Photo By Master Sgt. Paul Tuttle | U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Ruben "Ben" Cavazos from Honolulu, sergeant major of the 8th Human...... read more read more
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By Paul Tuttle
1st Sustainment Command (Theater) PAO
CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – Many men past the age of 45 resign themselves to slowing down and relaxing, but not the sergeant major for the 8th Human Resources Sustainment Center at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. He doesn't seem to have slowed a bit.
The Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command in Alexandria, Va., announced on Feb. 20, that Sgt. Maj. Ruben "Ben" Cavazos, 48, was the U.S. Army Male Athlete of the Year for 2007.
"My jaw dropped," Cavazos said when he was told he was chosen. "I received an email (on Feb. 8) to call MWR Headquarters as soon as possible, but it came right before the weekend."
He had to wait until the following Tuesday before he could speak to anyone (Kuwait is eight hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time), but he could only speculate. He thought perhaps it was about the competition and his packet, but wasn't sure about it, he said.
Even when his nomination was confirmed, he asked, "Are you sure you have the right guy?" He said he felt like a little kid "with a lot of toys and marbles," but he wanted to measure it against something bigger.
"It was my own Olympics," the Honolulu native said. "It didn't happen overnight; it was a long process."
Cavazos, a former third grade teacher, started running while growing up in northern Mexico, playing soccer.
"When I came to the United States, and when I joined the Army back in the late seventies, most in the United States didn't know what a soccer ball looked like," he said. "I did my first eighteen months in Germany, and I played there. Soccer is a huge sport there."
He completed his tour in Germany and transferred to Fort Bragg, N.C., and it was there he started running for sport.
"It took me four or five years to really call myself a runner," the 48-year old said. He said he found he was good at it and began to compete, first at the division level, then the installation level and represented the 82nd Airborne Division in Army wide competitions. "It became a life-style," he said.
Cavazos ran in the inaugural Army 10-Miler, and has completed more than a dozen since, both as an individual competitor and running on teams, placing in the top three when he wasn't winning.
He met his wife in 1995, when he transferred to Hawaii. "She introduced me to trail running," he said. Before that, he hadn't run any distance greater than a marathon. "It's very different."
For one thing, he explained, trail running uses many more muscle groups than road running – it is mountain running. "The elevation change in the HURT 100 in Hawaii is in excess of 23,000 feet," he said. "It's punishing, because when you go up, you have your hands on your knees in some sections, or you are using a rope, because if it's raining, it's very treacherous."
The Hawaiian Ultra Running Team 100 mile endurance race is five 20-mile circuits through the mountains of O'Ahu Island in Hawaii. Runners have to finish within 36 hours to receive an official time, and Cavazos has run six of them.
If that isn't enough, he runs with two screws in his knee. "I like to try different things," Cavazos said. "I got into mountain biking ...," while he attended the Sergeant Majors' Academy and tried down-hill competition. He fell down a cliff during a time trial in December 1998, and shattered his left kneecap.
"That was probably the most painful day in my life," he said. The doctors wired the pieces together, but he went back to running, participating in a marathon the following year.
"I broke my knee a second time, but this time it was playing soccer with my Soldiers," he said. He was kicked in that same knee, but it broke into two pieces. Because the pieces were big enough, he said, doctors were able to fix it with only two screws. Then he ran his first HURT 100.
Race officials only allow 100 runners to compete. They are selected by submitting an application and establishing their credentials through prior races and distances run, Cavazos said. "They want to keep the quality, the friendliness, and the support they give to the runners to be first class," he said.
Cavazos is the only person to run the 100 for six consecutive years in Hawaii. On Jan. 19, 2008, Cavazos ran his seventh HURT 100 at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, with special permission from race officials because he is deployed, supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
However, his accomplishments started in 2007 with his sixth HURT 100. He ran a 10K and a 5K race in April, the Kona Marathon in Hawaii in June, the Volcano Marathon in Hawaii in July, a 22 mile trail race (with his 16-year old son) in August, two 5K races in September, the Army 10 Miler (shadow race in Kuwait) and another 5K race in October, finishing with a 5K race in November, taking 1st place in five of those races.
The selection process for Athlete of the Year involves more than just physical ability, Cavazos said. Community service and the total Soldier are important too. He said that he participates in community affairs and athletic events everywhere he goes.
Col. Lorraine Tyacke, director of the 8th HRSC, has known Cavazos for several years. "He's always been involved with running," she said, 'but he's also a strong supporter of community activity. He's involved with his sons' schools, he's been involved with the Red Cross in Hawaii, he's volunteered for the NCO Association. He's always out there, supporting others."
In Kuwait, Cavazos continued his community service by raising more than $11,000 for the Wounded Warrior Program during his HURT 100 run in Kuwait. He said that he chose that program because service members fighting the war on terror have far better armor and protection than previous conflicts, and many are surviving wounds that may have killed them in the past.
Cavazos said today, service members get medical care on the battlefield faster, are evacuated quicker and lives are saved because of that. The Wounded Warrior Project helps take care of them.
"We cannot afford to forget about them or their families, and assume that because they will get a medical retirement, life is going to be okay," he said. "They have given much, so it is, in my book, our responsibility to do what we need to do to help them."
Lt. Gen James Campbell, director of Army Staff for the Office of the Chief of Staff for the Army and former commander of the U.S. Army, Pacific, endorsed Cavazos for Athlete of the Year. In his memorandum for recommendation written in November 2007, Campbell said, "I have known Sgt. Maj. Cavazos for more than six years, including his service as the United States Army, Pacific inspector general sergeant major during my tenure as commanding general of USARPAC. He is without a doubt the most physically fit man I have ever met. Willing to tackle any physical test set before him, he consistently succeeds and finds enjoyment in every aspect of the challenge. He continues to set himself apart from others by becoming the only runner and Soldier to complete the Hawaii Ultra-Marathon Running Team 100 mile trail ultra-marathon for six consecutive years. Cavazos also distinguished himself as the only Soldier to take first place two consecutive years at the Kona Marathon. He finished third at the Volcano Marathon, and placed first in his age group (40-49) during the Kuwait "shadow" run of the Army Ten Miler."
Maj. Jason "Jay" Edwards, deputy director for Postal Operations for the 8th HRSC, ran 15 miles with Cavazos when Cavazos ran 100 miles, Jan. 19, and echoed those sentiments. Edwards managed and coordinated the last few ultra-marathons and the Kuwait HURT 100 in which Cavazos ran.
"It's absolutely well deserved, that this 48-year old can do ultra-marathons and compete with younger Soldiers," the Cold Water, Mich., native said. "The sergeant major is the most mentally tough and physically fit man I've met in my life."
Cavazos receives his award at the 2008 Association of the U.S. Army annual symposium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Feb. 28.
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 02.22.2008 17:18 |
| Story ID: | 16614 |
| Location: | CAMP ARIFJAN, KW |
| Web Views: | 959 |
| Downloads: | 558 |
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