Families Enjoy Spartan Week
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Tampa – U.S. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT) hosted Spartan Week Oct. 22 – 25, 2019.
This year was the first iteration of Spartan Week; it was a 4-day event designed to honor SOCCENT’s legacy, build unit cohesion, and strengthen personal and family resiliency.
Rear Adm. H. Wyman Howard III, SOCCENT commander, kicked off the opening day by welcoming service members, Department of Defense civilians and contractors at the Davis Conference Center at MacDill Air Force Base.
“As we start this week off with a 2-day event of important training, I want to thank you all for your sacrifice and dedication to SOCCENT and to our Nation,” said Howard.
The first day of training focused on ethics, suicide prevention, sexual harassment/assault response and prevention (SHARP), equal employment opportunity and information assurance training.
The second day of training was dedicated to sleep hygiene. The key topics included impacts of sleep on performance, utility of wearables, and managing circadian rhythm.
After the two days of training, team members and their families were invited to participate in a mini-triathlon event, which took place at the MacDill Marina Thursday morning. The mini-triathlon included an 800-meter swim, an 8-mile bike ride and a 2.2-mile run.
“The significance of the mini-triathlon was to conduct a unit physical training event that incorporated skills such as swimming and biking, which are not normally conducted,” said 1st Sgt. Eric Carpenter, headquarters commandant first sergeant.
There were about 50 participants in all, counting both teams and individual competitors. Events like the mini-triathlon were meant to foster relationships, build esprit de corps and increase unit morale, Carpenter continued.
The final event of Spartan Week was Thursday night’s Fall Festival. SOCCENT team members and their Families gathered around the newly dedicated Spartan Readiness Center.
Miriam Mitchell, director of the Preservation of the Force and Family (POTFF), thanked everyone for coming before. Howard cut the ribbon, which officially opened the Spartan Readiness Center as an important resource for SOCCENT team members and their families.
“Thank you all for being here today to share in this special occasion,” said Mitchell. “We are very excited to bring Rear Adm. Howard’s vision to fruition - to purposefully have a centralized hub for psychological, social, and spiritual resources, three of the four pillars of POTFF, dedicated to the SOF service members and their families.”
The Fall Festival event continued with super heroes, ghouls, ghosts, princesses, animals and other costumed children trick or treating throughout various workspaces. SOCCENT team members decorated their workspaces with scary Halloween props and decorations that made some children laugh and others a little too scared to take a piece of candy.
After 45 minutes of laughs and scares, the families gathered at the Joint Operations Center where Howard thanked them for being a part of the special operations team.
“I thank you for what you and your families do every day for this team,” said Howard. “Your dedication and sacrifices are inspiring, and I’m proud to serve side-by-side with each and every one of you. Please enjoy the rest of the evening with your families.”
The commander then released everyone to the warehouse where there was food, music and activities for the whole family. The United Service Organization (USO) provided food and drinks while the St. Petersburg Mounted Police Unit presented their Percheron/Thoroughbred-cross horses for all to see.
The children also enjoyed a bouncy house, a cake walk, face painting, a pumpkin-decorating patch and a Bubble Man show.
For more Fall Festival and Spartan Week photos visit our Flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/184419841@N08/albums.
You can also follow us on our Facebook page @SOCCENT and our Twitter page @USSOCCENT.