BAGHDAD - Beads of sweat drip from his face in Baghdad early-morning heat as an Army captain pushes his body to accomplish as many repetitions as he can within one minute, before moving onto the next station only to push body to the limits once again.
Sound familiar? One might draw the conclusion that the captain is taking an Army Physical Fitness Test, or maybe even doing morning physical training. Would you believe the captain is actually doing his part to help his fellow Soldiers, or at least wounded warriors.
On Sept. 25, 10 persons who made up “Team Union III,” represented Forward Operating Base Union III in the worldwide event “Fight Gone Bad 5.”
“Fight Gone Bad was started by CrossFit Foundation five years ago as an effort to raise awareness and money for two charities – the Wounded Warrior Project and SportsFit,” said Army Lt. Col. Brian Cook, chief of U.S. Forces-Iraq J3 Forward, and captain of “Team Union III.”
The event provides service members the opportunity to pair something they already know, and do on a regular basis, with the ability to help wounded warriors.
“It’s only natural for any Soldier to want to raise money for wounded warriors,” said Cook, a 43-year-old a native of Carlsbad, Calif. “I have more than a dozen friends who have been wounded in the Global War on Terrorism. So it’s easy for me to do this."
This is not the first “Fight Gone Bad” event that Cook has participated in. As a battalion commander last year, he organized a team for his unit that had more than 100 participants.
“The event consists of five different exercises for one minute at a time. The object is to try to maximize the reps [repetitions],”said Cook, who has been an ACE-certified (American Conditioning Enterprise) personal trainer since 1999.
In this workout participants spend one minute at each of five stations – Wall Ball with a 10-foot target; Sumo Deadlift High-Pull; Box Jump; Push-press; and the Row – resulting in a five-minute round. After completing the round, a one-minute rest period is allowed before repeating the workout. In total, participants perform three rounds.
The event is scored by athletes earning one point for each properly-executed repetition, except for the rowing event in which a point is given for each calorie burned. Two separate classes of workout standards exist to accommodate differing ability levels.
The event was conducted simultaneously at hundreds of locations, with people from all over the world participating.
“I chose to participate for fun with the added benefit that it supports our wounded warriors,” said Army Capt. Kelly Wilhelms, a 32-year-old native of Sibley, Iowa, who serves as a medical service officer who serves as an advisor with the Federal Police Transition Team.
“How terrific is it to go out and dedicate yourself to show that you want to honor those who’ve been wounded,” said Cook, who is a 1990 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. “I’m very happy to contribute.”
To date, “Team Union III” team has raised a total of $3226, however Cook said there’s still time for that figure to increase, as the window for contributions does not close until Oct. 1.
| Date Taken: |
09.25.2010 |
| Date Posted: |
09.29.2010 07:37 |
| Story ID: |
57167 |
| Location: |
BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: |
109 |
| Downloads: |
6 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Small team strives to make big mark in worldwide event, by Wayne Hall, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
