I guess the old saying is true (is it really that old?) “You get what you ask for”. On my last back blast I commented on how the mumble chatter was down that day. Whether the guys today came out guns blazing intentionally to show me up from my last back blast or not is a mystery. My guess is, I just gave them plenty of ammo to talk.
Warm Up:
Mosey to lower bus parking lot. Asked the pax to partner up and start comparing interest to come up with a team name. I also asked them to be creative- for example, if you both like bourbon, don’t be team bourbon. Go with something creative like team neat. Apparently that was all Bottle Cap and Money Ball needed to start the talking.
20 Side Straddle Hops
12 Mountain Climbers
12 Peter Parkers
12 Parker Peters
20 T Merkins
12 Potato Pickers
The Thang
I asked 6 guys to grab rocks (confusion starts right about here) and asked the remaining pax to do burpees until they returned.
Station Work:
A quote from Bottle Cap a few months ago “I can’t wait to read the backblast so I can see what I was supposed to do”. So here is what the plan was supposed to be. After a Q audible and pax that don’t follow directions well, it turned into something else. The change out of stations was supposed to happen progressively (like the waterfall drinking game if you will – or don’t will; I don’t care). Starting with the runners you tag out the next group who then tags the next group and so on. Initially I had though that you would yell your team name as you tagged a team. However, upon review of the pax ability to follow directions (or some would say the Q’s ability to succinctly provide directions in an understandable fashion) I decided to nix the team names. So, how could this tagging out go wrong you might ask yourself. Seams easy enough right? Well………upon starting the exercise, three pax took off running. If you are following along…it should have only been 2 pax (1 team) that ran.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa…lets regroup and explain again. Everyone got it? Ok, good lets get started. Wait, Dirty Bird – who is your partner…..”
And off went Dough Boy halfway around the bus lot (good speed by the way). As the first set of runners came in, people started switching before being tagged, others got way into the tagging part of the workout (Damascus and Bottle Cap). Almost to the point that I worry they troll elementary school play grounds just looking for a good game of tag to jump into. Towards the end Bottle Cap and Money ball just took off anytime the runners came back saying the heck with the progressive tagging part (which by the way cut down on our work at the end since they were the last run team. Some may be mad that they lost that extra work…I, however, graciously thank you.)
After 2 rounds of station work we moseyed to the railings for supine ladders. 10, 9, 8….. At 3, 2, and 1 we held for 5 seconds to get an extra burn in.
Partner Push back to the rocks. Shake N Bake was aggressive out of the gates and ran me up Dough boys (I think) leg. Sorry Dough Boy. A less compassionate person would say get off the tracks when the train’s coming through…but not me.
As we returned to the rocks I asked those without rocks I asked to grab one. Those with rocks – burpees until the 6 is in. I return to find my partner – Shake N Bake with no rock. Then I find those with rocks standing around. Since most here are transplants, maybe its my native southern twang they can’t understand?
Rock work:
Mosey to the front of the school, Burpees while we wait on the 6. Bottle Cap was first there but acted like the 6 was already in so he didn’t have to do burpees. 1 minute left so a jail break back to the cars.
Mole Skin:
Judging by the amount of sweat dripping and being rung out of gloves and shirts, it was a good workout. Even despite the inability of the pax to follow directions of the Q to properly describe the exercise rotations.
Loafer brought out an FNG (Slap Stick) who worked hard today for his first time there. He is trying to make the Liberty Hockey Team having just completed Lacrosse season at Arkansas.
Shake N Bake worked hard as usual. He talks to himself and attempts to motivate by calling himself fat boy. I love it. I thought about joking with him during the workout, but figured I would leave it for the back blast (or maybe I was too gassed to talk).
The usual suspects turned out some extra mumble chatter today. Damascus really stepped up his trash talk game today. I was impressed. Bottle Cap started strong, but Money Ball gave it hard the last third of the class (That’s what she said?)
Dirty Bird continues to post and put forth a strong effort. He gets a break for following the rotation as explained, but lets be honest….neither you or Dough Boy understood it….Dough boy was just the unlucky one who ran first.
Chipolte had a good showing today. I believe one of the few that understood what I was going for. I though Shake N Bake were on that same wave level too until I saw him rockless.
