Guardlife - The Magazine of the New Jersey National Guard

Jersey Guardsman: Skiing, Shooting, Competing

Staff Sgt. Rose Examilotis, 444th MPAD and Wayne Woolley, DMAVA/PA

Inspiration to try the biathlon came to New Jersey Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Marc Winans as he watched his girlfriend, Sgt. Erin Graham, a Vermont Army Guard Soldier, race in the grueling sport that combines Nordic skiing and shooting.

Problem was, Graham competed at the elite level and Winans, a decent marksman, knew nothing about cross-country skiing.

So last February, at age 35, he started to learn.

New Jersey Army National Guard Sgt. 1st Class Marc Winans racing at the 2009 National Guard Bureau Biathalon Championships in Jericho, Vt. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Karin Kasupski, Vermont Army National Guard.

“One of the hardest things I haveever done,” said Winans, a saxophone and clarinet player in the 63rd Army Band.

He must have gotten some good pointers.

Because on March 9, Winans raced in the 2009 National Guard Bureau Biathlon Championships in Jericho, Vt., making him the first Jersey Guardsman in recent memory to compete in the prestigious event.

He placed 39th in a field of 55 in the 10 kilometer sprint in a respectable 46 minutes. He finished the 15 kilometer race in 1 hour and 14 minutes, about 28 minutes behind the winning group, but more than a half hour before the final racers.

Not a bad showing for a Jersey guy competing in a field dominated by troops from states known for winter weather, like Vermont, Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana. Eighteen states sent nearly 80 athletes to the championships.

Winans hopes to raise awareness within New Jersey National Guard about biathlon and military programs that can offer exceptional athletes an environment to train and complete.

The National Guard Bureau biathlon program’s mission is to develop the highest levels of skiing and rifle marksmanship necessary to improve the combat ability of individual Soldiers and to represent the National Guard and the U.S. Armed Services in national and international events, including the Wold Cup and Winter Olympics.

Air Force flight surgeons train Iraqi counterparts

Col. William Dodson, 108th Air Refueling Wing, assigned to the Coalition Air Force Training Team, advises seven Iraqi air force and Iraqi army physicians during the aero-medical evacuation class at the flight surgeon course at New al-Muthana Air Base, Iraq, April 20. The training teaches the Iraqis how to convert a UH-1 Huey Helicopter and a C-130 Hercules Aircraft from a passenger transport to an aero-medical evacuation medevac transport. This is the third class of Iraqi flight surgeons that will be graduating from the four week course. The course, which is currently taught by Iraqi flight surgeons and the Coalition Air Force Training Team will be fully taught by the Iraqis during the next course. After completing the course, the Iraqi officers will be responsible for doing physicals on candidates that want to fly in the Iraqi forces and taking care of the current aircrew members. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jacqueline Romero.

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