JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. –
Joint Base Langley-Eustis commemorated this yr’s Memorial Day with a sequence of occasions known as ‘Remember the Fallen’, May 16-26.‘Remember the Fallen’ included a Commander’s Cup competitors, the ‘Warrior Battle Challenge’, and wrapped with a retreat ceremony, pageant, and live performance with performances from Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command Band, and U.S. Air Force Full Spectrum.“[It took] roughly 5 months of collaborative planning with set up companies and tenant organizations from throughout JBLE-Eustis,” mentioned Donna Fontes, Force Support Squadron director. “We know that all these occasions imply a lot to the group and go a good distance in creating bonds and growing sturdy, resilient troopers, airmen, and households.”One of the main occasions in ‘RtF’ was the Mammoth Global Partners ‘Military Battle Challenge’, which JBLE-Eustis hosted in the Eustis Commissary parking zone, May 20-22, 2022.“What appealed to me initially…was how suited MBC was to probably take a look at all bodily parts of health examined by the [Army Combat Fitness Test],” mentioned Fontes. “[It’s] geared to encourage and help servicemen and girls’s health, holistic well being, and wellness. MBC is a enjoyable and revolutionary mixture of fight abilities with health challenges.”The problem itself is a timed, head-to-head impediment course designed to simulate reasonable battlefield abilities wanted for fulfillment in bodily difficult fight conditions. Other obstacles included a two-story cargo internet/tower climb, laser marksmanship duties, and a 180-lb “Battle Buddy” drag throughout the end line to cease the clock.‘RtF’ wrapped-up with a ‘Remembrance Festival’ and live shows, which occurred at the Felker Army Airfield, May 26. The pageant itself featured meals vans, static shows, and axe throwing. The TRADOC Band and Full Spectrum kicked off the live performance, opening for Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band., who took the stage earlier than greater than 3,500 individuals in attendance.“It’s all about remembrance in an occasion like this,” mentioned Gary Sinise, philanthropist, musician, and actor. “Remembering the fallen and with the ability to be part of it and to have the ability to have a good time these sacrifices and remind us. It’s simply one other approach that I can take part in giving again to our defenders. I do not take what [they] all do without any consideration. It’s one thing very particular to me.”Sinise is thought for his function in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump by which he performed ‘Lt. Dan’, a combat-wounded Vietnam War veteran. He started working with Wounded Warriors following his look on this movie. Sinise additionally has quite a few relations who’ve served in the U.S. armed companies, together with his father and grandfather. This legacy and his experiences led to his establishing the ‘Gary Sinise Foundation’, which frequently performs acts of philanthropy all through the nation and past for the U.S. navy and its service members.“The that means of Memorial Day turned…essential to me [in trying] to play a job in simply bridging the hole…between the overwhelming majority of our residents who could not have a private connection to any individual in our navy,” Sinise mentioned. “These are our defenders, and we are able to by no means do sufficient for [them] so far as I’m involved.”Fontes echoed Sinise’s sentiment when it got here to togetherness in honoring the fallen.“Like many communities round the world, our navy group has been by a lot over the previous couple of years, so with the ability to deliver a well known artist in is what they deserve…whereas additionally appreciating the particular service bond all of them have with one another,” she mentioned. “The ‘Gary Sinise Foundation’ offers a lot to first responders and defenders throughout the nation; for us to have the alternative to indicate Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band how a lot we admire all they do with…ample attendance was very fulfilling.”Sinise met this heat in type.“I do not take what [service members] do without any consideration; I do know the place my freedom comes from,” mentioned Sinise. “I would like you to know all the time I ship my thanks, my appreciation to you and your family members, [and] our Gold Star households. We will always remember you.”
https://www.jble.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3051141/jble-remembers-the-fallen/
