Field meet reinforces leadership traits, inspires competition

Photo By Sgt. Cedric Haller | Sgt. Roman Popcov pushes an ammunition can while low-crawling Jan. 29 during the “push and pull” event in the Director’s Challenge Field Meet at Camp Hansen. The event tested the physical strength and endurance of the participants. Popcov is a student in the Career Course at Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy Okinawa.  

CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JAPAN

01.29.2014

Story by Lance Cpl. Cedric Haller 

III Marine Expeditionary Force   

CAMP HANSEN, Japan - The Marine Corps leadership traits list dependability, endurance, unselfishness and enthusiasm as a handful of qualities that a leader must possess.

The Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy Okinawa reinforced these traits in its students during the Director’s Challenge Field Meet Jan. 29 at Camp Hansen.

The meet promoted interaction and camaraderie between the Marines attending the Sergeants, Career and Advanced Courses.

“(The meet) gives us the opportunity to intermix different ranks,” said Sgt. Maj. Anthony Cruz Jr., the director of the SNCO Academy Okinawa, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler, Marine Corps Installations Pacific. “(This) causes them to compete, communicate and build camaraderie with one another. Throughout the training cycle, there’s really no interaction with different students from different courses, so we’re looking for the opportunity to have them compete against one another.”

The competition consisted of a wide variety of different physical fitness activities including buddy squats, fireman’s carries, disassembly and reassembly of rifles, casualty carries, Marine Corps Martial Arts Program techniques, medicine ball relay runs and a tug-of-war.

The events pushed the Marines’ mental and physical limits, made them work as a team, reinforced combat conditioning, and covered other subjects taught throughout the courses, according to Gunnery Sgt. Christopher J. Heater, a faculty advisor for the advanced course at SNCOA Okinawa, MCB Camp Butler.

The meet also honored fallen service members from operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

All of the events were dedicated to and named after decorated service members who fought in Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom, according to Staff Sgt. William G. Morris III, a career course faculty advisor at SNCOA Okinawa.

All of the Marines gave maximum effort to win the field meet, but, in the end, the winning team was a combination of the Career and Advanced course members.

With positive feedback from the participants, the faculty at the SNCOA Okinawa is looking to make this a course tradition.

“As Marines, we all have strengths and weaknesses,” said Heater. “At the end of the day, the biggest thing we take from all of this is that when we’re united there’s nothing that we can’t do.”

• Date Taken: 01.29.2014
• Date Posted: 03.11.2014 05:35
• Story ID: 121812
• Location: CAMP HANSEN, OKINAWA, JP
• Hometown: BRONX, NY, US
• Hometown: MILO, ME, US
• Hometown: PHOENIX, AZ, US
• Hometown: RICHTON PARK, IL, US