Photo By Spc. Josh Lecappelain | Members of the ArmyBassAnglers team pose following a tournament.... read more read more
By Spc. Josh LeCappelain,
Multi-National Division - Center Public Affairs Office
CAMP VICTORY – Nearly 7,000 miles away from their normal fishing holes, Soldiers serving in Iraq have a way to support their angling needs, thanks to a professional fishing team and its sponsors.
"ArmyBassAnglers is a 12-man, professional bass fishing team made up all Soldiers or former Soldiers," said Maj. Cody Roberson, currently serving in the division surgeon section of Task Force Mountain – Headquarters. Living by the motto "Support.Defend.Fish," the team was formed by Roberson and Sgt. 1st Class (Ret.) Don Bailey in 2006.
"I noticed that nobody was paying any attention to service members," said Roberson, president of the team. "When I got back from Operation Iraqi Freedom I, I was stationed at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. I used my two years there to research how to become a professional fisherman."
The ArmyBassAnglers web site is designed as a portal for fishermen to share tips, stories and memories.
"It's somewhere service members can go to read about fishing," said Roberson a native of Arlington, Texas. "They can apply the information to the ponds here (at Victory Base Camp).
The main page of their web site is filled with links to discounts from various equipment distributers who sponsor the team.
"It's the industries way of saying thank you for what (service members) do," said Roberson, jokingly noting that his next catch in Iraqi waters will be his most memorable – and first.
ArmyBassAnglers is affiliated with two organizations – "Returning Heroes Home" and "Fishing for Freedom" –designed to help Wounded Warriors.
"Returning Heroes Home" is in the process of building a new Warrior and Family Support Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The center, designed to give wounded service members and their families a safe environment to begin the healing process, began construction in Sept. 2007 and is scheduled to open this fall.
The close ties to these organizations have provided Roberson with his most vivid fishing memory. During the Fourth Annual Fishing for Freedom competition, he paired up with Sgt. 1st Class Francisco Soto, a veteran who had been wounded in Afghanistan during an insurgent attack.
"We took fourth place," Roberson emotionally remembered. "Spending the day with him...watching him experience the outdoors and have a good time was a sign to me that our company is heading in the right direction."
He noted that all the members of the team are either currently Soldiers or had retired from the Army. But, they consider themselves professional Soldiers first and fishermen second.
For more information about ArmyBassAnglers, "Returning Heroes Home" or "Fishing for Freedom," visit their web site at http://www.armybassanglers.com/; http://returningheroeshome.org/; and http://www.qualitybass.org/fffiv_results.html.
| Date Taken: | 06.29.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 06.29.2008 09:24 |
| Story ID: | 20977 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 449 |
| Downloads: | 387 |
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