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Members of Team Ramstein competed in multiple events for the warrior day challenge June 22 on Ramstein.
The 86th Security Forces Squadron took first place, with the 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron and 86th Civil Engineer Squadron taking second and third place, respectively.
Teams participated in 13 events that tested their physical prowess, including a 1.5-mile relay, ultimate football, a bench-press competition and concluded with the warrior challenge.
“We worked hard to get here; some of us worked together doing CrossFit workouts, others worked out on their own because of our different schedules,” said Airman 1st Class Sean Schmermund, 86th Security Forces Squadron team member. “Some members of our team had their own specialties like distance running, strength events or things like that.”
Hard work helped bring the whole team to this point, he said.
“It felt good to win … our work over the past few weeks has paid off,” Schmermund said. “We may not have taken first in all of the events, but we grinded through all of them to get to this point.”
The day’s competition was planned with one thing in mind — building morale and teamwork.
“Today’s events were a huge morale booster,” said Adriana Holmes, Northside Fitness Center director. “It gave teams the opportunity to compete for a day in various events, instead of sitting at your desk, being in your shop all day doing the same old tasks involved with your job.”
More than 20 teams used the day’s competition to build camaraderie within their units.
“These events remind us to never leave an Airman behind. I’m really good at push-ups and Teammate B isn’t — I can push him harder, motivate him to do better,” Schmermund said. “It’s a good feeling knowing that we can go to each other for help in areas we may be weak in.”
An example of an event that tested teamwork was the four-man dummy carry, he said. It wasn’t easy to carry the dummy because the weight shifted while the team was running. Adjustments had to be made on the fly.
More than 30 volunteers, along with the participants, helped ensure the day went as planned.
“The volunteers helped with the various events. Each squadron was required to provide one volunteer, some units had multiple volunteers represent them,” Holmes said. “We had over 20 teams for the 13 events. We needed all the volunteers to ensure things ran smoothly.”
Warrior day began with all participants completing a 5K run around the flightline and ended with a trophy presentation by Brig. Gen. C.K. Hyde, the 86th Airlift Wing commander.
“There was a phenomenal turnout. I don’t think it could have been better,” Holmes said. “We saw a lot of friendly competition, which was a good way to conclude the day.”
