86th AW hosts 2018 Ramstein Mudder

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Nesha Humes Stanton
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --   The 86th Airlift Wing hosted the 2018 Ramstein Mudder for resilience day on Ramstein Air Base, Germany, May 24, 2018.

The fifth annual Ramstein Mudder is a Kaiserslautern Military Community event which aims to reinforce resilience skills and build a thriving force.

“The event went fantastic,” said Master Sgt. Gavin Trzepacz, 86th Vehicle Readiness Squadron maintenance section chief and 2018 Ramstein Mudder coordinator. “Between the setup, the course, the actual obstacles and the volunteers with the cookout, I think it went great. We had a lot of other supporting organizations out here representing, helping out, and being visible for the wing and the community.”

The resilience day is structured around the four domains of Comprehensive Airman Fitness (CAF), and aims to demonstrate perseverance, endurance, social support, team work, positive thinking and communication.

“We were able to bring in the CAF and people together, not just from the wing but from our community,” Trzepacz said. “With an obstacle course, obviously there is a lot of the focus is on the physical aspect, but there was the mental aspect, we tried to make things challenging enough.”

More than 200 KMC members completed the 17-station obstacle course to include: assisted and unassisted wall climbs, low crawls, hay bale climbs, a tire carry, and crossing more than three small pools of water.

Awards were presented to: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, best costume, slowest place, and best team name.

The 86th Civil Engineer Squadron explosive ordnance disposal team placed first and ran the 2.5 mile track with a time of 36 minutes and 26 seconds.

Trzepacz said he hoped everyone walked away with a sense of belonging.

“I hope [the attendees] know we can always count on one another and if anyone is ever in need of a helping hand, they know they can reach out somewhere and someone is here to help.”