Photo By Sgt. Jessica DuVernay | Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kenneth Powell, chief food advisor for 25th Combat Aviation...... read more read more
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SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - In celebration of the 25th Infantry Division’s 73rd Birthday, Tropic Lightning Week gave Soldiers time to build esprit de corps through the fun of competition with combat skill and physical fitness events scheduled throughout the week.
For many, the competitions offered a chance to take a refreshing break from the traditional workday and enjoy some fun. This was not the case for Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kenneth Powell, chief food advisor for 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, who pointedly participates in every team or competitive sport he can get his hands on.
“I’m an adrenaline junky which is probably why my wife won’t let me have another motorcycle,” Powell joked.
Powell was taught to swim at the age of 2 by his mother and was introduced to the water polo in high school, and continues to compete in the sport.
When he received orders to report to Hawaii in August 2013, he was happy because he likes the water and was already affiliated with 25th Infantry Division coming from Alaska.
“I grew up in the water, so when I got here I started getting back into water sports,” Powell said.
His most recent water sport competition was the Fourth of July Da Hui Paddleboard Race, a 4-mile competition from Sunset Beach to Waimea. Out of 500 competitors Powell placed in the top 10 percent.
“Any local water sport competition there is that I can sign up for, I will,” said Powell.
“When I saw that water polo was an event for Tropic Lightning Week, I immediately gravitated to it. I was the first one to sign up from HHC 25th CAB,” Powell explained.
Upon meeting the rest of his team, however; Powell realized he may have been alone in his thirst for water sport competition. He soon discovered that he was the only one on his team that had ever played water polo. Another factor was the use of floatation devices for the safety of the players.
“I understood that they were integrating the novice individual, and allowing all skill to levels to enjoy playing water polo,” Powell said.
After meeting with him about the event, some of Powell’s teammates realized they were not on the same page.
“I was so excited to be on the water polo team with Chief Powell,” said 1st Lt. Brittany Hampton, executive officer of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 25th CAB, 25th ID. “I walked up to him smiling and said, ‘Chief, I’m going to play water polo with you’ and he for the first time got serious, he said, ‘Do you know how to play?’ He then told me how competitive he really is, and I realized what I had gotten myself into.”
“My team relied on my knowledge of water polo and my ability to guide them. I was the only one who knew how to play, but once they understood the concept they very much picked it up, and we even went into overtime,” he said.
The water polo competition started out with Powell’s HHC, 25th CAB team in the lead against Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 25th ID, with a score of 2-0, for the majority of the game. In the final minute, the game was tied and went into overtime.
In the end, however; HHBN, 25th ID, defeated HHC, 25th CAB, with a score of 4-2.
“My main focus was to have fun, to win and try not to embarrass my mom, my dad, and my brigade commander. I don’t like losing, I don’t even like losing to my 9 year old daughter,” he said jokingly. “But it was a great learning experience and team building event.”
Powell’s teammates all told Powell that they had fun and wanted to continue playing and also that they learned a lot about the sport that they didn’t know before.
“Next year we will be ready,” Powell said with determination. “Now that the team knows about the sport, we can hold practices and really focus on our techniques rather than just learning about the game.”
| Date Taken: | 10.09.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 10.09.2014 22:48 |
| Story ID: | 144811 |
| Location: | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI, US |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Growing a Love for Water Competition, by SGT Jessica DuVernay, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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