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DEL.ICIO.USSoldiers in different kind of fight
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Camp Taji, Iraq — “Are y’all ready, Camp Taji?â€? Staff Sgt. Vernon Williams yelled into a hand-held microphone. The crowd yelled back a resounding, “Yeah!â€?
Bita Honarvar/AJC
Dominique “Outlawz” Hernandez (left) of East Los Angeles, Calif., and Spc. Carmen “Scrappy” Montes of Oxnard, Calif., both with the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion from Hunter Army Airfield, fight during Fight Night at Camp Taji Sunday. MORE PHOTOS
Hundreds of soldiers gathered recently at the plaza outside the Taji PX for the most popular event in these parts of central Iraq: fight night.
Sometimes, as many as 3,000 of Taji’s 9,000 soldiers have swarmed the plaza to watch. Even the maintenance and food crews from faraway lands find themselves captive to a sport that is foreign to many of them.
“I think I like boxing now,� said Shankar Joga, of Vishakhapatnam, India, who came out with three of his friends, none of whom had seen a boxing match before Taji.
Even at 7 p.m. the temperature here was still above 100 degrees. But no one seemed to care. Soldiers from various units, including members of the Georgia Army National Guard’s 48th Brigade Combat Team, sat on wooden benches and on tops of parked Humvees to watch.
“I think even the enemy comes to watch,� said Sgt. David Michael Joseph, one of the organizers of Taji’s fight nights.
Bout No. 1: Women’s featherweight competition. In one corner, Carmen “Scrappyâ€? Montes — 126 pounds of lean, mean fightin’ machine and a reigning champion in her weight class. In the other corner, the challenger: Dominique Hernandez, a.k.a. “Outlawz.â€?
Staff Sgt. Tavares Spikes turned up the music. The crowd hooted and hollered. It was time to throw some punches.
Taji’s boxing events pair soldiers by gender and weight classes for eight fights. Each bout lasts three two-minute rounds.
Williams organized similar fight nights from 1994 to 1997 when he was stationed in Haiti. He and Joseph, both of the 603rd Aviation Support Brigade based at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, started the fights at Taji in May.
“I’m a combat soldier,� Williams said. “I understand the stress of a soldier. Boxing is a great way to relieve that stress.�
The fights rarely get beyond a bruise or a bloody nose. The boxing gloves are oversized and have extra padding. Williams said serious injuries are unacceptable because they would interfere with the soldiers’ combat duties.
Joseph, a professional boxer, trains soldiers every day in grueling 90-minute sessions.
“It’s not just for the boxing,� he said. “It’s a great way for soldiers to keep in shape.�
Being in shape is one thing. Boxing outside in Iraq’s summer heat is another.
“It becomes what I call a gladiator fight,� Williams said. “If you can win this, you can do anything.�
With the sound of the opening bell, Montes was off to a good start, pumelling Hernandez with a wicked left hook to the jaw.
Montes, of Oxnard, Calif., said her love of boxing started at a young age when she was forced to watch it on television with her dad.
“I wasn’t allowed to change the channel, so I had to watch,� she said.
Later she wanted to take up the sport, but her parents were dead set against their daughter getting pummeled in public.
“When I got over here, I started to train [with Joseph],� she said.
After a strong round one, Montes was ready to claim yet another victory.
Then came the bad news.
Williams climbed up into the ring. “Sorry, folks,� he said, explaining that the fight would have to be stopped due to a “weather warning.�
What, an unexpected snowstorm? The skies were still clear though the winds had kicked up a bit.
Williams later explained that if too much dust gets in the air, the soldiers can’t have the necessary combat air support. And a boxing match with that many people in the audience could make a prime target for insurgents. That’s why Williams and Joseph make it a point to pick different nights of the week for the fights. Predictability can be deadly in Iraq.
Sgt. Ronnie Perrryman, of the 1st Battalion, 118th Field Artillery Regiment’s Alpha Battery, had the day off when the most recent fights were scheduled. The land surveyor from Millen had planned to hibernate in his trailer after a grueling 37 days in Mahmudiyah south of Baghdad. But the love of boxing was strong enough to lure even the most war-weary of soldiers.
Would Montes get the K.O. this time?
At bell time, however, the ring stood empty again. No explanation on why the fights were cancelled this time. This is war, after all.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By Celeste
August 18, 2005 11:06 PM | Link to this
Are you kidding me?? As if these soldiers do not have to deal with aggression and adrenaline just to live over there now they are creating more? I cannot believe the higher ups do not stop this. Bad enough we have to hear about soldiers dying every day from hostile fire.We really don’t need to hear someone was killed or hurt in a boxing match. They commented this is “a gladiator fight”. Gladiators fought to the death. With that mentality someone is going to get seriously hurt no matter how soft the gloves are!
By Tomekia
August 19, 2005 01:01 AM | Link to this
This was truly a wonderful article. You see, I have a personal interest in it because Sgt. Joseph is my husband. It was good to see him smiling and enjoying something that he loves to do. Thank you AJC for keeping us up to date with our military. We need to know about something other than just the tragic events.
By Barbara Key
August 19, 2005 08:44 AM | Link to this
Celeste, it really is a good idea.
Combat soldiers are aggreesive by training and this gives them a way to release that agreesion without truly hurting one another and in a control environment.
Note that the article says that injuring each other is not allowed due to the that that would interfere with a soldiers duties.
By SnottyNozeBrat
August 19, 2005 11:16 AM | Link to this
I wonder about that, our US society glorifies violence. These guys are coming back with some serious mental issues. This is getting so wired into them I guess it isn’t a surprise to hear about some of the outbursts once they come back home, at their families and in public. I mean no ill will towards our troops at all, I have the highest respect for what their service to our country.
