Civilians pump up 'Dirty Boyz' Gym

Photo By Sgt. Armando Monroig | Sgt. Clifford Hurd, a military police officer assigned to the 293rd Military Police Company, Fort Stewart, Ga., works out his leg muscles during a squat session while at "Dirty Boyz Gym" at Forward Operating Base Normandy near Muqdadiyah, Iraq, Feb. 18. The gym is slowly going through an improvement process thanks to two civilian volunteers who help maintain the facility. Hurd is from Bakersfield, Calif.  

02.18.2007

Story by Sgt. Armando Monroig 

5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

By Sgt. Armando Monroig
5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

MUQDADIYAH, Iraq – Sand covers the floor from wall to wall in each of the rooms. Dumbbells lay on the floor where the last person used them. Some equipment, like the cable cross over station, doesn't even have handles for it.

Half-empty bottles of water litter the place. Broken cardio equipment sits in a side room collecting dust, waiting for repair.

Fast-forward a month and you'll find a slightly different, but still improving, workout facility at Forward Operating Base Normandy, dubbed the "Dirty Boyz Gym."

Equipment is free of sand and dust, dumbbells and weights are put in their racks, and the floor is cleaner. Some of the broken cardio equipment has been fixed. There are handle bars for the cable cross-over machines.

It's all thanks to two civilians who at first were just thinking about themselves.

"It was for selfish reasons," said Eric Kirby, an International Police liaison officer. "We wanted a nice place to work out."

"And it gives us something to do," said Quinn Pearson, Kirby's co-worker and also an IPLO.

When Kirby, an avid weight lifter, arrived to FOB Normandy in January and saw the condition of the gym, he wanted to do something about it.

So he spoke with the FOB mayor and was given the O.K. to help maintain the gym. The selfish-turned-selfless act has benefited others who use the facility, particularly members of 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and other Soldiers who live on the FOB.

"We need a stress outlet. That's what the gym is for me. If I they didn't keep up the gym, I'd be loosing my mind," said Sgt. Clifford Hurd, 293rd Military Police Company, Fort Stewart, Ga., adding that he appreciates what Kirby and Pearson are doing to help improve the gym.

"It's very important for morale," said Pearson.

"If people have a nice place to train, it will keep them from sitting around being bored. It helps them train for their job too, (helps with their) mental focus," added Kirby.

The fact the gym wasn't so nice is how it got its name.

"It was because of the dirt. If you came in here, you'd be a dirty boy. We're going to keep the name but we'll get (the gym) better. We'll have it cleaned once a day," said Kirby.

There are plans for newer equipment to be brought in and for mirrors to be put up on the walls.

"It's never going to be pretty but it will have everything you need to come in and train completely," said Kirby.

The only thing Kirby asks for in return is common courtesy.

"We just want people to put their weights away, stomp off boots before they come in, throw bottles away," said Kirby.

And he wants people to be proud of the gym they have.

"I want them to compare other gyms to it," said Kirby. "I want them to say, 'At Dirty Boyz we had this ....'"

Soldiers visiting FOB Normandy are already taking notice.

"It's not bad. It has stuff our gym in Summerall doesn't," said Pfc. Ryan Marsolo, Company A, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Pearson said the gym wasn't in very good shape when he first got there but doesn't blame the Soldiers who use it.

"It's not their fault. They work hard. They shouldn't have to take care of the gym and workout too."

• Date Taken: 02.18.2007
• Date Posted: 03.06.2007 01:46
• Story ID: 9335