Cyber Warriors: 1 million reps of teamwork

Published Oct. 17, 2011
By 1st Lt. Michael J. Carter
379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- One squadron, one month, 1 million repetitions -- it can be done!

Airmen assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron completed a team total of 1 million pushups and sit-ups during the month of September as part of a challenge from their squadron commander, Lt. Col. Terrence Adams. His intent was to not only push his Airmen physically but to test their resolve while developing a strong sense of teamwork.

"This was far more than a physical challenge to me. More so, it served as a benchmark to test their ability to 'take the hill,' no matter what the mission or challenge," Adams, who completed a grand total of 25,160 repetitions, said.

The squadron members started all fired up and ready to meet their commander's challenge. Initially, the majority of the numbers came from determined young Airmen, such as Airman 1st Class Randel Gutierrez.

"I just love doing any kind of exercise, so when this challenge was presented to us, I couldn't pass it up," Gutierrez said.

"Doing 100 an hour made the day zoom by. I looked at the clock and it was almost time to push ground again, and again, and again. I started to dread the top of the hour like a vaccination shot," Senior Airman Samuel Weaver exclaimed.

Not to be out done, NCOs across the squadron were knocking out the reps as well.

Staff Sgt. Joel Thompson, 379 ECS Client Service Center, said, "I started doing calisthenics when I was 9 years old and have been an avid weight lifter for 17 years, so the '1 million reps in a month' challenge was right up my alley. I am always willing and able to take on any new physical goals that are placed in front of me."

Adams also motivated his squadron by having random "Coalition of the Willing" sessions within the Client Service Center twice a day to knock out as many repetitions as possible. However, as the days passed and the initial enthusiasm subsided, the squadron fell behind in the numbers required to meet their final goal. The drop-off may have been attributed to sore bodies across the squadron, all the hard work during a busy season or perhaps, because of the focus put into the Cyber Awareness Week campaign which took place Sept. 11-16, 2011. No matter the excuse, the outlook was bleak.

Realizing more energy was needed to remain engaged with the challenge, Capt. Jason Johnson, Operations Flight Commander, and Senior Master Sgt. Darrell Cook, Operations Flight Chief, went to work motivating their flight.

"Around Sept. 19, we quickly realized we had to pick up the pace to meet the commander's challenge. Knowing that the Operations Flight made up two-thirds of the squadron, the only way we would succeed was if our Airmen carried the torch," Johnson said.

That is when Cook crafted the idea of incorporating the challenge into circuit training during physical training sessions. On average, each of these one hour sessions, performed both in the morning and evening, produced 50,000 combined pushup and sit-up repetitions, jump starting the squadron's efforts to meet the challenge head-on while igniting the competitive flames between the three flights.

As more members joined in the surge and banded together to crank out thousands of repetitions, the plan worked. Even the Airmen in the squadron that were on medical profile helped out any way they could. If they were on profile for pushups, they would knock out as many sit-ups as they could handle and vice versa.

Senior Master Sgt. Juanita Crain, 379 ECS first sergeant, led by example as she finished the challenge with 20,000 sit-ups!

"It's amazing how many of our Airmen are passing the fit test. It was a win-win situation for everyone - we are truly 'fit to fight,'" Crain said.

Adams was impressed by the leadership of his Airmen who would stop at nothing to meet his challenge.

"This challenge appeared to be impossible with the numbers we produced up to that point. Without Senior Master Sgt. Cook and Capt. Johnson leading the way, this goal would not have been achieved," said Adams.

With just shy of 140 military members in the squadron, each member had to produce approximately 240 repetitions day-in and day-out for 30 days.

"It was an awesome sight seeing everyone working together to meet a unit goal. We knew it wasn't going to be easy but the camaraderie among the members and knowing we did meet the goal will leave them with something to talk about for years to come," Maj. Eric Trias, 379 ECS deputy commander, said.

Even though bodies were tiring, the motivation to succeed was high.

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will. We motivated each other through shop challenges, pushing one another as a whole to be the best-of-the-best regardless of strength or knowledge. We had the will to finish at the top," Airman 1st Class Anthony Savary, 379 ECS Network Control Center, said.

Utilizing this gung-ho attitude, the Network Control Center finished as the top work center per capita within the squadron with 142,807 reps, for an average of more than 340 per person daily.

Master Sgt. Alberto Felix, 379 ECS Client Service Center section chief, was the overall repetition champion totaling 38,414 repetitions for the entire month. He was motivated to answer the commander's challenge but was also driven to prove age was not a factor in this competition.

"Our young Airmen were giving us 'old guys' a run for our money, so I had to step up my game," Felix said.

When the final bell had sounded, the 379th Expeditionary Communications Squadron had completed 1,015,112 repetitions, answering the call of their leader. They banded together exhibiting the teamwork, dedication and perseverance required to accomplish such a lofty goal. What a way to send off this rotation and really set the bar for the next. HUA!