SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany – The 52nd Munitions Maintenance Group hosted the Munitions Support Squadrons or MUNSS Olympics over a two-day period from August 5-6 on Buechel Air Base and Spanghalem Air Base.
The MUNSS Olympics brought together Airmen from the four Geographically Separated Units located in Buechel Air Base, Germany, Vokel Air Base, The Netherlands, Ghedi Air Base, Italy and Kleine-Brogel Air Base, Belgium, pitting them against each other in friendly competition.
“The interesting thing about the MUNSS is it’s one of the few groups where every single squadron is exactly the same,” said Col. Michael Donahue, 52nd Munitions Maintenance Group commander. “So this type of rivalry and this type of friendly gamesmanship is good for the soul.”
Some of the events the MUNSS Airmen competed in were basketball, soccer, powerlifting, flag football, volleyball and others. The overall winner was determined by a point system.
“The goal is for everybody to have fun,” said Donahue. “But really to get to know each other. All these squadrons are in different countries, and they know what they do, but they don’t know each other. So, this is a way for them to get to know each other and to build that network.”
The last MUNSS Olympics was held in 2019. The event was on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has restarted stronger than ever.
It was a very close competition, with the final contest being decided by a basketball game between the 702nd MUNSS from Buechel and the 703rd MUNSS from Vokel, with the 702nd hanging on for a close victory and winning first place overall. The 703rd MUNSS took home second place, and the 52nd MMG from Spangdahlem took home third place.
“You can tell everyone had a lot of fun,” said Lt. Col. Scott Schlegelmilch, 702nd MUNSS commander. “Not just winning, but to interact with all our peers from the other MUNSS.”
The Airmen of the 702nd MUNSS not only won the competition, but gained something even more valuable.
“We got to see each other face to face,” said Schlegelmilch. “We got to play some games, have some fun, have some conversations, break some bread and make some friends.”
The future will see the MUNSS Olympics become an ever-evolving event. Leadership is looking to make it even better in the future.
“It is not a static set of events,'' said Donahue. “It is dynamic every single time we do it. Maybe we’ll do a summer Olympics, maybe we’ll do a winter Olympics for it. The possibilities are endless.”
Date Taken: | 08.11.2022 |
Date Posted: | 08.11.2022 03:04 |
Story ID: | 426999 |
Location: | SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, BUECHEL AIR BASE , DE |
Web Views: | 77 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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