Mad Dog intentionally flubbed the up and overs and looked over at me with a sheepish grin only a mother could love. I said my “Woosah’s” (spelling?), took 2 deep breaths, and returned the smile.
Hopefully everyone enjoyed the workout despite my Q’ing inability. Good group today. Lots of great commentary. Good work.
Announcements:
Sandbox Pool Party at Lawson Pool. June 8th. 8:00-10:00. Beer and Pizza provided. $40 per family. Sign up via sign up genus posted on slack and groupme.
In the late 60’s / early 70’s, a group of Stanford professors began studying delayed gratification in children by using this marshmallow test. In these studies, a child was offered a choice between one small reward provided immediately, or two small rewards if they waited for approximately 15 minutes, during which time the tester left the room and then returned. In follow-up studies years, even decades, later, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the double reward tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, body mass index , and other life measures.
I like tests. I wanted to see if I could replicate this test in a workout.
Premoleskine
The last several workouts I’ve Q’ed, I saw a strange look in Pax’ eyes. Finally, BottleCap just opened up and said, “Eh, I was expecting some music, too.” Hmm. I thought I had outgrown that phase. Thought it was too childish for F3. OK, I’ll see what I can do.
Disclaimery before Tomfoolery
“Marshmallow World” Dean Martin
THE Grease Monkey shows early. As the saying goes, the early Monkey gets the Respect shirt. An outstanding man, who I wish could/would post more than once a week. F3 would be better with more Grease. He’s so excited with the shirt, he swaps right there. Looks good on him.
As I try not to watch another man undress, a third guy walks up. “Is this the place for the F3?” I smell an FNG! Gabe was told about F3 from a friend in Raleigh. He doesn’t know the dude’s F3 name. Just found us on the site and came (T-claps to Wingman for keeping the electrons in line). I try to give a pre-disclaimer, “Listen, I’m leading the workout today. This is…different…from most other workouts. Don’t judge whether to come back by what you see today.” Seems unfazed by this warning.
Song’s over but it’s only 0528. That’s because there’s a disclaimer PLUS the test structure. Those wishing to sue me, the school, or F3 were directed to watch Petey the Don’t Sue People Panda video before taking legal action.
Because I have only bad ideas set to worse music, I advised that their best choice was to take one of my fist-sized marshmallows and leave right now. No one took me up on it.
OK, if you can wait 45 minutes, you can have *2* fist-sized marshmallows when we get back. Mild interest / bemusement. Everyone is going to have to take a turn lugging around the marshmallow sandbag – a Tupperware container filled with these marshmallows. WAY more clumsy, awkward, and silly than heavy. But they bought into it. You people are idiots.
The Warm Up
“Love Runs Out” One Republic
Mosey to the front of the HS.
I don’t like to Q, but the Qdrenalin rush is intoxicating. All the soreness in my legs for the last few weeks is GONE. Why can’t I feel this good during the other workouts? Circle up for the crowd pleaser…
“Shout” Isley Brothers
Burpees on chorus
‘I still remember’ = Supermans
‘I want you to know’= Plank Jacks
‘Now wait a minute’ = Peter Parkers
‘Little bit softer now’ = Squats
‘Little bit louder now’ = Jump Squats
‘Hey Hey Hey Hey’ = Mary Catherines
‘Jump up and shout it now’ = Tuck Jumps
Transporter can sing while doing burpees. Don’t let him do his burpees any other way from now on.
The Thang
“The Bear Necessities” Disney
“I am a Gummy Bear” Gummibar
“I Wanna Be Your Teddy Bear”
Build a Bear Workshop – bear crawl up the ramp; rail walk back down; run to the other portico and bear slalom around the 3 silver columns. Do each station 3x.
Test – Does doing a hard thing while listening to bad music make the thing harder or easier? I think the Pax say easier. You can’t pay full attention to the physical pain, so there is perceived less pain.
Life Lesson: When something sucks, but still needs to get done, distract yourself just enough to keep doing the sucky thing. It’ll suck less.
Shop Dawg is singing Bear Necessities every time we cross paths.
A workout built for Doughboy, but all I remember hearing is Shake N Bake declaring his hatred for the Gummy Bear song.
While I’m on my last round, Doc & Transporter, of course, have finished first. I ask for side step ups on the benches. There are at least 5 benches around, but they choose the same bench, in sync, eyes locked on each other. Maybe these songs are aphrodisiacs?
