Baton Rouge, La. –
The Tactical Games, held in Meridian MS, was tackled by our Battalion leadership and two members of a Special Operations team in February.
The Tactical Games is a two-day competition designed to test the skills and readiness of tactical athletes of all backgrounds. The competition included pistol and rifle shooting, along with various physical events, culminating with an obstacle course and run of over 3 miles of rough terrain. All events were conducted while wearing body armor.
Lt. Col Adam Marsh, Battalion Commander, and Command Sgt Maj. Jeremy Barbaresi, Battalion Command Sgt. Major, competed alongside two Special Forces Soldiers and finished with high marks and a good timing. The scoring is designed to weight each battle equally on a 100-point scale, which is a direct representation of the team’s performance.
“This is a great event, many of the athletes’ competing here today are national level competitors in other extreme sports competitions. There were also multiple law enforcement organizations competing here. The network of advocates and influencers we were able to build will pay big dividends in the long run,” said Marsh.
Not only did our Army team have a chance to show off their military readiness but they were able to recruit and talk to potential applicants on the field.
“While the event was more of a shaping operation, we brought some of our Future Soldiers and applicants out as spectators. Every single one of them were awe inspired by the amount of effort put out by the participants and the fact that even thought they were competing, they also helped each other towards a common goal, finishing the event,” said Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Summers, Meridian Station Commander.
The Battalion team wanted to showcase an MOS similar to the Tactical Game participant, connecting the passion with a career in the Army, so the team brought in two Green Berets from the Special Operations Command to participate alongside during the event.
“Being able to have a presence there in our opinions was beneficial. From a recruiting position I think competing in the team division is the best place to be. The reason for this is there was several father and son teams,” said Sgt. John Strezo. “A lot of the fathers had prior military experience and it gave us a good opportunity to just talk to the kids about what being in the Army is like. We were able to show off some of our Special Ops equipment and guns we had brought. Although these individuals did not enlist in the army right away, I do think they are individuals who will be joining the military once they reach the age of 18.”
“Their interactions with us will be something that comes up in conversations with friends or classmates and potentially will help influence others to look into, explore, or potentially join the Army,” said Strezo.
The team agreed that this event brought together a sense of teamwork and comradery that reflects in the Army values, outside of marksmanship and physical training.
“We let them know that what they witnessed was one of the main reasons why most of us choose to and continue to serve, the camaraderie, teamwork, the brotherhood and the accomplishment of our mission regardless of the cost,” said Summers. “It was awesome enough for us Soldiers to be able to be watch but even more so to inspire these young individuals who will now ramp up their efforts to bring in referrals.”