Fitness Fun On and off Duty

  • Published
  • By TSgt Denise Hauser
  • 927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
The 927th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla is a very unique unit for many different reasons.  The unit has been stood up for a little over a year and accomplished so many tasks two years ahead of schedule and have gone above and beyond in so many areas.  For example, when the unit moved down from Selfridge in May 2008, it  was only 8% manned, and one year later it  is almost 100% manned.  The official Command Post, the first BRAC completed project, was planned, built, and fully operational two months ahead of schedule thanks to the outstanding members of the 927th.  

One area in particular that makes the 927th stand out from the rest is FITNESS.  The Wing Commander Col. Kenneth D. Lewis Jr, implemented the Beat the Boss program which motivates wing members to stay in shape, and try to beat his scores in all three areas of the annual fitness test.  At any given time you can drive down Bayshore and see many 927th unit members running along the water; and the base gym is always full of people doing various activities to stay healthy and in shape.

Here in the 927th Operations Group a few indivduals took it upon themselves to test the limits of their fitness abilitles and particpated in a few triathalons around the Tampa Bay area. 

The Maderia Beach Mad Dog Triathalon took place on May 31st 2009.   It consisted of a 1/2 mile swim in the Gulf of Mexico, followed by a 15 mile challenging bike course through the city, and 3.1 mile run on Gulf Blvd finishing on the beach.  Maj. Nate Diaz, Maj. Benjamin Ward, Capt. Adam Uhan, and 1 LT Travis Posey of the 63rd Air Refueling Squardon participated in this fun event.  

Then on June 14, 2009 this group again competed in the 6th Annual Dunedin Triathalon at Honeymoon Island, recruiting others from the 927th Air Refueling Wing, and the 6th Air Mobility Wing to join them, and the group expanded.  The Dundedin triathalon included a 1/4 mile swim in the Gulf, a 12 mile scenic bike ride, and finishing with a 3.1 mile run.  

Participants and results of the Dunedin Triathalon are listed below.

                                                  1/4 Mile Swim                                 12 Mile Bike Ride                                             3.1 Mile Run

Maj Nate Diaz                                 9:57                                                   35:06:00                                                       23:06:00

Maj Benjamin Ward                      13:19                                                 40:47:00                                                       28:16:00

Capt Adam Uhan                          12:37                                                  37:03:00                                                       23:03:00

Capt Thomas Bockrath                11:39                                                  37:23:00                                                       23:33:00

Capt Andrea Erdekian                  12:56                                                  57:16:00                                                       35:12:00

1 LT Travis Posey                          11:33                                                  39:15:00                                                       31:33:00

MSgt Vincent Stulginski                15:56                                                  40:38:00                                                       32:22:00

TSgt Trevor Halpain                       15:44                                                  44:21:00                                                       33:25:00

TSgt Max Langford                          9:40                                                    38:52:00                                                       26:35:00

TSgt Diane Stephens                    16:00                                                   51:15:00                                                      38:45:00 


Kudos to all who participated in these fun events and keep up the great work!!