Photo By Dustin Senger | U.S. Army Capt. ChrisAngel Fuller, from Warner Robbins, Ga., admires Olympic medals at...... read more read more
CAMP AS SAYLIYAH, Qatar — Olympians traveled to Qatar, April 8, to show service members the first medals earned by the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team after 86 years of Winter Olympic competitions.
Four skiers are placing seven Olympic medals, one gold and six silvers, around the necks of U.S. servicemembers in the Middle East, as part of the first Armed Forces Entertainment Heavy Medal Tour. The medals were won during the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games in February.
The Heavy Medal Tour included: gold and silver medalist Bill Demong, from Vermontville, N.Y., with silver medalists: Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane, from Steamboat Springs, Colo.; and Brett Camerota, from Park City, Utah.
Robi Powers, founder of The Warrior Tours, is leading the journey of military installations with a photographer and videographer. Powers is a former soldier and Olympic ski team coach. He immediately uploads footage to the Internet; hoping family members will see images of their deployed troops wearing the Olympic medals.
A day before the midday flight abroad on April 3, a hometown hero parade celebrated the medalists atop a snow-covered street in Steamboat Springs, Colo. More than 1,000 people attended to congratulate the natives for their Olympic-level accomplishments and wish them well overseas.
The 12-day military appreciation tour started at U.S. Navy facilities in Bahrain, an island country in the Persian Gulf. They sailed the warm, salty waters to visit servicemembers on an oil platform and USS The Sullivans, a more than 2,000-ton Fletcher-class destroyer.
After three days in Bahrain, they flew 80 miles southeast to Qatar, a small peninsula nation protruding from the east coast of Saudi Arabia.
"It has been a really busy 72 hours," said Demong, who earned the tour's gold medal during an individual large hill event on Feb. 25. "But we planned for it, looked forward to it, and cancelled all other plans. The experiences have been awesome."
"The medals are really heavy," said U.S. Army Capt. ChrisAngel Fuller, from Warner Robbins, Ga., while holding the 500-gram medallions at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar. They are 100-milimeters in diameter and made mostly from silver.
"It's nice of them to let us touch the medals — on television they seem so surreal," said Fuller, who recalled watching televised coverage of curling, bobsledding and ski jumping events during the Olympic Games.
"Soldiers and Olympians have to maintain good physical shape and learn to face their fears," she said.
Demong, 30, is a four-time Olympic athlete who first competed at 17 years old. He noticed several similarities between serving in the military and competing in the Olympics, such as representing your country overseas, spending time away from home and undergoing rigorous training.
"When it's the World Cup, World Championship or Olympics," said Demong, "sometimes the competitions go on when the weather is subpar. You want to do your best even in dangerous conditions. The guys who do well are those who are able to stay focused on the task at hand, despite wind and fog."
"They make some amazing sacrifices to perform at the Olympic level," said Lt. Col. Paul Davidson, from Wyandanch, N.Y. "I see in them a selflessness and comradely similar to what we inspire in our soldiers."
"The guys are having the time of their lives," said Powers, referring to the medalists. "And that's coming from someone who's been with them for more than a decade. Each one is a true patriot."
"Next, we're going to do what I call the 'Baghdad shuffle,'" said Powers, referring to visiting troops serving in several locations around Baghdad, Iraq, the tour's final location.
According to Powers, Armed Forces Entertainment will complete two more Heavy Medal Tours later this year.
| Date Taken: | 04.08.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.08.2010 17:13 |
| Story ID: | 47864 |
| Location: | CAMP AS SALIYAH, QA |
| Web Views: | 541 |
| Downloads: | 497 |
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