“Band on the Run” Foo Fighters
Mosey to the end of the yellow buses.
Cheddar weave
This wasn’t in the plan. But when I realized there was no school, and my all-time favorite routine in my all-time favorite location is available, and it’s not summer, I gotta grab that cheddar flavored marshmallow.
Whoever finishes first needs to start labeling the rest of the Pax 1, 2, 1, 2. The second finisher leads the group in Heels to Heaven until the 6 come in. That’d be Doc & Transporter.
Mosey back down the sidewalk, about to the halfway mark of the buses.
“Apache – Jump On It” Sugar Hill Gang
There are horseshoes painted every few feet. 1 burpee per horseshoe. The trick, I said, is to NOT walk from 1 horseshoe to the next. I didn’t tell them to run, just to not walk. I was expecting things like bear crawling or jumping or something creative to get them from one horseshoe to the next. Nope, most everyone chose to run / jog / not walk. Simple. Effective.
Test – In the Stanford experiments, those kids who could not delay gratification were offered insight from the kids who could delay gratification. With the new techniques, the kids who initially failed now performed nearly as well as the other group. And the effects lasted for several months.
Life Lesson: Sometimes we only need a gentle reminder that a temptation / easy path is ahead. By making it a conscious pre-choice (instead of an unconscious reflexive choice), we stand a much better chance of overcoming the temptation.
As I came up for one of my burpees, I saw Jingles dance between 2 shoes that just stopped time. It was a move I only thought possible on the skating rink. Can’t describe it, other than to say I felt like I was peeking into a glade full of unicorns at sunrise. Magical.
Mosey around the corner to the tennis courts.
2 long benches the width of the tennis courts. The 1’s go to the left bench; 2’s to the right. Hop over from one side to the other along the entire length. Then go around to the other side of the court where you can find a single long bench. Merge the two lines into one and continue traversing. Total of 2 full laps. Rosalitas while we pick up the 6. Thanks to Abacus for getting my sound supplies. It’s the little things to help the Q with his timing. Shop Dawg complains that this exercise has no music. Ahhh, my friend, that’s to help you appreciate the music more when we get to the next station!
“Born to Run” Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Mosey to the wall. If you get there before me, ping pong back for the 6.
Didn’t know Goodfella wasn’t going to be here until after the playlist had been created. This one was for him. He feels this song is ear-blasphemy. It should only be sung by Springsteen. No remakes. No covers. Oh, he would have stayed right next to me just to tell me how wrong this is. T’would have been glorious.
Test – When it’s 1,000% humidity, on a longish run, from a mostly tough workout, will you go back for the 6? Sadly, not today. I was in the middle part of the group here. I failed, too. Using the excuse that I had to prep for when to start the next round.
Life Lesson: At a loss here. No one’s perfect, I guess? Aim to do better next time?
“Off the Wall” Michael Jackson
Series of wall-based exercises during the song. Air presses / jabs; donkey kicks; 6 count wall walking merkin; Mike Tysons; Bobby Hurleys.
I’ve been trying to give less complicated verbal instructions by sometimes walking the Pax through a “sampler platter” of what the next station really involves. I thought this was one of those times. So we only did about 5 reps of the Mike Tysons & the Wall Merkins pre-song, just to make sure we were straight on terminology. This ended up taking way longer than it should have, and it ate into what was coming up next.
And I struggled on this one. This one’s coming off the playlist for something better. And it has nothing to do with Das Boot & Doc swaying to the music when we were doing air presses. But I still can’t unsee that.
Test – When you’re in the middle of something sucking, what’s your reaction? Among those I saw were: determination to finish; stopping & looking to see if the Q was still going; having fun while continuing.
Life Lesson: Like most things, there is no right answer. A deeper question may be, are you satisfied with your reaction? By looking around, you may realize you convinced yourself there was only one reaction, which was yours. By seeing another reaction from someone you respect, you realize there is a choice to be made, even if you didn’t realize a choice was available at all.
