Photo By Staff Sgt. Marie Bryant | Arkansas National Guard Soldiers with 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, 39th...... read more read more
FORT CHAFFEE, Ark. – Early in the morning on June 8, 2025, before the fog had a chance to lift, the sound of cadence being called in Spanish echoed between the barracks. Members of the Guatemalan Special Forces Brigade Kaibil and the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT) were running together in a tightly held, fast-moving formation.
“The Kaibil have a storied past when it comes to physical fitness, driven from their operational environment,” said Staff Sgt. Jonathan Byrd, a member of A Company, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, 39th IBCT who was supporting the State Partnership Program as an interpreter. “The Kaibil often undertake missions in unforgiving terrain that can only be accomplished on foot.
Bryd explained why the Kaibil train so extensively, even when their schedule is filled with demanding field training.
“Their course requires timed runs before meals and ruck marches over distances based on planned operational movements,” said Byrd. “For the Kaibil, physical fitness is vital to mission success.”
The intensity with which the Kaibil approach physical fitness was clear as they ran by.
“The task of a formation run in and of itself is easily accomplished, but to be able to execute it in a disciplined manner, at a strong pace, while calling cadence and maintaining spacing, shows that your unit is above the rest,” said Byrd. “This embodies a unit's physical fitness level, individual discipline and unit cohesion. That is demonstrated when you are running past every other unit that is not conducting physical training or performing at a high level. The simplicity of it all is that, when it is seen, people know what type of unit is running that formation.”
In the midst of the fog, members of the Special Forces Brigade Kaibil and the 39th IBCT ran tightly together, demonstrating the discipline and endurance needed for mission success. Physical fitness remains the foundation of readiness.
| Date Taken: | 06.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2025 10:46 |
| Story ID: | 500823 |
| Location: | FORT CHAFFEE, ARKANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Physical Fitness is Vital to Mission Success, by CPT Christopher Herb, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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