Back-to-back wins for AER golf champs

By Russell Sellers, Army Flier StaffMay 5, 2011

Back-to-back wins for AER golf champs
Shawn Land, C Co., 1st Bn., 223rd Avn. Regt. MI-17 instructor pilot, attempts a putt during the annual AER campaign golf tournament at Silver Wings Golf Course April 29. The tournament raised funds for the AER campaign that helps Soldiers and Familie... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Repeat golf tournament wins were not part of the plan, but the command group of the 1st Aviation Brigade is more than happy to have it.

Col. Ken Biland, Command Sgt. Maj. Roger Kingston and Majs. Scott Johnson and Mike Sines pulled off the team's second golf tournament win of the year by earning a net score of 52 in the Army Emergency Relief campaign golf tournament April 29.

The team's overall score was almost identical to its score of 51 during the Army Aviation Association of America tournament earlier in the month.

Johnson said the team experienced some of the same troubles on the course it had during the previous tournament.

"The most difficult part was the short wedges into the greens," he said. "I think we could have shot an 18 or 19 under if we had been hitting our wedges."

He added that the team stays focused on itself when playing and tries not to worry about the rest of the competition.

"It was a good day," he said. "(Biland) is a very strong putter and (Kingston) knocked in just about every putt he stepped to. (Sines) and I can just swing away because of that."

The par-3s still managed to cause some frustration for the team, but the par-5s were once again where the team was able to make up any ground lost on the par-3s.

While the team was happy to post a second win, the reason for playing in the tournament was more about helping Soldiers than taking home prizes.

"We're going to go out there and support the Soldiers any chance we get," Johnson said. "We wouldn't miss it."

The AER campaign continues until May 15 and Capt. Rod Duplin, Fort Rucker AER coordinator, said all the help up to this point is appreciated, but there's still a lot of work to do.

"It's great to see so many from the Fort Rucker community coming out to support such a worthy cause," he said. "AER is a program for Soldiers by Soldiers. It's there to help in all of those unforeseen circumstances. Everything from a broken down vehicle to medical needs and disaster relief is part of the program."

The tournament was sponsored by the Army Aviation Federal Credit Union and it's something Joel Faulk, AAFC vice president of lending, said is a high priority.

"We feel that Families shouldn't have to be worried about receiving help during times of deployment," he said. "The money comes from those who come out and play through entry fees and things of that nature. Our board is gracious enough to let us get sponsors for prizes, including from our own marketing department, and they even let us put in extra money after that. We get everything handled by the sponsors so the money can go straight to AER."

Col. James A. Muskopf, Fort Rucker garrison commander, also competed in the tournament and said a few words to the participants before heading to the greens.

"We all saw the footage about what happened during the storms that blew through the south a couple days ago, and that's why all the AER officers across the south are on alert right now," he said. "We're here to help them in any way we can and that's the whole purpose of this tournament."