“Get Up” Van Halen
Mosey to the sidewalk between the cafeteria & the track. American Hammers while everyone gets in. Along the way, Sidewalky McShortCut, assuming to be the only one on campus, decides to see how fast they can speed down the sidewalk in a Corolla. “Car up!” never quite had that trill of urgency before. We all slide to the right, Corolla slides to the left, looking dangerously close to rolling over, but never slowing down. I’m grateful this happened in full daylight; pretty scared how this could have fared during the winter months. May need a mid-workout disclaimer: “Watch out for the car driving on the sidewalk, but they are not included in our litigation exclusion list.”
“2 Legit 2 Quit”M.C. Hammer
All the other stuff was leading up to this. Now, I can see the Cheddar Weave and the Sampler Platter took up too much time to fit this piece in its entirety. So, I won’t give away the whole structure; that will have to wait for another time.
Flutters to Failure – using PERFECT FORM (legs straight, toes pointed [as if you were actually swimming]), continue fluttering until you either pause, legs hit the ground, etc. Once done, run to the first light pole along the track and back. You can point out bad form in others.
Test – When given the chance to last longer than your competitors by cheating on your own, what will you do? First of all, many of you need to talk to your doctors about proprioception deficit. Most of you had knees bent, toes bent – it was embarrassing to see that in daylight. Being next to Transporter & Doc, I was shocked at the amount of cheating they did to try to outlast each other. I weep for our region.
Life Lesson: The male ego is a fragile thing. Those who have done well in a certain area can be tempted to cheat to maintain the illusion of mastery. The opposite is also true. Those who have not done well in a certain area can be tempted to give up too early to reinforce their mindset of amateurism. Those in the middle, ironically, can be the ones most likely to realistically assess their own abilities. So being in the middle can bring a lens of clarity that others may lack, depending on where they are viewing the same circumstances.
Mosey back to start. Arrive 1 minute late.
As people circle up for COT, I pass around the hand sanitizer. Why people are freaked out about that, I can’t figure out. If you’d rather eat your marshmallows with filthy hands, that’s on you, but hasn’t your Mom ever taught you about cross-contamination? It’s been an eye opening Q, folks. Behind the sanitizer, the marshmallows get passed around. Doc mentions that if one of them has a different flavor, that is probably his when he had a turn carrying the tub. Several are taking a hard pass on the marshmallows. Do you think this is another test? Yeah, I could make a case for it, but I won’t. I was expecting most Pax to do Name-a-Rama with the giant marshmallows halfway down their gullets à la Chubby Bunny. We appear to be too sophisticated for such adolescence. I cry inside again.
Name the FNG – Gabe works in lighting, but Transporter remarked at how well he did on the rail walk during Build a Bear. Somehow that got shifted into Pole Dancer. I love the name; just wish I had a better story for the guy.
Let’s bring it in.
CORPORATE AUDIT
Assuming Doc was still upset at not winning Flutters to Failure with bad form, he cites Dromedary with bad COT form. Says that we should be in more Ball of Man formation instead of a circle. In the absence of any current or former Dromedary Site Q’s to question the policy change, the Pax comply into a standing BoM.
I am simultaneously an obsessively compulsive, contrarian, and secessionist Sandlapper. So when this affront to our geometric way of life occurred, I went off the rails. I invoked the clause that we don’t have to close up shop with a prayer. Because we are not a Christian organization, no one is obligated to pray us out. So I used the time instead to tell ’em about my
MOLESKINE
Gave the Pax the details of the Marshmallow test. In life, we are always tempted to take the quick 1 marshmallow reward. Getting to the 2nd marshmallow always takes time, effort, and being uncomfortable while doing it. But I notice the 2nd marshmallow isn’t just twice as good as the first; it’s a whole different level and type of reward. For example:
+ setting the phone down to engage with your family
+ stopping the porn to have a meaningful relationship with your wife
+ not goofing off at work to do what you’re paid to do
To summarize:
Announcements:
Pool Party to raise funds for #Sandbox
Friday, June 8, 7:30 – 10:00 PM
Lawson Pool 2306 Lawson Dr, Waxhaw, NC 28173
$40 / family (payable on site or in advance at https://www.paypal.me/f3sob)
https://bit.do/f3sandbox to RSVP (so they can get a count of pizza and beer)
Sanctuary begins a new book about the parables of Jesus
Monday nights – Brooklyn Pizza in Wesley Chapel
Muggy morning with plenty of chatter early. The QIC may or may not have started 1 minute late depending on who’s watch was used to determine the start time. Regardless all in attendance got their money’s worth.
