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BAQUBAH, Iraq - Life around Forward Operating Base Warhorse does not always have to consist of work, work and more work and members of the "Blacksmith" Battalion were out to prove that with a company-wide fun day, Nov. 26.
The fun day was a chance for Soldiers from Company B, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, to blow off some steam, build morale and interact with their Army family.
"We're out here to try and build morale in our Soldiers," said 1st Sgt. Walter Barrow, Co. B first sergeant and a native of Fort Hood, Texas.
"They work so hard during the week so we try to pick a day out of the month to have special events for them," he added.
"These guys live and work together 24 hours a day, so we want to bring them together to have fun and not work so they can see the other side of the Soldiers they work with," Barrow said.
For Spc. Craig Woolever, a Soldier from Co. B and a native of Plant City, Fla., it was a chance to step away from the long hours at work and have a blast with those he calls his brothers.
"It was nice to come out here for a company fun day," said Woolever. "It really does build morale in all the shops."
"This builds a team effort," he added. "Everybody gets a chance to come out here and cut loose and have some fun."
And fun, they had.
The day was full of team building events such as races, basketball and throwing eggs to build trust, said Woolever.
"We started out early with relay races, three-legged and will barrow races," said Barrow. "Then we had a basketball tournament where each platoon faced up against each other. We then moved on to the egg toss, tug-of-war, and after that, the pie throwing. It's been a good day of fun."
But the best event of all, said Woolever, was the sumo wrestling.
"The sumo wrestling was great," he said. "If we have another event like this, I definitely want to do that again."
The Soldiers were treated with sumo wrestling outfits provided by the FOB's Morale, Welfare and Recreation center. The costumes were heavily padded suits to resemble the body of Japanese sumo stars, complete with hair-helmets that look like hair of the wrestlers.
But with a day of fun activities like these, Barrow had to agree with Woolever, the sumo wrestling was the most entertaining event, he said.
"The sumo wrestling is the best event," said Barrow with a big smile on his face. "You see everybody trying their best to throw each other around -- it's great. Even the little guys want to take on the bigger guys; it seems everybody thinks they have a chance with these sumo suits on."
"It's just hilarious and so fun to watch everyone get in the suits and roll around," added Woolever.
As the day drew to a close, the Soldiers relaxed, listened to music and conversed with those around them. The experience was good, and something Woolever said he is looking forward to again.
"This is a great way to let go of some stress and get away from the day-to-day activities of being in the shop," said Woolever. "This is a lot of fun out here. The chain-of-command was great for thinking about this. I can't wait for the next one."
"With [the Soldiers] being away from home and their families, we wanted to give them something fun to look forward to, to get their minds off things and relax," said Barrow.
"We want to do this every month, so, next time we might do volley ball or a race around the FOB," he continued. "We will do anything for these guys that is fun and we can do together."
Barrow also said he felt the events have really made a difference for his Soldiers and strongly suggested other units take the time to hold fun events for their Soldiers.
"I know everyone has different missions," said Barrow, "but if other companies could get out here and do this too, it really works at building team cohesion and morale."
"I've seen more smiles today than I've seen in the last month - proof that this works," he said.
| Date Taken: | 11.26.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 11.29.2006 14:37 |
| Story ID: | 8428 |
| Location: | BAQUBAH, IQ |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 41 |
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