Whiteman team on fire

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Linch
  • 509th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Base firefighters claim silver, exemplifying fit to fight force


Several months of intense training and hard work paid off for a team of Whiteman firefighters recently when they participated at the 2008 Scott World Firefighter Combat Challenge at Las Vegas, Nev., Nov. 10 -16. 

The five-man team consisted of Staff Sgt. Cory McGee, Chris Finkes, Senior Airman Derrick Allen and Rick Wiese and Airman 1st Class Blake Johnson, all from the 509th Civil Engineer Squadron. Thousands of spectators watched as the team competed in the challenge, which attracts hundreds of U.S. and Canadian municipal fire departments. 

Relaying against the best in the firefighting profession, they earned second place in the team relay with a time of one minute and 16 seconds and were the highest ranking Department of Defense team. 

The team captain Sergeant McGee, proved his ability to lead the team in the relay despite an injury he received earlier in the season. 

"Firemen get a bad rap," Sergeant McGee explained. "The public view is that we sit in recliners and just wait for emergencies." 

Determined not to be the stereotype the team started training in March when they got back from deployment for a competition that would prove they were fit to fight. 

"I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't exactly in the best shape," said Mr. Finkes who ran a personal best individual time at Las Vegas even with an ankle injury, coming in with a time of one minute and 49 seconds. 

Knowing what they faced, the team trained two hours a day, five days a week preparing for the challenge of the competitions. 

Each competition presents a myriad of challenges that start at the base of a six-story tower. Competitors climb six stories carrying a 42-pound high-rise pack; then hoist a 42-pound hose roll to the top; next they descend to the ground floor where they simulate chopping by swinging a nine-pound shot mallet on the end of a 160-pound steel beam a horizontal distance of five feet; then maneuver 140 feet through simulation hydrants to the fourth station, where they advance an attack hose a distance of 75 feet; finally, competitors drag a life-sized, 175-pound mannequin a distance of 100-feet all against their opponent and the clock. 

The hardest part is training without the Combat Challenge Tower, Sergeant McGee said. "It plays such an important part. It's the beginning of the course and when competitors have to 'wing it' in training, it makes it harder to get through at the events. 

"We push through it though, literally. We push a Polaris Ranger and pull 35-pound dumbbells to simulate the tower portion," he added. 

According to the event's web site, most firefighters finish the events in five to seven minutes; however, the key in the challenge is to do it as fast as possible. 

As the challenge continues to achieve recognition for providing the public a greater appreciation of the physical demands of firefighting, the Team Whiteman firefighters realize their goal. 

"We are proud of our accomplishments," Airman Wiese said. "But we aren't going to be thinking about that as we train for our upcoming competitions. 

"We intend to keep the winning tradition going next year, letting everyone know Team Whiteman is fit to fight," he added. 

If anyone would like to give it a try they can call Mr. Finkes at 687-4507 and come down and run it at the fire department.