “It was a series of runs, throws and agility work. I liked it a lot.”
A staff employee scored each event while encouraging the teams to push through the challenging drills they organized for the mini boot camp.
“It was exhausting but definitely a lot of fun,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kenneth Byrd, 633rd Security Force Squadron armory troop. “This whole event was amazing and I would definitely do it again.”
“We take pride in making sure we do what we can to give them a positive experience,” added Vargas. “With our partnership with the NFL, we can let them come in, enjoy some time playing on the field and get a perspective of how professional athletes perform here.”
After the drills, the military members ate breakfast, Redskin’s merchandise was raffled off and the winning teams of the Army and Air Force were announced.
“I loved the challenge, the agility and being able to do all these events,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Chloee Moore, 733rd Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels distribution supervisor. “I did better than I thought I would do. My team did very well and we actually came home with the win.”
With the mini boot camp finished, the service members got VIP access to watch a live NFL training camp and get autographs from players.
“At the end of the day we let them talk to NFL players, get some autographs and experience a good time,” added Vargas. “This is my third year doing the Military Appreciation sponsorship and I can tell you there’s nothing more rewarding.”
Conclusively, the NFL’s military appreciation workshops are a way of saying “thank you,” to those who serve their country.
“It really warms my heart because we all come in not expecting to get anything,” said Moore. “We just want to serve and do something bigger than ourselves, and then to get all of this in return for just doing our job is amazing.”
| Date Taken: | 11.01.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2016 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 213423 |
| Location: | RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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