Photo By EJ Hersom | Air Force 1st Lt. Liz Laboe fends off a tackle during the 2024 Armed Forces Women’s...... read more read more
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Logistics officer dedicates rugby medal to team back home
Shannon Collins
Armed Forces Sports
SAN DIEGO – As the logistics readiness officer supports her team on the rugby pitch, her Air Force team back home at the 28th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, cheers her own while watching the live stream.
1st Lt. Liz Laboe is competing in her first Armed Forces Women’s Rugby Championship here at Nobel Field in San Diego, but she’s been playing rugby for years and loving every minute of it.
“I love competing,” she said. “Winning as a team is the best feeling in the world. I’m so grateful for my shop back home for always supporting me like they support me on the job. I know they always have my back. I’m working hard for them. I love them, and this silver medal was for them.”
Call to service
Laboe commissioned through the Air Force Academy because of the impact the military had on her family. Her brother serves in the Alabama Army National Guard and deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
“I saw how the military turned his life around,” she said. “I wanted something like that for myself, where I could make a positive impact on others and be influenced by an organization doing something greater than myself.”
Her uncle earned his commission from the United States Military Academy, which heightened her motivation to pursue a career in service
“He was my other inspiration to go to a service academy,” she said. “He had a very successful life. He’s a great leader. I want to be like him.”
Rugby
At the Air Force Academy, she played center on the rugby team for from 2018 to 2022 where the team went on to win three national championships. She played inside center for two 15s and center for a 7s championship.
Laboe said she loves continuing her rugby journey, especially playing with a mix of enlisted and officer players.
“It’s so incredible,” she said. “I’m continuing to meet awesome people, mentors, leaders. It’s wonderful having a mashup of enlisted and officers on one team. We can see what we’re capable of together.”
She said the blend of enlisted and officers is reflected in the Air Force.
“The enlisted force drives everything we do,” she said. “They are the heart and soul of the Air Force. I love working with them. At work, I feel grateful to everybody on my left and right. Out on the pitch and off, we’re teammates.”
Laboe said during her academy matches, her coaches would call it, the “fields of friendly strife” because the elevated competition would make the teams and athletes better.
“The friendliness, the camaraderie of having just played this battle of the game together, it makes each of us stronger,” she said. “You forge friendships with people from those other teams.”
For the first time last month, the International Military Sports Council (CISM) held a Women’s Rugby competition in the Netherlands with representatives from Army, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Navy on the US team, competing against the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom and France. Laboe did a semester exchange with the Spanish Air Force her senior year at the Academy. She said these international events strengthen unity with our NATO partners.
“At the Academy, a general told us, ‘We’re never going to enter a conflict on our own. We’re always going to need those NATO allies with us,’” she said. “Those bonds you forge overseas are essential for the future fight. It’s so beautiful some of us were able to go over there and forge those kinds of bonds playing rugby together.”
Fitness
Laboe encourages anyone to consider trying out for rugby or any type of intramural sports within their community.
“We [airmen] need to maintain our fitness because we never know what the future conflict is going to hold,” she said. “Sports builds teamwork. It makes you stronger. I learn from my teammates who are incredible people, incredible leaders. I’m very grateful for them.”
When Laboe moved to South Dakota, she said it was a bit lonely. She signed up for intramural volleyball and found her new military family.
“It gave me some sanity, friendship, fellowship and love,” she said.
As she joined in with her fellow rugby players from across the service branches for a final cheer, she smiled and gave a shout out to her Air Force family back home in South Dakota.
“This silver medal is for you guys,” she said.
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2024 14:55 |
| Story ID: | 476950 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 992 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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