8TSC Senior NCO team wins 2013 Swamp Romp

By Staff Sgt. Gaelen Lowers, 8th Theater Sustainment Command Public AffairsMarch 4, 2013

Courtesy photo from Yelp!
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 8th Theater Sustainment Command's sergeants major team of Sgt. Maj. Charles Wells, Sgt. Maj. Rob Canterbury, Command Sgt. Maj. Toese Tia, Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Napier, and Master Sgt. Robert Rowsam won first place in the 2013 Swamp Romp in the men's... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Courtesy photo by Capt. Kristin Tashma, 8th Theater Sustainment Command personnel section
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 8th Theater Sustainment Command's sergeants major team of Sgt. Maj. Charles Wells, Master Sgt. Robert Rowsam, Sgt. Maj. Rob Canterbury, Command Sgt. Maj. Toese Tia, and Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Napier lock arms and cross the finish line winning first p... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SHAFTER, Hawaii-- Servicemembers from all branches competed in the 2013 Swamp Romp, at Marine Corps. Base Hawaii, Feb. 16.

Teams of six crawled through the mud and over obstacles, sped down wooden slides into ponds, and struggled across the beach. Some came for the fun and camaraderie, but one team in particular clearly came to win.

"We tried last year and came up short," said Sgt. Maj. Jonathan Napier, the senior enlisted plans advisor for the 8th Special Troops Battalion, 8th Theater Sustainment Command. "But this year, we put a team together and got first! I can't even describe the pride I have in that."

His team won the men's masters division with their combined ages must be more than 211 years.

"My age alone counted for over 50 of that!" joked Sgt. Maj. Rob Canterbury, the senior logistics advisor for the 8th TSC.

Napier said, this race was more than just an award, it was a chance to show their peers and Soldiers they were willing to go the extra mile for fitness and fun.

"You get a group over 40 years old, seniors, one foot in the grave, and take them through the mud and the swamp for five miles, a lot of people think that we should've been the last group to cross the finish line," he said.

He added that everyone in the Army trains to run the two-mile event during the Army Physical Fitness Test, but both NCOs and junior enlisted, need to think beyond that.

"We got to have that challenge," he said. "Running this race and then the Great Aloha Run two days later, it speaks volumes of the heart and mental toughness that the senior Noncommissioned Officer Corps has."

Although the team members were excited about their accomplishment and are already planning for next year's race, some are just happy to have completed this one.

"I ran two Swamp Romps that day, my first and my last!" joked Sgt. Maj. Charles Wells, senior enlisted advisor for support operations for the 8th TSC. "But the memories and friends I made that day will last forever."

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