Photo By Staff Sgt. Patrick Caldwell | First Sgt. Todd Gorham, the first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company,...... read more read more
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq – When Staff Sgt. Shannon Hively, the assistant non-commissioned officer in charge of the logistic section for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Regiment, 77th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, and a native of Union, Ore., deployed to Joint Base Balad, Iraq, he worried he might be forced to give up one of his favorite pastimes.
Hively’s love of softball was not something he wanted to wave goodbye to, considering that he actively played in both co-ed and city-league softball.
In the end, Hively didn’t have to give up his favorite game when his unit arrived at JBB. Instead of sitting out of softball for a year, Hively found a way to incorporate it into his deployment here by creating his own slow-pitch softball team. For the past five months, Hively and his slow-pitch softball team – made up of fellow soldiers from HHC – competed in a base-wide league.
Beside the fact that the league allows Hively to participate in a sport he loves, the games are beneficial in other ways, he said.
“For one, it’s something different to do to pass the time,” he said.
Originally a 17-member team, total numbers for Hively’s slow-pitch softball squad, dubbed “Team Viper,” have changed during the past five months. Yet, he said there have always been enough people interested in playing to field at least an eight- or nine-member team.
“It is fun to get everyone together and to play,” he said.
The main softball action occurs on weekends and often is played in the hot daytime temperatures of an Iraqi summer.
“It is a good way to relieve stress,” Hively said.
Though the thrill of competition plays a big role in the softball games, Hively said it isn’t all about winning and losing. A single softball game has the power to push his thoughts out of the hot, dry climate of Iraq back to the more modest climate of eastern Oregon.
“When you are out on the baseball field you don’t think, ‘Hey I’m in Iraq,’” he said. “It reminds me of home.”
Hively said he has no real regrets about deploying to Iraq.
“It has been a learning experience for sure,” he said. “I’m glad I did it.”
The 3rd Bn.’s deployment has allowed him to give something back to his state and nation.
“The Army has offered me a lot of things, and I felt it was my duty,” he said. “Doing this is one way to give back.”
Still, Hively said he is looking forward to returning back to Oregon when the battalion’s deployment ends.
“I can’t wait to get back to my family and my life,” he said. “I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I’m ready.”
| Date Taken: | 06.27.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 07.03.2011 03:17 |
| Story ID: | 73174 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 657 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Soldier finds solace in softball while deployed, by SSG Patrick Caldwell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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