CAMP HUMPHREYS -- Chilling screams could be heard.
There was cold anticipation in the air, with breath visible, and then, all at once…feet fiercely splashing against ice cold water as a herd of people desperately tried to reach the other side.
This was not a horror movie being played in a cinema. It was the Camp Humphreys Polar Bear Plunge.
For the first time, the plunge was a combined event with the ?"Freeze Your Buns Run" five-kilometer fun run beginning at 10:30 a.m. Feb. 1. Many were able to complete the run before ?"taking the plunge" is the Splish & Splash Waterpark, starting at 11 a.m.
?"It was cold," said Jennifer Goodwin, who took part in the plunge. ?"It?'s about as cold as the glacier water in Alaska."
Altogether, there were about 350 participants in the combined events and they all had different reasons for participating. People were dressed in either their swim-wear or sleep wear but it was a fun and exciting time.
?"My friend dragged me into this" said Staff Sgt. Joseph King, from Company D, 3-2 General Support Aviation Battalion, who was waiting to take the frosty fall.
?"I?'m going in just for the experience," said Capt. Kenya Wicks, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade. She added that it looked exciting, and ?"I just wanted to come out here and have a good time. It?'s my first time doing something like this."
For members of the 94th Military Police ?"Polar Bear" Battalion, it was a team building event.
?"It was a great chance for us to come out and support the garrison," said Lt. Col. Todd Schroeder, the 94th MP Battalion commander, a participant in this year?'s plunge along with many volunteers from his unit. ?"We?'re all from the ?'Polar Bear?' battalion, supporting the Polar Bear Plunge."
Not only were participants able to run, walk, or swim in the pool, but the water slide was also available for the first time. And thanks to Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, there was plenty of hot coffee and cocoa to keep everyone warm. Participants also received a black fleece polar bear head band.
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