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Physical fitness is always a critical component of ensuring that our National Guard Soldiers and Airmen are always ready and always there to answer the call of duty and successfully complete the mission at hand. While physical fitness training is mandatory for all service members, there are many opportunities at hand for those who want to take their fitness to a new level.
Numerous programs within the Department of Defense exist to strengthen the warrior ethos amongst America’s troops. Within the Texas Military Department, there has recently been an increase in command emphasis on holistic, total force wellness.
TMD Command Senior Enlisted Leader, CCM Michael E. Cornitius has said that “TMD is dedicated to being built around taking care of our people”; and that a renewed emphasis on fitness allows for a more agile and resilient force.
One of these numerous programs is the Alpha Warrior competition. Alpha Warrior operates as a public-private partnership between the Department of Defense and the private Alpha Warrior organization. This organization specializes in the construction of “obstacle race courses”, and models such courses after ones featured on prominent television programs such as American Ninja Warrior. In fact, Alpha Warrior utilizes the same equipment sets as the creators of American Ninja Warrior.
Alpha Warrior is established as a multi-phase fitness competition that tests the skills of the armed services’ elite athletes. Teams are comprised of between six to eight service members. For the first stage, athletes compete amongst each other within their individual branch of service.
The inaugural All-Army Alpha Warrior team was launched in fall of 2019. To join the All-Army team, Soldiers had to submit detailed applications to the All-Army Sports team headquarters. Applications took into consideration overall physical health and athletic accomplishments for each service member. The applicant’s military service records also played a role in selecting team members.
The Army team was made up of Soldier-athletes who have extensive fitness backgrounds including cross fit and marathon training. Two members even competed on American Ninja Warrior in the past. Every member selected for the team had proven themselves with numerous successes in the realm of fitness and athleticism.
One of TMD’s own, Sgt. Elizabeth Chafee-Cox, stationed at Camp Mabry in Austin, TX, successfully completed the application process and represented the Texas Army National Guard. After weeks of rigorous training, the members of the All-Army team convened in San Antonio, TX, on September 14, 2019. It was here that the cross-branch Alpha Warrior competition took place, with each branch fighting for the honor to call themselves the Alpha Warriors.
The team of eight first competed in the qualifications competition. After the qualifications round, six Soldier-athletes moved on to the finals to compete against teams from the Air Force and Navy. The finals were comprised of six heats, with three service members competing in each heat; one to represent each branch of the military participating.
When asked about her participation on the All-Army team, Chafee-Cox praised the team’s professionalism, inclusivity and overall positive representation of Army values. "It feels amazing to represent the U.S. Army at this competition," said Chafee-Cox. She added that "The caliber of athletes is wicked and I appreciate that All-Army truly means all of the Army. We have Soldiers from Europe, Army bases and the National Guard, it is all-inclusive."
The competition itself was grueling, and pushed the competitors to the brink of their physical abilities. The Alpha Warrior Competition serves as a test of strength for the whole body that exercised their core, shoulders, biceps, cardio and grip strength. The first challenge was a 50-meter bear crawl sled drag. Next, was a 50-meter seated sled pull. Teams then had to select a competitor to participate in the rock wall challenge. The selectee then had to scale the wall to the top, walk 100 feet laterally, and then had to climb back down.
The final challenge was the Alpha Warrior “rig” itself. The rig is comprised of numerous obstacles designed to push athletes to the brink of exhaustion. Obstacles on these specially designed rigs include the “Solomon Ladder,” where competitors move a metal bar up while simultaneously hanging from it; the “Devil Steps,” where competitors “climb” steps with their hands; as well as rope climbs.
The Army team performed very well during the September competition, and earned second place. Beyond the thrill of the competition however, the Soldiers agreed that the challenges presented by Alpha Warrior served to prepare them for real-life fitness challenges within the Army. Team members all agreed that the rig and the competition itself served as a very effective way to prepare for the new Army Combat Fitness Test.
"This competition enables readiness for Soldiers because it prepares you for the ACFT," said Chafee-Cox. "You cannot ace a fitness test now by just being a fast runner or doing push-ups quicker. You need functional fitness. This style of working out is going to make everyone more successful."
As Chafee-Cox mentioned, what sets apart Alpha Warrior from other physical fitness training programs is the dedication to functional fitness, or complex movements that employ the use of multiple muscle groups. In this way, this competition indeed exhibits many similarities to the ACFT. Maintaining force-wide functional fitness is critical because it enables Soldiers to better overcome physical and mental challenges, both while in garrison and while on deployment. In this sense, the values espoused through the Alpha Warrior competition very closely align with Cornitius’ total-force wellness initiative that emphasizes wellness across four domains--physical, mental, social and spiritual.
At the conclusion of the competition, the members of the All-Army team were thankful for the lessons learned and for the opportunity to represent the Army.
Another member of the Army team, 2nd Lt. Christopher Gabayan, stationed at Fort Bragg, NC, said that “Our accomplishment is a testament to our training and dedication to what we do every day as U.S. Army Soldiers."
| Date Taken: | 03.11.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.11.2020 15:07 |
| Story ID: | 364994 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 49 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, TMD Soldier Participates in Alpha Warrior Competition, by LTJG Charles E. Spirtos, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
