Soldiers celebrate Super Bowl while deployed

1st Brigade, 11th Airborne Division
Story by Staff Sgt. Mylinda Durousseau

Date: 02.02.2014
Posted: 02.07.2014 15:11
News ID: 120295
Soldiers celebrate the Super Bowl

FORT IRWIN, Calif. - For most Americans the Super Bowl is about gathering with friends, enjoying their favorite snack foods and cheering for their team. During Super Bowl XLVIII, more than 200 Arctic Wolf soldiers from 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division did just that as they took a break from the Enhanced Leader Training Program at the National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif., Feb. 2.

“It’s a good way to get to know people,” said Michael Otey, a forward observer with 1/25 SBCT from St. Louis, Ohio.

The room was filled with cheering and laughter as soldiers were able to come together as friends and spend the afternoon away from work.

“It’s important for people to get together away from work, to get to spend time together, get to know each other a little better and just enjoy being together,” said Chaplain (Maj.) Kevin Wainwright, 1/25 SBCT chaplain.

For those who didn’t have a team in the game there was Super Bowl bingo, trivia, nachos and the often highly-anticipated commercials.

“It’s unique and it’s fun. Everyone is interacting,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jon Schneider, 1/25 SBCT aviation operations sergeant.

After the Seahawks were declared champions and the bingo prizes were awarded the soldiers went back to the job at hand, getting ready for the simulation exercise, the final phase of the ELTP.

“I think it’s great training,” Wainwright said of the upcoming simulation. “It makes you realize what great people you work with.”

Many of the soldiers expressed confidence in the week’s preparations for the final battle.

“I’m pretty confident in what is going to happen tomorrow,” said Otey.

At the end of the day the soldiers came together as a team to face the training challenge together.