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Monster Mash builds never-quit attitude in Special Forces Airmen

  • Published
  • By Capt. Cathleen Snow
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  A swim competition across a river and a foot race against traffic was just another training day for Air Force Reserve Special Forces Airmen here April 21.

While training is the bread and butter for pararescuemen and combat rescue officers, an elite personal recovery team charged with saving lives anywhere in the world, no one ever said it couldn't be fun. A Monster Mash pitted the Guardian Angel Weapons System against each in a test which built endurance and camaraderie at the same time.

The men plunged into the salty river and swam fast against the current and one another from one side to the other nearly two-miles.

Then they threw off their sea legs and hit the pavement for the final six-mile trek along State Road A1A through Cocoa Beach.

The entire support team from 308th Rescue Squadron, to include their spouses, children, even some curious spectators, cheered the men on as the crossed the finish line at a popular lunch spot on the beach.

Long-time pararescueman and Cocoa Beach native, Master Sgt. Chris Seinkner, led the way finishing first in his home town with an impressive time of one-hour-fourty-two-minutes. Shortly thereafter the rest of the 28 men followed suit at various intervals.

Pararescueman Senior Airman Kris Tomes of Melbourne said he looked at the event as a gut check, part of his training and as a team-building exercise. He finished among the top half with a time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

"I haven't done this in a long time," Tomes said after the swim. "It's tough but 'never quit' is still in our heads."

An attitude that allows them to live by the pararescue motto, these things we do that other may live.

The 920th Rescue Wing is an Air Force Reserve combat-search-and-rescue wing and is one of the most-deployed wings in the nation. Its Airmen are not only charged with saving lives during combat, but are tasked as guardians of the astronauts during manned space shuttle launches from nearby Kennedy Space Center.