Photo By Nathan Clinebelle | A firefighter with the Fort Jackson Fire Department tosses a bean bag during a game of...... read more read more
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It may look like just another softball game, but it was something larger.
For the Directorate of Emergency Services, it was a time to laugh and a time to get to know each other while taking a break from the stressors of every day work all in a “Battle of the Badges.”
It was an organizational day to “bring all our departments together … with some friendly competition between our departments,” said Maj. Travis Valley, DES director.
Firefighters and law enforcement personnel took sides behind their respective badges, Sept. 20 in friendly competitions that included softball, cornhole and physical exercises such as pushups and pullups.
The first responders work long hours “and there is always a need; there are no holidays or family vacations days, so to get them out and enjoying time together” helps build morale and helps build the team, Valley said.
Eric Harper, Fort Jackson Fire Chief agreed and said the job is stressful and the battle “is taking a minute to take care of ourselves.”
It was also a time to “kick our feet up and play some softball and play some cornhole and just laugh. We will top it off with a barbecue and have some more laughs.”
For retired firefighter Will Sexton the battle was a good way to go beyond the badges worn.
‘These types of events are great because with us working different shifts we don’t always get to interact with each other except on a scene,” he said. “These types of events are fun and build camaraderie and competitiveness between different departments.”
The department who wins the most events earns the “coveted” Battle of the Badges trophy, while each department’s most valuable player won a medal.
“It’s just bragging rights,” Sexton said of the importance of the fire department winning the softball game. “It’s fun you get to talk about it until the next one.”
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2024 10:31 |
| Story ID: | 481833 |
| Location: | FORT JACKSON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 4 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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