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Airmen use barbells to promote awareness

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman David Carbajal
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Barbells are commonly used by weightlifters to build muscle and endurance, but recently members of the 451st Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron used them to promote breast cancer awareness.

Airmen from the 451 ESFS Tactical Security Element organized a fundraiser known as "Barbells for Boobs," which gave participants the opportunity to compete against each other in a clean and jerk contest.

Proceeds for the event went toward a non-profit organization, Mammograms In Action, which supports low-income and uninsured women and men who need screenings or diagnostic procedures in the prevention of breast cancer.

"We wanted to put it together because it supports a great cause," said Senior Airman Lucas Tripp, the event organizer.

That cause hit one member of the element a little harder than others.

"My aunt died from breast cancer in 2004," said Tech. Sgt. Yancy Martinez, a volunteer for the event and a member of the 451st ESFS TSE. "It came as a shock to my whole family."
After two years of aggressive medical treatment, cancer overcame Martinez's aunt.

Now, Martinez understands that prevention and early diagnoses are very important for cancer survival.

She will occasionally wonder how her family would've been different if they had known about her aunt's condition sooner, Martinez said.

"Now, I jump at any opportunity I get to help the cause," said Martinez, who is deployed from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., and a Bronx, N.Y., native. "When I heard that Airman Tripp was putting the event together, I looked for ways to help."

As a volunteer, Martinez helped sign in competitors, collected money for raffle tickets and accepted fundraiser donations. She also decided to compete in the event, but the competition was uncharted territory for her.

"I felt very nervous leading up to it," said Martinez. "But once the day finally came, I was pumped and ready to go."

Martinez completed the required 30 clean and jerks in 5 minutes, 22 seconds.

"It was an awesome feeling of accomplishment once I was finished," Martinez said.
After the competition, there was more than one reason to celebrate.

"Total, we collected about $3,700," said Tripp, who is deployed from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and a Lewiston, Maine, native. "We finished 18th out of 390 other gyms' events."

The money collected is a combination of sign-up fees, T-shirt sales, raffles and donations, he added.

More than 350 of the other Barbells for Boobs events were held in the U.S.; Kandahar's event was the highest grossing Barbells for Boobs fundraiser held outside the United States.

In the end, Tripp was named the competition's winner, completing the exercise in 2 minutes, 38 seconds beating out nearly 60 competitors.

"It was a good day all the way around," said Tripp. "The competitors had a good time and we helped support a great cause."