Ruck march showcases Team Dover morale

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Andria J. Allmond
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  Spending a Saturday morning with a 30-pound ruck strapped to his back while running 6.2 miles around Dover Air Force Base was not what Senior Airman Jason Jones, 512th Maintenance Group, said he had originally planned to do with his weekend. 

His active-duty counterparts had a different idea. 

Feb. 2 the 436th Security Forces Squadron hosted the 9th Annual Ruck March, which commemorates Veterans of the fierce Korean War battle that occurred in 1950 at Chosin Reservoir. 

Four-member teams, made up of active-duty and Reserve Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and civilians rallied to acknowledge the tribulations endured by the Korean War veterans. They, along with 27 other teams, did this by running or walking 6.2 miles across the base in uniform with their rucks. 

A few days prior to the event, Senior Airman Jones received a phone call from a team of three Airmen from the 436th Maintenance Squadron in need of a fourth team member.
"We had our team together but at the last minute one of our guys couldn't participate," said Tech Sgt. John Drane, 436th MXS avionics specialist. "We needed someone, and I knew Jones was a good runner so we called him up and asked him to join us." 

Airmen Jones, a former cross-country and track runner in college, accepted the offer posed by Sergeant Drane and 436th AMXS jet mechanics Senior Airmen Donny Sertan and Airman 1st Class Brandon Reith. They had been training by running with weights for two months prior to the march. 

Airmen Jones said he felt unprepared yet wanted to join his brothers in active-duty while representing the Liberty Wing side of the house. 

"I couldn't pass up the chance to represent the Reserve out there," said Airman Jones, who has been on active orders for the past four months. 

Although they didn't earn top honors, the team of Drane, Jones, Sertan and Reith finished the Ruck March in a time of 1 hour, 13 minutes, 57 seconds. They finished 10th out of 28 teams.

The winners were:
436th APS, time 1 hour, 59 seconds, 1st Place
Runners:
Master Sgt. Sam Louie
Senior Airman Mark Wolfgang
Airman 1st Class Curtis Carnes
Airman 1st Class Daniel Bryant 

8th & I Marines, time 1:04:58, 2nd Place
Runners:
Lance Cpl. Mike Labonde
Lance Cpl. Stewart Wadsworth
Pfc. Devin Cloud
Pfc. Logan Fromme 

436th OSS, time 1:06:35, 3rd Place
Runners:
Lt. Col. Carl Rahn
Maj. Chris Kuester
Master Sgt. John Redfern
Tech. Sgt. Eric Appledorn