SEATTLE - Personal health and wellness have always been in Staff Sgt. Rebecca Rhodes, Northgate Army Career Center recruiter's DNA, and it's given her pride and made her career with the U.S. Army rewarding. What began as a practical way to get healthcare specialist (68W) training, experience and money for college, has turned into a 14-year journey in personal and professional growth.
"I've seen and done things I never would have had the opportunity to encounter," said Rhodes. "I carry a sense of pride with me everywhere I go, knowing I made the decision to become a soldier," she said. "I don't know where I would be in my life without the Army. Looking back, I feel this was a decision I was supposed to make all along and I am right where I am supposed to be."
The sergeant's career has always meandered around physical fitness, which she's had a keen interest in since high school.
"In high school, I was on the swimming and diving teams," said Rhodes. "After I enlisted into the Reserve, I slowly became more interested in running but not into other fields of fitness," she added. "Then in 2010, I was selected to compete in the Best Warrior* competition through my old medical command. In that competition, I got my first exposure to 'combatives'," she added.
She lost. Rhodes admits that losing during Best Warrior led to her interest in CrossFit. After the competition, she joined a Jiu Jitsu gym and asked for more combatives training.
"A few years later, I was a Level 4 certified combatives instructor and a blue belt in Jiu Jitsu," she said.
Rhodes used CrossFit to cross train for strength and endurance and joined a CrossFit gym while on active duty in Tampa, Florida, supporting her division headquarters for six months. However, those six months turned into four years, with Rhodes submitting an Active Guard Reserve packet [to serve on active duty]. Her packet was accepted, and she attended the Army Recruiting School. After graduation, she received orders to the Seattle Army Recruiting battalion where she's been working for a year and a half.
After her relocation, Rhodes took classes to become a certified CrossFit instructor which she accomplished in November 2014. She teaches classes two days a week at MKG CrossFit and Martial Arts in Seattle. She said her enjoyment of fitness got her into CrossFit; wanting to understand more about body mechanics and strength improvement drove her to pursue the instructor certification. Rhodes' CrossFit classes start at 6:30 a.m. and lasts an hour. After her workday is through, Rhodes returns to the gym to work out for herself.
"The CrossFit philosophy focuses on functional movements that are easily translated into everyday life, to increase fitness across many areas like strength, endurance, gymnastics or nutrition instead of focusing on one," Rhodes explained. "This means that movements and training are constantly varied to adapt a well-rounded fitness ability," she added.
Rhodes is also in charge of the center's Future Soldier Program, preparing future soldiers for basic training by leading them in weekly physical training classes. She said her CrossFit background enhances her ability to teach them the 'basics' they'll need to be successful.
Sergeant 1st Class Bridget Grazier, Northgate center leader, emphasized Rhodes' natural ability as a leader to expertly execute the Future Soldier program. "She is a phenomenal soldier and a great asset to the team," said Grazier. "She is a dedicated person, both personally and professionally, and I can see how dedicated she is, to both the Army and CrossFit," she added.
Rhodes said CrossFit has helped her succeed as a recruiter, a soldier and an instructor.
"As a combatives instructor, I need to maintain a level of fitness beyond what's normally required of many Soldiers," said Rhodes. "CrossFit helps me maintain that level of fitness because of how varied it is," she said. "As a recruiter, it helps me stay fit in an assignment that doesn't offer a lot of time outside of work to work on physical fitness. I don't have to spend hours at the gym training in five different areas - I can go to CrossFit for an hour about 4-5 times a week and maintain the level of fitness I prefer to keep."
Sgt. 1st Class Jeremy Carlisle, Northgate Center recruiter, who teamed up with Rhodes for eight months when she first arrived at Northgate Center, said she brings a lot of energy to the company and her selection to become the center's FS leader was a great decision. "She's the best FS leader in the battalion - possibly in the USAREC [U.S. Army Recruiting Command]," said Carlisle. "As FS leader, she has 50+ people to keep track of," he said. "It's hard to keep track of that many pieces in a program, but she does it well."
According to Carlisle, the center hasn't had a FS loss since February 2014 since Rhodes became FS leader.
"A lot of that is due to her hard work, making sure the time the future soldiers spend at the center is fun," he said.
In addition to CrossFit, Rhodes is addicted to a variety of fitness activities like marathons, obstacle course races and mixed martial arts events. 2016 will be the second year she'll be participating in the Seattle Super Spartan Race, and she's put together a Spartan Race team of Army recruiters to come along for the ride.
"I thought this would be perfect for our organization to get involved with," she said. "When the public sees a team of Army recruiters having fun, getting muddy, jumping over walls and doing it together, they see a side of the Army they may not have considered before: work hard, play hard," she said. "Additionally, the Army volunteering at events like these shows the public we like to give our time to help different organizations be successful in their goals too."
The Seattle Super Spartan Race takes place on April 23, 2016, at the Meadow Wood Equestrian Center, Snohomish, Washington. This race is the middle-distance course that tests participants' endurance, perseverance and grit. The 8-10 mile race includes more than 25 signature Spartan obstacles through tougher and more rugged terrain. The Super is the test en route to the Spartan TRIFECTA.
*The Best Warrior Competition is an annual competition to determine the "Best of the Best" of the 350,000 Army National Guardsmen nationwide.
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