Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion Page 3
By : SGT Field Seth
M
y legs shook as I forced myself to put one foot in
front of the other. My heart was pounding in my
chest, but all I could hear was the cheering. From
a quarter mile away a dull roar grew into deafening thunder, pulling me forward. Exhaustion had set in 10 miles ago
and my thoughts of the other runners and what had happened in Boston last year energized my will to continue on.
When I crossed the finish line, a volunteer “Catcher” was
there and helped me move towards the Medals table.
Around me there were other runners, some sitting, some
could barely walk, limping with assistance or hobbling with
the help of others. More than a few were being seen by the
medics for blisters and other ailments. But we were all filled
with an indescribable energy. We’d done it. We’d made it.
The energy of the crowd and the focus of the people at the
finish line buoyed our sprits and sense of accomplishment.
But there was an unspoken undertone to the uplifting feeling. All too many of us, including myself, were reminded of
last year’s tragedy.
Even before we deployed Chaplain Lukasz Willenberg, the face of the Boston Marathon in Afghanistan, was
making arrangements for the event. Half a year prior, he
was contacting race coordinators in Boston to try and arrange to have a Boston Marathon in Bagram, Afghanistan,
‘Shadow run’ to show our support. It was his vision that
shaped what came to be known as the Boston Marathon
Afghanistan. I remember him talking to me as I was about
to go on predeployment leave back in December, he said
“You know, we are going to make this Marathon a reality
for our soldiers.”
As soon as Task Force Gauntlet arrived in Afghanistan, the HHBN staff with the leadership of Chaplain Willenberg began the initial planning process. The battalion
held numerous In-Process Reviews (IPR’s), over the
course of two months to
make sure every detail was
addressed: water points,
road guards, medical stations and the run route were
discussed, looked over, and
then reviewed again. No detail was overlooked. Personnel from outside of the battalion; Military Police, Air Force
representatives, USO and
MWR were recruited and
eagerly came to support our
planning, turning the event
into a full spectrum operation. “What if we do all of
this,” someone joked, “and
nobody shows?”
Our fears however,
were unfounded. Before we
had finalized our plans, we
had hundreds of people
asking where they could
register. Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marines and civilians
personnel all came out of
the woodwork to be involved. Our office, the Unit
Ministry Team (UMT) was
the central focus of this effort. We were flooded with
phone calls and people
knocking on our door at all
hours. We had a website
put up to help process the
participants and the 600
runner quota was filled up
within two weeks. Even on registration day there were people who showed up wanting to run. No one was turned
away.
Chaplain Willenberg’s work with the Boston Athletic
Association allowed the runners and our volunteers to get
official t-shirts to remember the day for years to come. He
also contacted some of his friends from Rhode Island. They
were gracious enough to supply us with amazing items for
the race. We received box after box of Gatorade powder
and chewable energy candies. All of our hydration points
used Gatorade in the water to hydrate the runners.
We also received a large amount of running gear,
such as small water bottles, water bottle belts, and fanny
pack belts for storage of energy gels. The day of registratio