Engineer earns 'Iron Aviator' title

By Emily Brainard, Army Flier StaffOctober 22, 2010

Engineer earns 'Iron Aviator' title
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Engineer earns 'Iron Aviator' title
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FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Fort Rucker's newest Iron Aviator won twice during the Aviation Captain Career Course's competition Oct. 15 at Lake Tholocco's West Beach.

Tyler Scheidt earned the title, completing a 4.5-mile rucksack march, 8.8-mile bicycle ride, 2-mile run and 300-meter swim in 1:40:30.

In addition to competing as an individual, he was also a member of the second place team, Red Rocket 5B, whose combined time was 1:48:11.

"I knew coming in our team was very fit. I knew I was facing a lot of my guys," he said. "It was a good course and pretty tough. There was good competition."

Scheidt, an engineer headed to Fort Carson, Colo., after his training here, said he was also proud to represent his branch in an Aviation-themed event.

The Red Rockets were split into two groups, and team 5A bested Scheidt and his team in 1:40:25.

"It was exciting for the group to have two wins. It was good to see how we worked together," said Scott Zimmerman, a 5A member.

This was the first time the Iron Aviator was hosted at Lake Tholocco, though unit staff had considered using the location for a long time, said Maj. Ron Smith, AVC3 small group leader for A Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment.

The installation pools regularly used for the swimming portion are all currently closed, making it an easy decision to switch locations, he said.

The second place individual contestant was Alex Werner, in 1:43:27. Anthony Hanson completed the race in third place, in 1:52:57.

Zimmerman competed with Red Rocket 5A team members Hanson, Brandon Spence and James Mulholland. Scheidt's fellow Red Rocket 5B members were Scott Pfirrman, Jared Howell and Eden Keene. The third place team, Shenanigans, was comprised of Matt Heisey, Janice Blane, Joshua Phillips and Allan Pitchford, who finished in 1:58:29.