Warmup
Quick jog to the track with a run up the far hill (that is 1 hill). At this spot the pax were able to get the warmup needed and instructions on the next iteration of the workout.
SSH, Squats, Merkins and Mtn Climbers
5 Rounds of the following on the “half pipe”
Run from the top playground down to the track and up the hill to the opposite playground – 20 dips
Run back down to the track and up the hill to the top playground – 5 pullups
Dollywood and Laronda were setting a blistering pace with the rest of the pax content to just finish the round. Nice work done by all.
(total hill climbs = 6 with 1 warmup and 5 from the exercise)
4 laps on the track (1 mile)
at each corner an exercise was performed
1st corner – 10 Merkins
2nd corner – 10 Squats
3rd corner – 10 Carolina Drydocks
4th corner – 10 Lunges (each leg)
Each lap was a little different for the run – forward, backwards, shuffle and last always face the school
4 more hill climbs
climb the far hill and do 5 pullups at the top
(total of 10 hill climbs throughout)
1 round of situps (20) merkins (20) and 25 yrd sprint
Mosey back toward the start
Heckled the Charlotte Christian students dressing up as bears on the run back to the parking lot and Gummy made sure to heckle one of the dads dropping his kid off who looked like he just rolled out of bed. Same Dad made a point of trying to run down Gummy 2 minutes later in the parking lot.
Great morning with the crew getting in some cardio and pullup work.
Announcements
F3 Dads for Area 51 is starting each Saturday in June at 9am Col Francis Beatty Park
With 19 PAX ready for a mid-week workout, a long and lengthy disclaimer was given one minute to go that basically told the PAX, we’ll be moving around the campus of Marvin Ridge today.
The THANG:
Moleskin:
Announcements:
18 PAX made it out for Sprint Week #3 of the new weekly rotation (where Sprints are week #4 of the month) at Swift this past week. While there wasn’t as much “demo” as prior weeks’ sprinting form, we blended more traditional intervals in Prep for the 1600m Time Trial next week
The THANG:
Moleskin:
Announcements:
9 PAX were not dismayed by the delayed Memorial Day start or threat of rain to post for 5 miles and damp chakras at Blakovery.
THE THANG:
With the sun up (although we could not see it for the clouds) and light on our side, Bratwurst called the PJ route. Here it is: up Rea Rd towards Stonecrest. Make a left on Williams Pond Rd, left on Elm and continue on Bryant Farms Rd. Go past the Morrison Y, make a left at North Community House, left on Ardrey Kell and back to the AO.
MOLESKIN:
This morning we had some of our core group (Bunker, Gumbo, Fleetwood, Madison), two site FNGs Marlin (R) and Mighty Mite. and a new regular One-Niner. This morning marked the first (and probably only) Blakovery double down. Mighty Might posted a Voodoo led Fox Hole then made the short drive to join us for a run. Quite impressive.
There was no rain but it was still damp but another great start to the week.
ANNOUNCEMENT:
In June there are alot of F3 Dads events happening. Workouts on Saturday in SOB Land and Area 51 and a Knights Baseball game. Get on Slack to keep up.
Thank you for the take out Marlin and the reminder of the sacrifice of the brave men and women who fought for our country and the ultimate sacrifice by Jesus Christ who willingly died for us so that we could live.
10 uninformed pax found themselves in a pickle when they arrived and YHC was the replacement Q. What would we do with 45 precious minutes of pain? YHC had the plan and with no FNGs we set off… to the very next parking spot.
COP
SSH x 15 IC. Mosey to end of lot. IW x 15 IC. Mosey to next lot. Merkins x 15 IC. Mosey to end of lot. Squat x 15 IC. Mosey to next lot. LBC x 15 IC. There were some mild groans from the sisterhood of the traveling COP but YHC was used to this group. Mosey around outer driveway to 51 entrance. No one bit it on a speed hump.
The thang part 1
partner up x 3. Partners 1 and 2 head to opposite ends of lot. P3 runs to relieve. Flapjack and repeato till finished with all exercises. On each end of lot – 100 Merkins, 200 Squats and 300 LBC. Totaling 200, 400 and 600 for the partner trio.
