Deployed Soldiers show greater strengths than Superman

By Spc. Ryan Stroud

Spc. Joseph Armstrong, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, uses all his energy to lift a large tire down a road. The fastest time to the finish line was declared the winner of the event at the Forward Operating Base Warhorse Strongman Competition, Sept. 9. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

Superman was known for his daring feats of greatness, his ability to fly as fast as a locomotive and his ability to exhort unbelievable amounts of strength when the citizens of Metropolis needed to be saved.

While the Soldiers of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, are not aliens from the planet Krypton, nor can they fly as fast as a speeding train - or fly at all, they do possess the same amounts of physical strength Superman does - a feat they proved at the Forward Operating Base Warhorse Strongman Competition, Sept. 9.

Running as fast as he can with an extreme amount of weight, Spc. Gary O'Hair, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, and his team compete in the Forward Operating Base Warhorse Strongman Competition, Sept. 9. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

With events like the tire flip and the humvee pull, where the Soldiers flip a tire just under their height and drag a humvee down a road across a finish line, these Soldiers stationed in Baqouba, Iraq, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08, proved they are just as strong, if not even stronger, than the great "Man of Steel."

"We are here participating in the FOB Warhorse Strongman Competition to help build morale and let loose and have some fun," said Capt. Michael Anderson, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, and a native of Griffith, Ind.

"It's a mixture of Soldiers, NCOs and officers joining in a day of camaraderie, showing off our physical strength and endurance, and just hanging out together and having a good time," he continued.

Capt. Michael Anderson, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, carries an extreme amount of weight across the finish line during the Forward Operating Base Warhorse Strongman Competition, Sept. 9. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

"This is all about teams and competition," added Spc. Joseph Armstrong, HHC 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion. "It's also about individuals trying to prove who the best of the best is. It's just everyone trying to be all that they can be.

"I'm competing in the individual competition. I'm competing in the tire flip, the chain pull... and the humvee pull," said the Freeport, Texas native.

All the competitors were in top physical shape, ready for both the physical and mental challenges that lie ahead of them.

"This is the first time I've ever done an event like this," Armstrong said. "I think they're all going to be tough and mentally challenging. You really have to go out there and push yourself to give it your all."

In pushing himself to his max capabilities, Armstrong spoke about the burning pain one can feel in their muscles and how to overcome those circumstances.

As his buddies look on for safety reasons, a Soldier with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, pulls a military humvee down a long stretch of road during the Forward Operating Base Warhorse Strongman Competition, Sept. 9. The event was a chance for Soldiers to show their strengths and build morale during their deployment to Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)

"I don't think of the pain," he said after completing the chain drag event. "When I get out there, it's an adrenaline rush. With your adrenaline pumping, all the pain goes away.

"When I'm getting ready for an event, I don't think about nothing but me and accomplishing my objective," he continued. "I don't focus on anything else out there, just me."

With Soldiers from all over Warhorse attending the event as spectators, proudly cheering on their fellow battle buddies as they performed feats of strength, Soldier morale was highly on display, helping the competing Soldiers to push themselves further to achieve a higher goal.

Events like these that raise morale are just what Armstrong and Anderson said they enjoy about competing.

"Events like these do help morale because it gets the athletes and the [spectators] pumped up," said Armstrong. "You got your brothers and sisters competing so you root for them just as much as you root for yourself.

"You want to see people succeed in events like these," he continued. "Everyone's giving their all and you have to respect that; and that's why you support and root for everybody."

"These events are very important because all day we are trapped inside these gates of the FOB and we get to go out on the road and hangout outside the wire for a little bit, but this is still nothing like being back at home," said Anderson.

"This is important because this brings Soldiers together, gives them an event that they may watch or participate in back at home, and gives them a chance to let loose a little and have fun," he said.

And it's these kinds of events which both Soldiers said would like to see more of.

"I think it would be very good to have more events like these out here because you're not just challenging others, you are challenging yourself and what you can accomplish," said Armstrong. "It helps improve your mind, body and spirit."

"All these events are great for the Soldiers and I'm very happy that we are able to let go of some steam today," Anderson agreed.

"Sometimes, this is what's needed to help us get by," he said.

judythpiazza@newsblaze.com

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