EUCOM JAC'sters take on 'Tough Mudder'

  • Published
  • By CA Eccles
  • JIOCEUR Analytic Center
KETTERING, United Kingdom --  Navigating zero-visibility, underwater tunnels and engaging in mud-filled trench warfare are activities typically associated with gutsy special operations teams on secret missions. But on May 4, members of the United States European Command Joint Intelligence Operations Center - Europe Analytic Center (JAC), from RAF Molesworth, did their own gut check taking on the "Tough Mudder" 2013 extreme sports challenge at Boughton House in Kettering, Northhamptonshire.

Four members of the JAC's Eurasia Division, Team Molesworth made up of U.S. Army Maj. Derek Bickler and analysts Richard "Wolfie" Hammerbacker, Miranda Jasper and Jessica Reidy, joined more than 15,000 participants in a grueling 12-mile, 22-obstacles course designed by elite Special Forces units to test speed, stamina, teamwork and sheer willpower.

Team Molesworth couldn't ask for better weather: rain, hail, wind and more rain - lots of rain.

"Running between obstacles was the easiest part of the challenge and the hardest was a toss-up between the Arctic Enema - an ice-cube chilled water hazard - and electrical shock in the mud pools and across the finish line," said Bickler.

"The best part of the experience was the camaraderie," said Hammerbacker. "Not just the camaraderie from your teammates but from everyone on the course. There was never a point that I finished an obstacle without someone there helping or just encouraging me to finish. There were no 'strangers' on that course!"

Team Molesworth finished the event in just under four and half hours with no major injuries, although all were covered with varying shades of purple, black and blue.
"It's the knees that hurt the most!" said Jasper.

Stacy Greenfield, a medical biller and loss-prevention specialist, traveled from Arkansas to take the challenge alongside her friend Army Capt. Jimmy Kackley, who is stationed with NATO in Mons, Belgium.

"This is our third run together; we are always looking for a way to challenge ourselves," said Greenfield.

It's that challenge that resonated with Team Molesworth's Reidy, who said, "I've never done anything like it before, which is why I wanted to try. I just wanted to see if I could do it."

Tough Mudder events are held worldwide and some of the proceeds raised are donated to various charitable organizations. This year, Tough Mudder United Kingdom is supporting "Help for Heroes," a charity formed to assist British servicemen and women wounded in conflict.