U.S. forces hold fight night in Iraq

Photo By Spc. Jessica Luhrs-Stabile | Sergeant Kito Queen, an Alexandria, La., native and a senior line medic with Fox Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Ga., punches his opponent Sgt. Micah Brown, a Decatur, Ga., native and paralegal with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division of Fort Bliss, Texas, during a boxing match on Forward Operating Base Warrior, Iraq, April 4.  

KIRKUK, IRAQ

04.12.2010

Story by Pfc. Jessica Luhrs-Stabile 

1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division

Behind the stage, amateur boxers were taping their hands and warming up; out front a crowd of cheering Soldiers and Airmen were gathering around the stage where a U.S. Army DJ, known as DJ Swift, was getting the crowd pumped for the fight night.

This familiar bell sounded, and the crowd fell quiet as the first match began featuring two female Airmen stationed on Forward Operating Base Warrior.

After throwing dozens of punches, Airman 1st Class Yolanda Solido-Espinal, a native of El Paso, Texas, and an information management specialist with the 11th Apparitions Group of Washington, D.C., was named the champion.

After their fight, the men took the stage.

The second fight was possibly one of the more interesting for the amped-up crowd.
The 208-pound Sgt. Micah Brown, a native of Decatur, Ga., and a paralegal with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, out of Fort Bliss, Texas, took on 280-pound Sgt. Kito Queen, an Alexandria, La., native and a senior line medic with Fox Co., 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Ga.

Both Soldiers put up a good fight for the crowd, but in the end, Sgt. Queen was named the champion.

After this fight, the remainder of the fights pitted Army boxers against Airmen, with the Army winning three of the five fights.

"I think this is a good morale boost for the FOB," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Jerred S. Mitchell, a native of Thompson, Ohio, president of the E-5 and E-6 club on FOB Warrior and project manager for the event. "These Soldiers and Airmen can come out here and get some stress out."

• Date Taken: 04.12.2010
• Date Posted: 04.12.2010 07:46
• Story ID: 48001
• Location: KIRKUK, IQ