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Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Killian and his Washington Redskins were up 28 to nothing all the way to the first half of the “Madden 10” X-Box tournament held April 5 as part of the grand opening activities for U.S. Army Garrison Kaiserslautern’s new Warrior Zone.
Warrior Zones have opened up at Army installations worldwide as part of the Soldier-Family Action Plan — the Army’s commitment to improving the quality of life for Soldiers.
The second half saw Sergeant Killian’s Redskins losing 29-28 to his opponent, Pvt. 2 Brian Lamson, the garrison’s Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers president.
“You are a hustler,” said Sergeant Killian jokingly, who is with the 357th Air and Missile Defense-Detachment based on Rhine Ordnance Barracks.
“First time that I have won on Madden,” Private Lamson said.
“Don’t go making me feel bad now,” Sergeant Killian lightheartedly answered back.
This type of camaraderie is exactly what the Warrior Zone is all about, said the garrison’s Command Sgt. Maj. Richard Jessup.
“It’s all about teamwork and our single Soldiers in our community — giving them a chance to get to know each other and build lasting friendships,” Command Sergeant Major Jessup said during welcoming remarks at the grand opening.
Nestled inside the Java Cafe on ROB, Kaiserslautern’s Warrior Zone sports lounge is complete with four big flat-screen TVs with satellite access, multiple gaming systems complete with four gaming chairs, a stereo system and projector lighting effects.
“Personally, I actually come down here quite often, and I love it,” said Spc. Cheyenne Kodiak, a Soldier with the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s 5th Quartermaster Company. “I play every game they have to offer, and I have a blast.”
Just outside the lounge, there are six computer workstations with free Internet access.
Checking out the speed of the Internet access on these computers was 357th AMD-D 1st Sgt. Crispin Bryant.
“It’s pretty fast,” said Sergeant Bryant, as he continued jumping between search engines.
He said he always tells his Soldiers about taking college courses online, and they tell him that either they don’t have Internet at home or their Internet is too slow.
“No excuses now,” he said. “Access here is really fast, and the screens are pretty big too. Soldiers can do their work and do research at the same time.”
While in the Army, Sergeant Bryant has earned an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree and two study certificates. He said a third of all of his education was done online.
“My two passions in the Army are physical fitness and education because regardless of how long you wear the uniform, you can take both with you,” he said.
Future activities at the garrison’s Warrior Zone are already in the works, said Bob Bigelow, who oversees the garrison’s Community Recreation Division.
Activities, he said, include more gaming tournaments, movie nights and online contests with Soldiers stationed throughout the Army.
“Online competitions are awesome,” Specialist Kodiak said. “I do that on my
personal X-Box all the time. I can attest that it is a lot of fun.”
