Stress Reliever

Courtesy Photo | Lance Cpl. Josh Wimsatt takes down Lance Cpl. William Martin during the Marines mix martial arts training during Golden Cargo 2010. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tom Wade)  

PINE BLUFF, AR, UNITED STATES

06.14.2010

Courtesy Story

310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command

By Sgt. Tom Wade

PINE BLUFF, Ark. – Americans find innovative ways to relieve stress. Some people indulge themselves with chocolate and others just sleep it off. The Marines participating in Operation Golden Cargo here believe they have the perfect solution to relieve the long workdays’ stress: with Marines on the mat, shoulder-to-shoulder the mixed-martial-arts way.

“Combative training is an essential part of the rifleman’s life,” said Lance Cpl. Josh Wimsatt, an ammunition technician from Grandview, Mo.

“This training is as important as the five-mile run and the pull-ups we do,” he added.

For the Marine, physical fitness is essential to any job, because it builds the minds and heals the body. The Corps also awards promotion points based on a Marine’s success in this type of training.

Physical training is not the only reason why more than 60 Marines are here in Pine Bluff Arsenal. Their special platoon was assembled because they know how to load up ammunition, which will be decommissioned after its journey.

“This training is a little different than what we have done before,” said Lance Cpl. William Martin, an ammunition technician from Columbia, Mo.

Operation Golden Cargo aims to train Soldiers, Marines and civilians on how to handle and transport ammunition safely across thousands of miles between multiple installations. It is real-world training that helps all levels evaluate their forces.

With the mission well underway, the Marine Corps is taking time to share its stress-relief secrets here at Pine Bluff. And that secret is two men, shoulder-to-shoulder, yelling “Grunts can do anything!”

• Date Taken: 06.14.2010
• Date Posted: 06.14.2010 11:37
• Story ID: 51355
• Location: PINE BLUFF, AR, US