Corpsmen show what they're made of during competition

[thedrifter]

Corpsmen show what they're made of during competition
Submitted by: MCB Camp Lejeune
Story Identification Number: 20031020102630
Story by Lance Cpl. Ruben D. Maestre



CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.(Oct. 20, 2003) -- Forty-seven sailors, many veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom, participated in a demanding four-day contest during the Navy's 6th Annual Battle Skills Competition held here recently.

Nine teams from all elements of II Marine Expeditionary Force competed against each other testing their strength, endurance and teamwork.

"We were together for only three days before the competition, and to come out here and win says a lot about the caliber of corpsmen we have in the Marine Expeditionary Force," said Petty Officer 1st Class Dave Burke, 31.

The Blue Springs, Mo., native is currently serving as a corpsman assigned to Special Operations Training Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force. Burke and his team, the first place finishers from II MEF, underwent a three-and-a-half-mile obstacle-filled, endurance course in less than 50 minutes.

One timed event, new to the competition this year, was the Zodiac course.

During this event, teams first ran a quarter of a mile, picked up and carried a 300-pound Zodiac rubber craft several hundred meters to the water's edge, and then paddled to a buoy positioned 100 meters from the shore before returning back to the starting line.

"Its all heart," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Nana D. Owusuafriyie, 25, following the Zodiac course with his team from the 2nd Marine Division. The former Bronx, N.Y., resident continued, "You had to dig down deep, rely on your teammates and not quit."

Apparent throughout the competition were the traits associated with corpsmen of mission accomplishment and teamwork.

"The competition builds espirit de corps amongst the teams competing," said Chief Petty Officer Michael T. Boner, 34, a native of South Roxana, Ill., assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 29, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. "Even though we all compete between ourselves, we have that common bond of taking care of our Marines."



Corpsmen with 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Force Service Support Group, carry an inflatable Zodiac landing craft during the Zodiac course portion of the Navy's 6th Battle Skills Competition here recently. The timed event was new to this year's competition in which nine teams competed against each other as a test of their strength, endurance and teamwork.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Ruben D. Maestre




Petty Officer 3rd Class Patrick M. Nash, 22, of Tucson, Ariz., assigned to A Company, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, reads a compass during the 6th Annual Navy Battle Skills Competition held here. The four-day competition challenged more than 45 sailors competing in a variety of events to include a land navigation course.
Photo by: Lance Cpl. Ruben D. Maestre

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn20...F?opendocument


Sempers,

Roger