Photo By Sgt. Arjenis Nunez | From left to right: Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Wright assigned to Headquarters and...... read more read more
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FORT STEWART, Ga. (February 26, 2018) – The 3rd Infantry Division finalized its combatives team roster on Feb. 16 with five fighters from various units across Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
Closing out their final training week at the 2nd Brigade Spartan Combatives Training Facility, the team has readied their participants for the Combatives Tournament Invitational taking place Feb. 28-Mar. 3, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
“The concept of Army combatives is not mixed martial arts,” said Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Housewright, the combatives coach for 3rd ID’s combatives team, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID. “You take some of the fundamentals of MMA and apply tactical uses with and without weapons to it and that is what you get for combatives.”
He said combatives is a tactical extreme close quarters combat in a controlled environment.
Housewright said he’s always been a fighter. Hailing from Gloucester City, New Jersey, he has always felt that his surroundings growing up bred him to be the fighter he considers himself today.
It was an amateur match against one of his former Soldiers that humbled and motivated him to learn combatives and eventually compete in major Army tournaments.
“He was really into MMA,” Housewright said of his competitor. “He kicked my behind, but I didn’t take it lying down - I couldn’t accept losing so I had to learn combatives to prevent myself from losing again.”
Housewright - determined to improve and maximize his skill level - went to the Tactical Army Combatives Instructor Course located in Fort Benning, Georgia.
Competing in numerous tournaments and having been a combatives instructor at both Fort Drum, New York and in Germany, led him to develop a Marne combatives program for dogface Soldiers across Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield.
Pfc. Michael Roberts, assigned to Company H., 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd ABCT, 3rd ID and Houston, Texas native, stated that he jumped at the chance to join this team when his first sergeant asked if he was interested.
“Two years ago when I first arrived at Stewart, I learned a bit more about combatives and tried out for the team because it was something I felt passionate about,” Roberts said. “When I heard about Staff Sgt. Housewright’s program, I immediately made it known that I wanted to be on the team.”
Roberts said that his downtime is still training time - stretching to keep his body limber, cardio workouts to increase endurance and meditation to rid himself of any jitters, are all a part of his regimen to be a stronger competitor at the tournament.
“I’m working to be the best version of myself that I can be - plain and simple,” Roberts said. “I have to push past my limits and outdo my fellow competitors.”
Roberts was referring to Pfc. Jordan Dunn, assigned to Company H., 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID. Dunn on the other hand, also considers his biggest competition and rival to be Roberts.
“Roberts and I are in the same unit, so I want to be the best fighter coming out of H Co.,” said Dunn. “It’s healthy competition, and pushes both of us to be better Soldiers altogether.”
Dunn said his approach to the training leading him to the invitational has been to discover what his flaws are - what he can improve on and what strengths he can refine and put to use throughout the competition.
“There’s no way you’re always going to win,” Dunn said. “You have to learn what you can as you go and having little experience in something like this makes me more determined to go and show everyone my efforts.”
While managing to recruit five fighters for the team, Housewright is still struggling to fill in slots due to some misconceptions.
“There is this fear amongst some leaders that their Soldiers will get injured and miss duty at a critical time if they join the combatives team,” Housewright said. “I can honestly tell you that the training is done in a controlled environment where the basics and fundamentals are drilled into each fighter which helps prevent injury.”
He wants 3rd ID leadership to feel confident that their Soldiers are in good hands - learning how to be tactful and become aware of what they can do to mitigate serious injury.
For Housewright’s program to draw in more members, he needs leadership across Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield to communicate down to their Soldiers that 3rd ID has a combatives team and all are welcome to try out.
“The most important thing for me outside of getting my team ready to compete at Bragg is getting the leadership to understand that this is not a fight-house system. This isn’t MMA,” Housewright said. “These are Soldiers training for the tactical application of subduing a threat non-lethally in an austere environment – use it as a chance to encourage esprit de corps, physical readiness and boost unit morale.”
Soldiers interested in joining the 3rd Infantry Division combatives team should email Staff Sgt. Housewright at Thomas.j.housewright.mil@mail.mil or call him at 912-321-1095.
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.27.2018 14:22 |
| Story ID: | 267402 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NC, US |
| Hometown: | GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ, US |
| Hometown: | HOUSTON, TX, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 365 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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