Higher ups make decisions and everyone follows. The statement that “Hurting one another isn’t allowed” seems rather ridiculous. This is a fight Last year they had women fighting in their underwear in mud. The higher ups need to get a handle on their troops and find a physical outlet that doesn’t further perpetuate violence.
By Lonita Sheppard
August 19, 2005 12:34 PM | Link to this
Whatever makes those “children” over there happy, I say go for it! God Bless you all and thank you for your many, many sacrifices.
By SPC Amy Barker
August 19, 2005 01:15 PM | Link to this
I myself have been in Taji. We had fight nights called smokers. It was so much fun to be able to have a little normalcy in our everyday lives there. Fight nights give you the ability to break away from the stressful things you go through each day over there. It is wonderful entertaiment to enjoy. It also helps with troops morale. I am happy they gave us something to look forward to instead of the same stuff each day.
By William Carraway
August 19, 2005 01:40 PM | Link to this
Oh My Gosh! A soldier in a war zone might get hurt in a boxing ring!!! I cannot believe the arm chair moralizing going on here! The thought that a soldier might become unglued because he watched a boxing bout is ludicrous and insulting. How many violent video games has your overweight son played this week? How many murder investigations have you watched on CSI in the air conditioned comfort of your home? Many of these “children” are 30-40 year old citizen soldiers. How they choose to blow off steam is for them to decide. These men and women train to kill and avoid being killed. They are quite a bit more prepared for it than those who whisk to and fro with their frappachino’s and SUVs to their faux houseplant laden cubicles. I trust their judgment over yours any day.
Good grief! You have a better chance of getting hurt during a Falcon’s practice than during a boxing bout with headgear. Worry about the anger issues the Falcons defense has and leave our soldiers alone.
Soldier, 48th BCT (Rear)
By roe soldier
August 19, 2005 06:01 PM | Link to this
I dont see anything wrong with the sport of boxing, I would love to have time to box myself. Well now that I think about it, I wish I had time to do anything beside missions and guard duty and KP and convoy escorts. Maybe they could send the losers of the match down here to FOB Roe and give us a hand? Boy, I bet they would be some good fights to see then.
By another camp roe soldier
August 20, 2005 02:55 PM | Link to this
any entertainment would be nice here.we get plenty of fire works usually coming overhead or landing in the fob.we don’t need any extra activities here. we have our our hands full. all i want is to sit down and catch a break. just like the other roe soldier, i agree. send them down here. they want to fight some body, fight the guys that keep shooting at me and putting mortar rounds in my fob. to fob st. michael and fob joe, i am sure you guys know what i am talking about.
By jds
August 20, 2005 11:46 PM | Link to this
Hey there roe soldiers! Good to hear from you guys. I though you were just a figment of our imagination! We’re still fighting for you guys. Don’t give up hope, some of really do us care. But until we are heard…there’s more food boxes coming your way! “The Whiner’s Club”
By Lynn Smith
August 22, 2005 02:52 PM | Link to this
Hey ROE soldiers, glad to hear you speak up. I know your time is precious. Take care guys; we are keeping you in our prayers. Thanks, Ruth and jds for telling the truth. Maybe if the facts are stated enough, some others will catch on.
By ANOTHER WHINER
August 24, 2005 03:29 PM | Link to this
Hey jds got room for another whiner in the club? Just want the guys at row and Joe to know I am behind them 100%.me and my group are sending emails and making calls. Change will happen we won’t settle for less. Those of us who know what is going on have a responsibility to speak up. Guys have my total support. Another Whiner
By roe soldier
August 25, 2005 02:41 PM | Link to this
Thanks for the support, maybe the other folks will understand we dont care about the nice things the other guys have at some of the bigger bases but it makes it hard to understand why we have to come in from a 50 hour straight ambush mission only to start pulling guard duty till its time to go back out again, meanwhile there going on fun runs and boxing. I was sent to a cash unit at one of the bigger bases for treatment and couldnt believe the different atmosphere there. Im sure theres no safe place anywhere over here but there is a huge difference in being at a fob and a large base. They may go out the wire there but we live outside the wire. All we want is a chance to rest and refit before the next mission. Not a PX or a pool. If you think were whiners then come on down,we got the room and evidently some of them have the time.
By jds
August 25, 2005 10:49 PM | Link to this
Folks, anybody that can’t see something is wrong when soldiers at row and joe are pulling these kind of shifts then you need a serious reality check. I’m military all the way. But when the Leadership pulls this kind of crap it fires me up. Because I know it doesn’t have to be this way. This isn’t something that happens now and then. These guys have lived it everyday for three months now. Ladies and Gentlemen if you have a solider in one of these fobs, I suggest you start asking for some answers and accountability. Find your soliders chain of command and walk it all the way up if you have to. The fact that these guys are still alive is a credit to their brotherhood. Not their Leaders! Watching this makes me ashamed of the military I once served and had such honor for. There’s a right way to Lead, and this ain’t it boys! “Equal treatment”!? Sell it somewhere else! ret. and out.
By UH60girl
August 26, 2005 10:06 AM | Link to this
Let these men & women blow off the steam!!! I’m an ex soldier myself, and I would have loved to have something to do besides worrying every second about a bullet whizzing by my head, or if I was going to remember what sleep was. There is nothing wrong with these troops having something “fun” to do to break the monotony of being away from home and facing danger every second of the day….I’ve lived it..my hubby still lives it… It’s a far cry different being over there in the sandbox than it is being at home on your comfy couch watching the fights in your airconditioned living room on that leather recliner with a beer in hand. Most of these placing the gripes and complaints more than likely have never served their country or made the sacrafices that our troops have/and are making. Get a grip people, let them have a little down time.