Thang part 2
Mosey over to parking lot beside 51 and YHC laid out the Burpicide. Increasing burpees every island. 8 islands equal 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 burpees. Suicide back each island but, stop at each island and perform that islands number. Which means 1,2,1,2,3,2,1,2,3,4,3,2,1,2,3,4,5… to 8. #crowdpleaser. YHC had only planned 10 mins for this and that’s all that was needed to yield an all out rebellion. I think McGee got to 6.
fully smoked we mosey around back to the launch for some Mary. Everyone called an exercise then with 2 mins left we head to end of the lot. 5 burpees and all you got to the start.
Fin
NMM: This has been in the draft bin for 4 days now. That’s my bad. Had a few individuals in mind with the burpicide and they must have had burning ears cause they didn’t show. Oh well, the pax present recieved the punishment for allowing YHC to lead. You’re welcome. McGee and Lorax were out front. Surprise surprise. I did manage to quiet the mumblechatter quite quickly. #myworkhereisdone All that said everyone accepted the challenge and threw down all they had. Great job.
On a side note we did have a medical moment. This serves as a constant reminder that we need to stay vigilant to our pax needs and be ready to act. Site Q’s are strongly advised to keep a phone on them if going far away from the launch. Also if you do have any condition or begin to feel “off” speak up and let fellow pax know. Safety first
Announcements: the Memorial Day convergence already happened.
Patriot 5k Monday with convergence before during and after. This is an experience for sure. Check it out. (Also was YHC first post 5 years ago)
Link for pax emergency info. Fill it out. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdGP76Wu2-NNHLaaG2uFaViJjbz92mY66UERJsb8iXfxEQ-dg/viewform
At F3 Mountain Goat, one thing we like to do is keep the muscles, lungs and hearts confused. After 2 weeks on the track, it was time for a trip back to the hills… the Hills of Raintree, that is!
Easy enough plan:
DONE! Everyone got between 4.5-5 miles total! Excellent job!
Moleskin:
A trip to “Slim Fast Hill” is always a good time. I promise you, adding that workout 1-2 times/month will guarantee us to be ready for BRR! You cannot get to the top without being completely winded! And that is GOOD!
Fleetwood led the way, with Sensei, Nomad, Strange Brew, Retread, Insomniac, Drano and Jello giving chase.
T-claps to Gullah, Kilowatt, Damn Gina and Pele for giving 100% every interval! You guys keep getting stronger!
Lois… tremendous improvement every week! The training is really paying off!
Final recognition to Spidey (Ayden Pauls)… Way to give it all you had! We’ll look forward to having both you and your Dad back anytime to join us!
Special thanks this weekend to those who have protected our freedoms! Jello, Nomad and Strange Brew…. thanks for your service!!
Announcments:
58 brothers (including 3 FNGs) gathered at Calvary this morning to honor the fallen and put in some work.
Purple Haze Q
0655 – 0700 Disclaimer. Explanation of Workout. Share Numbers of Soldiers’ Deaths.
American Soldiers lost during:
0700 – 0715 Ask Respects to grab shovel flags. Run to a designated parking lot.
Rachel Q
0715 – 0745 Ask 2.0s to grab shovel flags. Run to front parking lot.
Prohibition Q
0745 – 0800 Ask Veterans to grab shovel flags. Run to Rea Road softball field.
