Soldiers, civilians compete in Saber Soccer Cup

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Gaelen Lowers | Staff Sgt. Jose Martinez, non-commissioned officer in charge of the container repair yard at Joint Base Balad, Iraq for the 289th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), and a native of Del Rio, Texas, gives safety instructions to the soldiers of the 298th QM Co., and the Iraqi, Honduran, and Panamanian workers who were participating in the Saber Soccer Cup Jan. 28 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.  

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

02.06.2011

Story by Sgt. Gaelen Lowers 

3rd Division Sustainment Brigade

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq— The soldiers of the 289th Quartermaster Company, 13th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 103rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), held the Saber Soccer Cup Jan. 29 at Joint Base Balad for their soldiers and the workers at the Container Repair Yard and the Fixed Mobile Redistribution Team yard.

Out of the six teams competing for the top prize, only one contained American soldiers. The rest of the teams were comprised of Iraqis, Hondurans and Panamanians.

“I have Iraqis, [third country nationals] and soldiers who all play soccer in their downtime, and so does the CRY,” said Staff Sgt. Valarie Lockridge, NCOIC of the MRT yard at JBB for the 289th QM Co., an Inverness, Fla., native and the organizer for the day’s event. “So, I thought it would be a good idea to get everyone together and put our skills to the test.”

Staff Sgt. Jose Martinez, non-commissioned officer in charge of the CRY at JBB, Iraq for the 289th QM Co., and a native of Del Rio, Texas, said the day was a great opportunity for the workers and soldiers to get outside of their normal roles and use the day to have a little fun.

“We wanted to include the Iraqis and the TCNs in our [Morale, Welfare, and Recreation] event so we could all have a little bit of fun and build some camaraderie,” said Martinez. “It is important to build up morale and show [the workers] that we care, too. We wanted to build some teamwork in our yards between us and the workers.”

Lockridge added that it was great that the workers were allowed to participate in the day’s events.

“Whenever we have our fun events, we usually can’t allow them to participate because of all the extra things that come along with security,” she said. “We wanted to include them because we’re a family. We all work hard together, so we should play hard together.”

Both Lockridge and Martinez said they hope that this event and future events like their Saber Soccer Cup will help build cohesion among their workers and soldiers.

“We really hope this will help out our personal relationships between us and the workers,” said Martinez.

Lockridge echoed his thoughts by saying that although they are all here for a mission, downtime and some fun is equally important.

The Iraqi team from the CRY came in first, followed by the Iraqi team from the MRT yard. After the tournament, the soldiers and workers were treated to lunch while they visited with one another at the MRT yard.

• Date Taken: 02.06.2011
• Date Posted: 02.06.2011 17:21
• Story ID: 64904
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