Task Force Poseidon soldiers hit the ground running

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Donna Davis | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Carrington, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., and a battalion safety representative with Task Force Poseidon, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, talk with fellow soldiers about the difficulty of running the Army 10-miler 0ct. 9.  

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

10.09.2011

Story by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon 

82nd Combat Aviation Brigade

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – It’s 5 a.m. on a dark, cold morning in Afghanistan and nearly 1,000 service members and civilians are flooding across the starting line of the Army 10-miler Oct. 9. Donning reflective belts and protective eyewear required on Bagram Air Field, they pad down the street and the crowd begins to thin and stretch out just a half-mile in to the race.

For some, the challenge of running ten miles here relies on maintaining physical fitness in the midst of working more than 12 hours a day, seven-days-a-week.

For 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade soldiers, who have been arriving at Bagram in waves over the past few weeks, it’s a battle between personal will and the environment.

“If I can’t do it, I can’t expect my soldiers to do it. In something like this, have them come out and push themselves past their limit, and beyond,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Carrington, Task Force Atlas, 122nd Aviation Support Battalion safety non-commissioned officer.

For those who haven’t had the time to acclimate, choking exhaust from diesel trucks and ever-present swirling dust clouds for once take a back seat to the much thinner air at Bagram’s higher elevation.

Fort Bragg lies approximately 325 feet above sea level. Bagram Air Base, however, is perched among the Hindu Kush mountain range at 4,895 ft. The difference in altitude, 4,570 ft., is the same height as the Washington Monument stacked eight-high.

“Oh, it’s a challenge, it’s a challenge. It’s not like back at Bragg,” said Carrington, of Fayetteville, N.C. “Once you get up to this elevation you feel it.”

Bagram was one of 13 overseas locations hosting official Army Ten-Miler-sponsored shadow runs, according to the race’s official website. Ten of those locations were in Afghanistan. Forward Operating Base Salerno and Shindand Air Base in Afghanistan also held shadow runs, but were not sponsored.

The Army Ten-Miler is one of the largest 10-mile races in the world, and is the Army’s premier running event. It was started in 1985 to promote the Army, support fitness goals, enhance community relations, and most importantly, build espirit-de-corps.

“It’s all about team-building skills,” said Sgt 1st Class Linus Felix, an operations sergeant with TF Atlas, 122nd Aviation Support Battalion, and a native of St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “It’s all about building that team, you know. I try to keep the young soldiers motivated, and that’s pretty much why I did it.”

This year’s 10-miler had more than 30,000 runners worldwide, and more than 500 registered runners on Bagram Airfield alone.

Proceeds from the race go to Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation; a comprehensive network of support and leisure services designed to enhance the lives of soldiers and their families.

• Date Taken: 10.09.2011
• Date Posted: 10.12.2011 00:16
• Story ID: 78342
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF