UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (Dec. 12, 2013) -- The "Steel Warriors" of 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery worked hard to clear their volleyball court and transform it into a "sandagon," reminiscent of the mixed martial arts famous octagon.
This set the stage for a combatives tournament Nov. 21, testing the skills of battalion Soldiers and their coalition partners.
Several red mats were placed in the center of the court, with a line of red mats that led off from the ring to where the fighters would wait for their names to be called, forming a faux red carpet entrance for each contestant.
There was a judges' table set up next to the ring to keep time and track the points of each match. A large sound system allowed the announcer to work the crowd and introduce the combatants.
Throughout the afternoon people trickled-in the court. When 5 p.m. rolled around, the first fighters entered the ring to the cheers of a large crowd.
Soldiers surrounded the court ready for the upcoming competition, partially refreshed by one of the rare thunderstorms in Dubai and the smell of rain lingering in the air.
The crowd worked itself into a frenzy as the announcer picked up the microphone and called out the first two competitors -- Spc. Jacob Goodall and Spc. Devonte Sanders. He told the fighters to go to their corners, signifying the beginning of the event that no one from the area had witnessed before.
"It was a great boost for the battalion and spiced up the daily routine. It was a lot of fun competing with the entire battalion watching," said Sgt. Andrew Campbell of A Battery.
The tournament was broken down into four categories: heavyweight, middleweight, lightweight and one female class.
It was strictly grappling, prohibiting the use of safety equipment that would allow for punches or kicks.
That didn't discourage the competitors. Twenty-three grapplers weighed in: seven lightweights, eight middleweights, six heavyweights and two females for the single-elimination tournament. Participants ranged in rank from private to major.
"This combatives tournament really offers a great way to relieve some stress for everyone. The fighters get to battle for a championship while the rest of the battalion can relax for an evening and come watch the excitement," said 1st Lt. Christopher Robbins, officer in charge of the event.
The fights were fierce and the competition was extreme right from the beginning. The match everyone seemed to be waiting for though was the heavyweight bout between Maj. Jason Posey, a fierce rugby player and battalion operations officer versus Spc. Adam Basilio, a large but younger fighter.
"It was very entertaining having Major Posey out there as most of the time you don't have field grade officers come out to participate, plus he really knew how to work the crowd," said Robbins. "I think he really made it a lot of fun for everyone out there."
At the end of the tournament, after all the cross-collar chokes, bent arm bars, rear naked chokes, takedowns and escapes, only one combatant from each weight class was crowned champion.
The lightweight champion was Sanders, the middleweight champion was Spc. Manuel Hernandez and the heavyweight was Posey. 1st Lt. Caroline Bell won her fight against 1st Lt. Ashleigh Williams-
Whiteside in the lone female bout, and she took first place in the women's class.
"It would have been nice for more females to have been out there, but I'm glad there was such a high level of participation across the battalion," said Bell, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery.
The feelings of excitement around the ring are none too distant to many Soldiers in the "Steel Warrior" battalion as they hosted a similar tournament on Fort Sill last year.
As the Soldiers look forward to their homecoming in the next few months, they are anticipating bringing the competition back to Fort Sill.
"It was a exciting experience and I'm really glad we could do this on a deployment and got so much support from the battalion," said Goodall.
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