By Spc. Sophia R. Lopez
4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – The Forwarding Operating Base Kalsu Fitness Center hosted a Combatives and Martial Arts Clinic featuring Grand Master John Pellegrini, Nov. 6, 2008.
Pellegrini is a master of combat Hapkido, based on Korean Ki-Do Hae, and came to FOB Kalsu with Command Sgt. Maj. James Redmore, Multi-National Division – Center senior-enlisted leader.
"I want to give back [to the troops] and couldn't think of a better way than to come here," Pellegrini said. He was born in Italy, was a paratrooper for the Italian army and now resides in Phoenix, where he has set up many martial arts training centers.
Redmore, of Carthage, N.Y. arranged for Pellegrini to visit different units in Multi-National Division – Center's area of operations. Their travels include FOB Echo and Victory Base Complex, and they plan to visit FOB Delta and Contingency Operating Base Adder.
Pellegrini met Redmore at a seminar in New York, where he was invited to train the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mtn. Div. Quickly, the two became friends. Pellegrini now visits Fort Drum, N.Y., twice a year to train Soldiers.
These trips to Fort Drum introduced Pellegrini to Master Robert Gray, the Fort Drum combatives instructor. The two of them took a trip to Afghanistan in 2006 to train the Soldiers of 10th Mtn. Div. deployed there. That trip was a success and encouraged both Pellegrini and Gray to request to train Soldiers in Iraq as well.
"I think it is a great idea to bring to the troops the skill sets important for soldiering," he said. "It builds confidence and the warrior spirit."
"My involvement with Fort Drum gave me the opportunity to come here," said Gray, of Heuvelton, N.Y. "It is my contribution to the military and their effort."