H&HS service members compete in Frozen Chosin

Photo By Sgt. Carlos Cruz Jr. | A participant reassembles a M240 machine gun during the third event in the Frozen Chosin competition aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Feb. 27, 2015. The Frozen Chosin competition strengthens cohesion within the unit and resembles the austere endeavors of Marines during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.  

IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

02.27.2015

Story by Lance Cpl. Carlos Cruz Jr.  

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni

IWAKUNI, Japan - Service members with Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron participated in the Frozen Chosin competition aboard Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, Feb. 27, 2015.

According to Gunnery Sgt. Patrick A. Gomes Jr., the S-3 chief with H&HS, this event’s purpose is to strengthen team building and morale within the squadron.

“The way our jobs are set up, we can’t all get together to physically train so we had to prepare on our own for this event,” said Lance Cpl. Edwin Argueta, an air traffic controller with H&HS. “This was a great way to get together and have some fun and compete against other units.”

Gomes, Gunnery Sgt. Kelly Anderson, squadron gunnery sergeant with H&HS, Sgt. Giancarlo Maragni, noncommissioned officer in charge of S-3, and Cpl. Hollie Mulvihill, an air traffic controller with H&HS, coordinated the Frozen Chosin competition to resemble the austere endeavors of Marines during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in 1950.

Keeping with the theme of the event, the first place team wins a trip to the Demilitarized Zone, a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea.

The competition consisted of a series of events including: a 15 minute pull up contest, a 400 meter run followed by rope climbing and a four mile run containing obstacles.

“I practice jiu-jitsu and I do a lot of running. Every day I like to come out and run at least three miles,” said Lance Cpl. Edwin Argueta, an air traffic controller with H&HS. “Running on my own definitely helped me a lot because in this competition stamina is vital. It wasn’t about how strong you are; it was about how long you could last.”

They held the Frozen Chosin competition for the first time last year, 12 teams participated and the Provost Marshall Office’s team took first place and this year ATC won out of eight teams.

Argueta said he hoped that his team would win but when he saw all the competition he knew it wouldn’t be “a walk in the park.”
“When we got out here I saw the other teams and I was a little worried because of how strong some of the other teams looked, but then I remembered that strength wasn’t going to win this competition, endurance would, and that’s what I told my team before it began,” said Argueta.

After all eight teams finished the last event, the scores were tallied and the squadron commanding officer, Lt. Col. K. T. Schmidt, announced the winners.

“I’m extremely happy about winning and so is the rest of my team, said Argueta. “Marines love to compete, so this was a great way to bring the squadron together.”

• Date Taken: 02.27.2015
• Date Posted: 03.01.2015 07:16
• Story ID: 155640
• Location: IWAKUNI, YAMAGUCHI, JP