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***image1***Most people spend their birthday eating cake and taking it easy, but for one fitness-focused squadron commander in the 86th Airlift Wing, an early morning run was the order of the day.
Lt. Col. Nelson Johnson, commander of the 86th Operations Support Squadron, turned 41 Monday. He also challenged his 120-member squadron to beat him in an eight-mile run through the woods at the 38th Construction and Training Squadron.
Any individual finishing the entire run within a generous four minutes of the commander’s time would be granted a three-day pass by Colonel Johnson.
While the colonel covered the entire distance by himself, he also extended a prize to relay teams. Flights could split the distance into 2-mile legs. If the team could beat the colonel, each member would get a one-day pass, he said.
“Fitness is important to me and I wanted to create a venue that wouldn’t drive people away,” Colonel Johnson said. “It’s all about max participation and building flight unity. If a flight had 10 runners they could send two out at a time and the fastest one to finish would be considered the one running the leg.”
Even with the relay option no flight team finished ahead of the commander.
“I haven’t run that fast since I was 40,” Colonel Johnson jokingly said as he crossed the finish line with the winning time of 52:57.
The next squadron member who individually completed the 8-mile course finished 4 minutes and 30 seconds later, missing the grand prize three-day pass by half a minute.
Colonel Johnson changed the rules in the middle of the run, shouting to the timekeepers and rewarding the second place finisher, by saying that he could have a two-day pass if he beat all the relay teams.
Even though the other teams didn’t match the commander’s pace, they were still energized and impressed by his skill.
“He’s pretty gung-ho and I think it’s good. He sets the example and he keeps us motivated,” said Capt. Karian Hayes, the executive officer for 86th OSS.
Colonel Johnson said his squadron members returned the motivational favor.
“When there’s an event scheduled, I train for it. As their commander, I want to be fit so that I have the energy to motivate them. The unit is my motivation and I hope to be theirs,” he said.
The squadron’s competitive spirit and commander’s running emphasis have had their rewards – 86th OSS’s intramural cross country team has taken home the fall championship trophy for the past two years.
In the daytime, the fit warriors of 86th OSS have an important mission, providing theater airlift C3, intelligence, air traffic control, airfield operations, weather, life support and combat tactics support for wing assigned and transient aircraft, said Colonel Johnson.
“We also support airlift across U.S. Air Forces in Europe and conduct mission scheduling of distinguished visitors and joint airdrop and airland missions, aviation resource management, aircrew training, mobile aerial operations and operations planning for four flying squadrons,” he said.
It may be tough to beat a marathon and Ironman veteran on his 41st birthday, but the members of the 86th OSS enjoyed the commander’s challenge.
