Transportation soldiers build success with PT

Courtesy Photo | Pfc. Joshua Burwick, a heavy wheeled vehicle operator with the 15th Transportation Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a Lakeland, Fla., native, works on the bench press at the House of Pain gym during remedial PT Jan. 11 on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Christiana Bankole)  

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IRAQ

01.11.2011

Courtesy Story

224th Sustainment Brigade

By Spc. Christiana Bankole
224th Sustainment Brigade Public Affairs

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq — “Hitting the pavement and sweating it out, that’s what Roadwarriors are all about!” yelled soldiers with the 15th Transportation Company, 110th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 224th Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). Several soldiers with the 15th Trans. Company, have been participating in the company‘s Physical Training program to get more out of their physical training during their deployment at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

The 15th Trans. Company PT program has been in gear since October 2010 with Staff Sgt. Kevin Green, headquarters platoon sergeant with the 15th Trans. Company, and a Stuttgart, Ark., native, and Staff Sgt. John Sellen, 1st platoon sergeant with the 15th Trans. Company, and a Dayton, Ohio, native, as the instructors who oversee the soldiers’ fitness schedules. They give their soldiers the PT they need through a combination of muscular endurance exercises, cardio, spin class, and good, old-fashioned running, all of which is alternated Monday through Saturday evenings.

Half of the soldiers participating in the program have excelled on their physical fitness and have managed to come off the program since October, after meeting their personal goals. Capt. Stacey Jelks, commander of the 15th Trans. Company, and a Bloomingdale, Ill., native, said she feels satisfied to know her program has been successful so far.

“The instructors are doing an outstanding job,” Jelks said. “They have really put a lot of heart and soul into making this [company] a physically fit unit. As a commander, this makes me very happy.”

The program is for those individuals who are having difficulty meeting either the Army Physical Fitness Test and/or height and weight standards, or the former 220 plus, now 250 plus company score standard. For those remaining with the program, Sellen said they should remain encouraged.

“I don’t want the soldiers to be discouraged, because the results are not as fast as they would like it to be,” Sellen said.

Spc. Eric Brown, a heavy wheeled vehicle operator with the 15th Trans. Company, and a Rapid City, S.D., native was formerly on the program, and said the program has assisted him with overall fitness, as well as boosting his APFT score.

“I like the program,” Brown said. “My two mile run has improved by two minutes, and has promoted weight loss for me.”

Green said he is glad to inspire the soldiers to meet the criteria of the program so they can achieve and receive promotions, awards and advancements in their military careers.

“My main goal is to push these soldiers to pass the APFT test and weight and tape, so they can receive awards down range,” Green said.

The soldiers of the 15th Trans. Company have come a long way in the area of physical fitness. Jelks said with hard work and effort, every soldier should be able to score a 250 on the APFT test, and the Roadwarriors will continue to exceed the standard, as a cohesive unit.

• Date Taken: 01.11.2011
• Date Posted: 01.23.2011 15:59
• Story ID: 64069
• Location: CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, IQ