Photo By Staff Sgt. Angela Parady | Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Akoa, a retirement services noncommissioned officer in charge...... read more read more
JERICHO, Vt. - The Maine Army National Guard fielded a biathlon team to compete for the second time in more than 20 years at the Eastern Region Biathlon in Jericho, Vt., Jan. 24 and 25. Four members represented the nine-person team, which placed third overall.
The Vermont Army National Guard was tasked with taking over the Biathlon Training program in 1973.
The first Chief of the National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championship was held in 1975, and seven states participated. Now, more than 30 states participate, and the events are held at the Ethan Allen Firing Range, in Jericho, or in Camp Riley, Minn. The National Guard Biathlon program is the only Department of Defense organization that consistently sends soldiers to the Olympics, according to their website.
Lt. Col. Aaron King, who lives in Augusta, was recruited to the team last year, and used his experience as a coach for the athletes this year
“Last year, they asked me if I had any interest in this program. Just so happened, that I didn’t really have any other winter sports, so I said why not. And we got it started again. It spread through word of mouth; we got six to seven people to join us. We had borrowed equipment from Pineland Farms to help us train once or twice.”
The owner of Pineland Farms is a former biathlete, and his wife, a two time Olympic biathlete. They were excited to hear that Maine was trying to start this program up again, and helped get together space and training time for King and his team. The outpouring of support from within the biathlon community in Maine was overwhelming and helped King push for more support from within the Guard after that first year.
Last year, not one member of the team was an avid skier, and they had only tested out a biathlon course once or twice before. They had little experience with the weapons they were expected to use before they showed up at Camp Ethan Allen for the competition.
“It was tough,” said King. “We had absolutely no experience whatsoever. The rifles we used were borrowed from the air guard, leftovers from the 1990s when the biathlon team went defunct. These rifles were 1970s antiques. When we brought them out to the equipment check they chuckled, because they were so vintage. But it’s what we had and what we worked with.”
King found that this program is more than just people participating in sport. It challenges the individual on so many levels. When he competed last year, the 10K biathlon was the toughest race he had ever competed in. He went back to the Guard and rallied for support for the newly developed team. He argued that for Maine to have a competitive team, they needed updated equipment. But it wasn’t just about getting them ready for a sport, the soldiers who participate become more physically fit, better marksmen, and they help develop the sense of camaraderie that should be at the core of the National Guard.
“The fitness that is required for this, it can only make soldiers better,” he said. “The marksmanship, you are hitting a 1.8 inch target at 50 meters, after just skiing three and half km as fast as you can. No one is shooting at you, but that is still combat conditions. You are up, you are moving around, and you have to engage targets with precision. That is excellent training, and cross training for the Army side. There is a transfer of skills from the sport to actual combat readiness.”
Second Lt. Jon Hobbs, the assistant operations officer for the 142nd Aviation Regiment, was an officer candidate at the time and happened to be in the right place at the right time when we found out about the team. He had just returned from basic training when he heard others talking about it. He saw it as a challenge, and something to try out.
“For newer soldiers to the guard, such as myself, it was a great program where it was able to bring people from so many backgrounds together,” said Hobbs, who lives in Portland. “It has been an outstanding experience. Seeing people come together for a common cause, forces people together through something we all enjoy. We can converse about things not related to skiing or the guard. It provides a lot of opportunity for professional development.”
Each skier is timed as an individual, and the top scores are taken into consideration for the overall team score. Some National Guard units train full time to earn their spot here. King has tried to maintain a balance in the training so as to keep it a fun program for the soldiers, and trying to make a competitive team.
The group meets roughly once a month, usually at a range to practice their marksmanship skills and conduct some physical training. King is weary of scheduling the training times on weekends as guard duties also often take place on weekends. A lot of the training is left to the individual, but as the group has come together, more athletes are taking advantage of local races and inviting their teammates to come out to various events.
“There is a lot of teamwork,” said Hobbs. “If someone has an issue or a question, they bring it up and we all kind of chime in with our experience levels. We have people who are outstanding marksmen, people with a lot of Nordic experience, but not much rifle experience, and people who have neither. It isn’t just people coming together and working together in a training aspect, but we also cover down on each other in the barracks. We make sure everyone is taken care of, the gear is set, and making sure everyone will be warm enough. We all bring extra clothes to make sure everyone is warm. Just in case someone brings the wrong thing, or just isn’t used to this sort of cold, we want to make sure everyone is taken care of.”
Maine’s team placed third after the two events, and will return in March for the next round of competition. As the team continues to grow in future years, King and Hobbs both have high hopes. Hobbs hopes to be able to place higher than the year before each event, and King, wants to see Maine have a thriving biathlon team again.
“The full-time trainers, the ones that do this year round, say it take three years of full time training to be competitive,” said King. “So how long does it take a recreational athlete? We will be realistic on what we can expect. But we are still going to get out there, represent Maine well, and have fun.”
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.30.2014 15:23 |
| Story ID: | 119874 |
| Location: | JERICHO, VERMONT, US |
| Hometown: | AUGUSTA, MAINE, US |
| Hometown: | PORTLAND, MAINE, US |
| Web Views: | 83 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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