Photo By Sgt. Samantha Stoffregen | Pfc. Justin Eberhart, military policeman, 65th Military Police Company (Airborne(,...... read more read more
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- As Soldiers began knocking out push-ups, nicknames were yelled and words of encouragement were shouted as loud as possible. Despite the harsh tones, excitement and anticipation surrounded competitors taking part in the 65th Military Police Company (Airborne) Military Stakes competition at Toussaint Louverture International Airport, May 8.
Service members deployed in support of Operation Unified Response took on the challenge of push-ups, sit-ups, a 0.8 mile run, a relay race and a Humvee push all while racing against the clock.
"I think [the competition] gives the guys a good chance to see their overall endurance level and do things they don't usually do," said Sgt. 1st Class Toby Hansen, military policeman, 65th Military Police Company, deployed from Fort Bragg, N.C.
Although the majority of the competitors were 65th MPs, two teams stood apart. LSA Dragon had a team compete and Guatemalan Soldiers assigned to MINUSTAH forces took part in the challenge. The Guatemalan's took sixth overall.
"It's really good we had the Guatemalan team come out," Hansen said.
Master Sgt. Elva Marquez, chief medical NCO, surgeon cell, JTF-Haiti, competed for LSA Dragon. She was one of only two females competing, but that didn't stop her from giving it her all.
"I had no energy left at the end," Marquez said. "It was OK, though, because everybody cheered everyone on even though they were on different teams. Camaraderie was big today."
Hansen, who is part of third platoon, got very involved in keeping his Soldiers morale up. He assisted in time keeping, but still found time to cheer on his Soldiers.
"We are very big on competition in the unit," Hansen said. "It brings morale up when we do competitive sports."
He said people came out to have fun and earn bragging rights, especially within the 65th MP Company. Ten teams took part in the event and by the end everyone had smiles on their face.
"I think the guys like doing stuff like this," Hansen said. "It seems to make them happy to get out and do stuff in their down time and not just sleep in their tents."
Third platoon Soldiers competing on Team Hump won the challenge, with a time of 16 minutes, 15 seconds. Soldiers on Team Hump, Pfc. Dean Hunter, Pfc. Justin Eberhart and Sgt. Malcolm Smith, were third to compete and held the lead for the entire morning.
"The challenge was pretty good," Hunter said. "It's the first [competition] we've done well and it was something to do other than watching movies or sleeping."
The team had competed in other challenges together and spent many missions working together.
"They are an organic team," Hansen said. "They work together all the time."
Smith, who was the unofficial leader for the team, said it was rough on the tire flip, but knew they had the win.
"When you have good teamwork, you can accomplish things better," Smith said. "We had great teamwork."
The trio went into the competition with a clear plan in their heads.
"For the push-ups, we all did two sets of 20, then 10 each," Hunter said. "The sit-ups were a set of 40 then 20 each. For the rest, we just focused on staying together and getting the job done."
After their run, the team sat around joking about having to carry each other during the relay race and how it went.
"My legs were like jello," Eberhart said. "You had to pull all you had for the [humvee push]."
Team Hump participated in the volleyball tournament last weekend and the firefighter challenge a few weeks ago.
"We do events every Saturday," Hansen said. "We rotate with the Air Force (24th Air Expeditionary Group) and now that the 209th Military Police Company [deployed from Fort Polk, La.] just moved in, they'll probably have next week's event to coordinate."
With Team Hump's win and the 65th MP Company's second and third spots in the firefighter challenge, bragging rights are higher than before at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport.
| Date Taken: | 05.08.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 05.10.2010 11:07 |
| Story ID: | 49408 |
| Location: | PORT-AU-PRINCE, HT |
| Web Views: | 453 |
| Downloads: | 194 |
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