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Fire muster promotes teamwork, awareness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Michael Charles
  • 379th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  The four-man team from the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron lined up next to their final competitors, another four-man team from the Bravo 5-52nd Air and Missile Defense Battery. They all knew that their completion time would determine who would take home the first place trophy. Everything was on the line.

Tech. Sgt. Timothy Smith, 379th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron firefighter and event organizer, walked to the center of the two adjacent courses and yelled "Go."

Ignoring exhaustion, the two teams quickly began their final obstacle course run. First place and bragging rights for the remainder of the deployment was at stake. Both would only be satisfied as champions of the 2012 Fire Muster Competition.

U.S. service members and coalition partners from several organizations around the installation participated in the firefighter muster competition here March 17.

The muster was organized by the fire department, to bring the installation together and promote teamwork through friendly competition. The fire muster takes place each six-month rotation and is also a vehicle to help deter the loss of Airmen, assets and infrastructure by raising fire prevention awareness around the base.

"We held this competition to bring out not only our service members but our coalition partners for a healthy atmosphere and some team building competition," said Tech. Sgt. Michael Teets, 379th ECES fire department chief of operations. "More importantly, we wanted to give everyone an opportunity to get out and meet some new people."

Each team of four participated in an obstacle course consisting of eight tasks used daily in firefighting operations. Tasks such as a dummy drag, tire sledge and hose pack carry, tested each team member's physical endurance, speed and coordination. The fastest completion times would move on to the second of three rounds until the first through third place winners was determined.

"It was a blast," said Royal Air Force Cpl. Gary Morton, from the 83rd Expeditionary Air Group. "Each task was challenging but that was the fun thing about it. I'm definitely looking forward to participating in the competition again in the future."

What started off as a friendly morale event and firefighter orientation quickly became a fierce competition as the original 28 teams were dwindled down to four.

"Being able to compete in a team-oriented environment and have people rooting you on is always a great time to me, but it also brings out my competitive nature," said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Pedro Cano, 5-52 AMD artillery specialist. "After awhile my mind went from just having fun to having fun and winning."

As the two teams came to the last task, both exhausted from the sun and the previous two rounds, they continued to push the levels of their endurance. A noticeable crowd had surrounded both teams, shouting words of encouragement to them as they filled each pail of water, ran 20 feet and flung it onto the roof of a shack, simulating putting out a fire. Both teams were even but like all competitions, only one team could emerge from the flames victorious.

"Good," yelled Smith, signaling the end of the competition.

He raised his hand and slowly pointed it toward the team from the 379th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron.

With this gesture, they were declared the winners of the fire muster competition, beating two teams from the 52-2 AMD by mere seconds.

"All the teams did great," said Smith. "It never feels good to lose, however, knowing you met new people, built that unit cohesiveness and had fun doing it is always a win."

Both teams however were happy with the outcome and were excited to be able to participate in the next competition should they still be here.

"The competition was definitely fun," said Cano. "I'm looking forward to coming out here and competing again the next time they hold this event."