COT
BOM
CITATION #1
FIRST LIEUTENANANT JOHN R. FOX
UNITED STATES ARMY – WORLD WAR II
For service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For extraordinary heroism against an armed enemy in the vicinity of Sommocolonia, Italy, on December 26, 1944, while serving as a member of Cannon Company, 366th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division. During the preceding few weeks, Lieutenant Fox served with the 598th Field Artillery Battalion as a forward observer. On Christmas night, enemy soldiers gradually infiltrated the town of Sommocolonia in civilian clothes, and by early morning the town was largely in hostile hands. Commencing with a heavy barrage of enemy artillery at 0400 hours on December 26, 1944, an organized attack by uniformed German units began. Being greatly outnumbered, most of the United States Infantry forces were forced to withdraw from the town, but Lieutenant Fox and some other members of his observer party voluntarily remained on the second floor of a house to direct defensive artillery fire. At 0800 hours, Lieutenant Fox reported that the Germans were in the streets and attacking in strength. He then called for defensive artillery fire to slow the enemy advance. As the Germans continued to press the attack towards the area that Lieutenant Fox occupied, he adjusted the artillery fire closer to his position. Finally he was warned that the next adjustment would bring the deadly artillery right on top of his position. After acknowledging the danger, Lieutenant Fox insisted that the last adjustment be fired as this was the only way to defeat the attacking soldiers. Later, when a counterattack retook the position from the Germans, Lieutenant Fox’s body was found with the bodies of approximately 100 German soldiers. Lieutenant Fox’s gallant and courageous actions, at the supreme sacrifice of his own life, contributed greatly to delaying the enemy advance until other infantry and artillery units could reorganize to repel the attack. His extraordinary valorous actions were in keeping with the most cherished traditions of military service, and reflect the utmost credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
CITATION #2
PRIVATE FIRST CLASS ROBERT C. BURKE
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS – VIETNAM WAR
For service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty for service as a Machine Gunner with Company I, Third Battalion, Twenty Seventh Marines, First Marine Division in the Republic of Vietnam on May 17, 1968. While on Operation ALLEN BROOK, Company I was approaching a dry river bed with a heavily wooded treeline that bordered the hamlet of Le Nam, when they suddenly came under intense mortar, rocket propelled grenades, automatic weapons and small arms fire from a large, well concealed enemy force which halted the company’s advance and wounded several Marines. Realizing that key points of resistance had to be eliminated to allow the units to advance and casualties to be evacuated, Private First Class Burke, without hesitation, seized his machine gun and launched a series of one man assaults against the fortified emplacement. As he aggressively maneuvered to the edge of the steep river bank, he delivered accurate suppressive fire upon several enemy bunkers, which enabled his comrades to advance and move the wounded Marines to positions of relative safety. As he continued his combative actions, he located an opposing automatic weapons emplacement and poured intense fire into the position, killing three North Vietnamese soldiers as they attempted to flee. Private First Class Burke then fearlessly moved from one position to another, quelling the hostile fire until his weapon malfunctioned. Obtaining a casualty’s rifle and hand grenades, he advanced further into the midst of the enemy. Observing that a fellow Marine had cleared his malfunctioning machine gun he grasped his weapon and moved into a dangerously exposed area and saturated the hostile treeline until he fell mortally wounded. Private First Class Burke’s gallant actions upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
CITATION #3
MASTER AT ARMS SECOND CLASS, SEA, AIR and LAND MICHAEL A. MONSOOR
UNITED STATES NAVY – OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
For service as set forth in the following CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as Automatic Weapons Gunner for Naval Special Warfare Task Group Arabian Peninsula, in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM on 29 September 2006. As a member of a combined SEAL and Iraqi Army sniper overwatch element, tasked with providing early warning and stand-off protection from a rooftop in an insurgent-held sector of Ar Ramadi, Iraq, Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by his exceptional bravery in the face of grave danger. In the early morning, insurgents prepared to execute a coordinated attack by reconnoitering the area around the element’s position. Element snipers thwarted the enemy’s initial attempt by eliminating two insurgents. The enemy continued to assault the element, engaging them with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire. As enemy activity increased, Petty Officer Monsoor took position with his machine gun between two teammates on an outcropping of the roof. While the SEALs vigilantly watched for enemy activity, an insurgent threw a hand grenade from an unseen location, which bounced off Petty Officer Monsoor’s chest and landed in front of him. Although only he could have escaped the blast, Petty Officer Monsoor chose instead to protect his teammates. Instantly and without regard for his own safety, he threw himself onto the grenade to absorb the force of the explosion with his body, saving the lives of his two teammates. By his undaunted courage, fighting spirit, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of certain death, Petty Officer Monsoor gallantly gave his life for his country, thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
18 men at Kevlar. TR wasn’t there. Again. No more moobs Friday. Not fun Friday. He would’ve probably needed it too. #selfish
We ran 2.3 total. Mostly uphill. We lifted rocks. Some did burpees, others opted for Merkins. Lots. Of. Merkins. Squats. Stomaché. Dry Dogs. You name it. We did it. It was amazing.
No records were set today but real men showed up. Huge men. Yuge. Not the queer-like gentleladies that show up at the other Friday AOs.
Observations are only read by those that need lifting up. However, I will do my best:
Check somebody else’s B.B. for announcements. Can’t believe I did this much. #overachiever