Mountainfest 2014: Sports events boost Soldiers' morale, strengthen teamwork skills

By Sgt. Grant MatthesJuly 3, 2014

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2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, participate in a high-intensity game of flag football against 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment Soldiers during the weeklong Mountainfest sports competitions held on Fort... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, go up against 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment during the tug-of-war competition June 18 during Fort Drum's annual Mountainfest sports week. The 2nd BSTB took first overa... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- June 16 kicked off a week of sports and activities within all units across Fort Drum during the annual Mountainfest celebration.

This year's Mountainfest included nearly a dozen sport-related events intended to build the morale of participating units in the 10th Mountain Division (LI).

"The Soldiers here deploy, redeploy and take on missions, so it's a good way for them to, one day during the week, get out and have some fun," said Diane Sykes, Fort Drum Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sports secretary.

Members from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), based at Fort Polk, La., also came up to join in the festivities and participate in the sporting events to show their division pride.

Sporting events consisted of soccer, basketball, flag football, volleyball, tug-of-war, softball, bowling, cross-country 10K run, combatives, a Mountain Athlete Warrior Functional Fitness Challenge and an endurathon consisting of eight challenges along a specified course.

The endurathon was an event that consisted of teams of two from each participating unit and involved multiple tasks that ranged from swimming a predetermined distance across water using a poncho to employing their weapons firing skills. The team that was the fastest to complete the course was named first place for the event.

"The entire (endurathon) was great," said Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Newton, 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment. "Each of the events was equally difficult and tested our overall abilities. The hardest event for us was the river crossing, but it validated our hard work and training."

Although not all of the events were as grueling as the endurathon, some of them required a broader aspect of team coordination and endurance.

Pvt. Jaime Garcia, a Cavalry Scout representing D Troop, 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, participated in the soccer tournament. He had an advantage in that he played soccer in high school.

"I love soccer, but what I really liked about Mountainfest was getting together with my unit and bonding, regardless of rank; it brought us a lot closer," Garcia said. "I also got the chance to meet people from my troop as well as other troops."

Elimination from most events took only one loss, and the last team standing in the sporting event took first-place trophies to display back at their headquarters buildings.

Although Garcia's team didn't take the trophy home this year, he has made plans for the next opportunity.

"I definitely plan on playing again next year, because it was fun. I was with a tight group of people, and I feel like we can win," Garcia said.

Another event that was high in participation and crowd motivation was softball, which also included teams that had practiced hard before the competition.

"We prepared for this (softball) tournament by coming out here on weekends and by playing on the Tuesday night softball league, in which we are undefeated," said Sgt. 1st Class Allen Muller, softball team captain for 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. "This is a great way to develop esprit de corps. All the Soldiers on the sideline cheered their respective units, but the best had to win."

The following week held one final sporting event for Mountainfest: the commanders versus command sergeants major softball game, where leaders throughout the division took to the field to see who would win bragging rights.

"If you go out there and see some of these guys, they get pumped," Sykes said. "You would think they were out there getting a medal for the Olympics. Even the people who aren't participating get support from their unit where they would go out there and cheer them on."

Teams that placed first, second and third in their sport contributed to the overall point count toward the Commander's Cup, the trophy for the brigade with the best overall sports performance during this year's Mountainfest.

First-place winners in each sporting event category are as follows:

Soccer: 7th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Basketball: 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.

Flag football: 7th Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Volleyball: 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Combat Aviation Brigade.

Tug-of-war: 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Softball: 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Bowling: 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Mountain Athlete Warrior: 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Cross-country 10K run: 4th Brigade Combat Team.

Combatives (by weight class): Lightweight, 1st Battalion, 23nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team; Welter Weight, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team; Middle Weight, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team; Cruiser Weight, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team; Light Heavy Weight, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team; Heavy Weight, 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Endurathon: 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Commanders versus command sergeants major: Command sergeants major.

At the end of all of the events, the points were tallied and 1st Brigade Combat Team squeezed its way to victory as the new holder of the Commander's Cup.

"I think that the Soldiers really did rally around how well they performed," said Col. Frederick "Mark" O'Donnell, commander of 1st BCT. "What I think it reflects is an emphasis on our competitiveness and the emphasis we put on physical fitness, so from that respect, I don't feel like we're competing against our brother brigades, but I do feel like we went out there, we gave it our all, we competed well as a team, and the outcome was positive in a lot of different cases."