After a ten-week, two-phased fitness and wellness competition, the Installation Management Command Directorate Europe BOSS, Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program, team won the 2018 BOSS Strong Championship for the second time in a row.
United States Army Garrison Italy represented the Europe IMCOM directorate and won the prize of $25,000 for their garrison BOSS program. In phase one, the team competed against other Europe garrisons to earn their spot at the championship.
"Going back to Europe a winner is a great feeling. This experience has been eye opening for me. I am proud of this program and will be taking a greater role in it back at my unit," Spc. Jack Fitzgerald, member of team Europe, said.
The 2018 BOSS Strong Championship was the second of its kind. Last year it was held at Joint Base San Antonio Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. This year is was held at Ft. Bragg in North Carolina.
Five teams competed representing each of the IMCOM directorates. Fort Bliss represented readiness, USAG Italy represented Europe, Joint Base Richardson Elmendorf Alaska represented Pacific, Ft. Lee represented training and Ft. Detrick represented sustainment.
Each team had a BOSS manager, respectful to their directorates as well as an Alpha Warrior coach and a Morale Wellness and Recreation coach.
"I became involved in the championship because I wanted a firsthand experience at this type of event so I can help future single Soldiers. I want to explain to them how much physical and cognitive fitness is involved in your daily tasks as a Soldier," said Sgt. Rodolfo Najera, Fort Leonard Wood BOSS president and team training's manager.
During the championship, teams completed a rigorous group workout every morning with Coach Brandi Binkley from Alpha Warrior. Binkley was team Europe's coach last year and was asked to come back as the head coach for 2018.
Alpha Warrior created daily workouts for the mornings and the team's AW coaches lead the second and third workouts of the day with their teams.
"I loved Coach Brandi's workouts in the morning. They definitely woke me up and got the blood flowing," said Spc. Mario McMinn, member of team Europe. "She also taught us a lot of good warm up rituals that I use now at my unit."
After every morning workout teams fueled up with protein smoothies from Freshens Fresh Food Studio. Teams also enjoyed Panera Bread for lunch throughout the competition.
The fourteen day championship consisted of various MWR activities available at most garrisons. Teams competed in lacrosse, broomball, basketball, knocker ball and more.
"My favorite activity would have to be broomball. We had to wear our boots while playing on the ice. I had a lot of fun with that," Cpl. Michael Edwards, member of team training, said.
Many leaders joined the competitors for the competition including the Sergeant Major of the Army, Daniel Dailey, who played knocker ball with the Soldiers, IMCOM's Sergeant Major Melissa Judkins, and many of the team's garrison Command Sergeant Majors.
Teams also learned cooking skills and put them to the test in a competition. The ready and resilient program took part in the competition too. Ft. Bragg's R2 taught teams various classes from stress management to improving mentality.
"I learned work ethics, how to control your mind in stressful situations, pushing beyond limits, and I improved on leading and motivating others," said Spc. Jacob Harrison, returning member of team readiness.
At the beginning of the competition, teams visited the AWC at Ft. Bragg and were measured in the bod pod where their body fat and muscle percentage was recorded. Competitors were going head to head to see which team collectively could lose the most body fat and gain the most muscle.
"The toughest part of the competition for me was the change in diet and losing fat. I knew that I didn't have much to start with and that I had to under eat and over work to help the team come out on top. It's challenging to perform at high levels physically and mentally when you are fasting," said Spc. Reydel Castillo, member of team Europe.
With an average of three workouts a day and two group activities, the teams were pushed and their bodies were put to the test for two weeks.
Spc. Jacob Harrison had the biggest improvement of any of the competitors losing 14 pounds and seven percent body fat and gaining ten pounds of muscle.
"Spc. Harrison gave 110 percent when it came to workouts no matter how tired he was. He would always push himself to his limits and then push more," said Staff Sgt. Cody Mackall, IMCOM Readiness BOSS Representative and team readiness manager. "He also took the advice from Alpha Warrior Coach Joe Decker. When we were at the dining facility he would only eat what Joe told him and mainly drink water."
Overall, Europe came in first place, readiness in second, sustainment in third, pacific in fourth and training in fifth.
BOSS Strong was made possible with the help of numerous U.S. Army staff, Alpha Warrior and sponsors including Walk-on's, Global Promotional Sales, Panera Bread and Freshens Fresh Food Studio.
You can catch the action of the championship with episodes at twitch.tv/armyentertainment.
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