Reservist "port dawgs" get down and dirty at Swamp Romp 2013

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Phyllis E. Keith
  • 624th Regional Support Group Public Affairs
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii --  What do you get when you mix mud, water, dirt and sand?

Ask six reservists from the 48th Aerial Port Squadron, 624th Regional Support Group, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, who teamed up to run dirtiest footrace on Oahu--the 19th Annual Swamp Romp, held Saturday, Feb. 16 at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Tech. Sgt. Sean R. Warnet, an air transportation craftsman with the 48th APS, organized the team.

"We decided to run it as a squadron to build unit cohesiveness," said Warnet. 

Unit members had entered the competition in the past, but never with their fellow "port dawgs"--a nickname for air transportation specialists whose labor-intensive duties include processing personnel and cargo, rigging for airdrop, packing parachutes, loading equipment, preparing air cargo, loading and securing aircraft, and ejecting cargo for inflight delivery.

Two air transportation officers, Capt. Kenneth P. Ruggles, Jr. and 2nd Lt. Jeremy K. Rhode, and two air transportation craftsmen, Tech. Sgt. Jahnna K. Burns and Senior Airman Rechelle L. Ancheta, rounded out the 48th APS "port dawg" team.

A sixth member, 2nd Lt. Janet M. Hudson, chief of personnel for the 624th RSG, joined the team as a last-minute replacement.

"We're not competing for any awards," said Warnet. "We're just doing it for fun to build camaraderie."

The 5-mile romp, designed to challenge the fittest of the fit, took the team through the Nu'upia ponds and down Fort Hase Beach on MCBH-- under and over man-made obstacles, through mud pits and water holes.

Rhode said the toughest obstacle was a low crawl through a quarter-mile of deep mud.

"It was thick. People lost shoes in there," said Hudson.

Warnet said he got stuck and had to be pulled out.

Everyone agreed that the best part of Swamp Romp was the end. The six, covered from head-to-toe with mud, water, dirt and sand, linked arms and crossed the finish line as a team--the first group to represent the 624th RSG at the event.

"We definitely want to get this started next year--squadron versus squadron," said Warnet.

In addition to a headquarters staff, the 624th RSG consists of six squadrons: the 48th APS, the 624th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, the 624th Civil Engineering Squadron, and the 624th Security Forces Squadron all located at JBPHH, Hawaii; and the 44th APS and the 624th Aerospace Medicine Squadron at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
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The Swamp Romp is one of eleven races that make up the MCBH Commanding Officer's Fitness Series. The race is open to service members and civilians. The purpose of the race is to raise money for this year's Combat Service Support Group 3 Marine Corps Ball, MCBH, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.