Courtesy Photo | Active Guard Reserve Staff Sgt. Kristen “Easton” Masina, Joint Base...... read more read more
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Shannon Collins
Armed Forces Sports
SAN DIEGO -- With a pink ribbon tied in her hair, the rugby player fiercely holds her position in the scrum, ready to move the ball down the field. She gets the ball and aggressively holds her own before passing to her fellow teammate.
For Active Guard Reserve Staff Sgt. Kristen “Easton” Masina, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Anchorage, Alaska, being a part of the Air Force team during the Armed Services Women’s Rugby Championship at Nobel Field July 13 final was about more than competition. It was about heritage.
Proud of heritage
Masina and her family are first generation Americans who came from Samoa. She said her whole family came to her Air Force basic training graduation.
“My dad was so proud. We were all just crying,” she said, smiling. “It was a very proud moment.”
Her husband, also from Samoa, serves in the Army Guard as a recruiter. They met while working in his uncle’s restaurant.
She said she’s very proud to serve.
“It’s such an honor to serve my country, to serve my family and in personnel,” she said. “It’s rewarding helping out our airmen and doing my small part in the Air Force.”
She’s also very proud of being Samoan.
“I’m very proud to be a Pacific Islander,” she said. “I think more of my people, especially the women should get out there. We’re used to being kind of reserved, being the caretakers. Women in Samoa have a lot of talent. They need to showcase that more. We’re talented. We’re powerful. We’re athletic.”
Rugby
In high school, Masina played flag football, volleyball, softball and ran track. She’s been playing rugby for about 10 years.
She said the teamwork and trust she learned through sports translates over into her career in the military.
“When you’re on the pitch, you have to learn to trust your teammates,” Masina said. “That translates into the office as well. You have to look out for one another, be there for one another. You also need to make sure you’re doing your part in the bigger picture. You could deploy at a moment’s notice.”
Air Force Capt. Adrienne Yoder, Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, Air Force team co-captain, said Masina is the energy of the team.
“If we were down, she brought us back up,” she said. “She was just a new energy this year that everybody loved and cherished. Her energy was unmatched by any other player. She’s a hard runner, lots of fire.”
She said women’s rugby helps her maintain not only physical accountability but resiliency as well.
“We’re tough; we’re resilient,” she said. “We’re ready to fight just like anybody else. If you give rugby or any intramural sport a chance, you could make friends for life. It’s been a great experience.”
Quick to fake, take a crazy step or bust through a line, Masina refuses to be predictable as she helps Air Force earn their spot into the final match of the championships and then take silver. With her ever present smile, she congratulates her team and her fellow rugby players from her sister service branches on a hard fought competition.
| Date Taken: | 07.13.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.24.2024 15:39 |
| Story ID: | 476960 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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