SAMS squad member brings home world title

  • Published
  • By Connie Hempel
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  SAMS Squad team member, Tech. Sgt. Jessica Packard, 312th Training Squadron, added another trophy to her case last week as she came home a world champion from the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge World Challenge XIX held Nov. 8-13 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

The SAMS Squad is a group of Soldiers, Airmen, Marines and Sailors who are instructors at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy. Team members are: Marine Staff Sgt. William Alexander, Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Beasley, Tech. Sgt. Jessica Packard, Marine Staff Sgt. Christopher Pickett, Marine Sgt. Mason Thompson and Marine Staff Sgt. Talan Wyenandt. Other SAMS Squad victories from the world competition include third in the co-ed tandem category, fourth in relay and 13th as a team.

"With anywhere from 65 to 80 teams competing throughout the week in different categories, coming out 13th overall is a great accomplishment," said Staff Sgt. Pickett, SAMS Squad co-captain. "This team has pushed each other beyond their mental and physical limits, and proved to themselves time and again that we can compete with the best in the world."

The world firefighter combat challenge is like the Super Bowl for firefighters. The international annual competition has firefighters from all over the world - New Zealand, Germany, Argentina and South Africa, to name a few. The event tests the firefighters' fitness levels as well as their agility. It consists of five tasks simulating real-life firefighting events that must be completed back-to-back while dressed in full bunker gear and a breathing apparatus. They can compete in several categories as individuals, tandems or teams with divisions for men, women, co-ed, 40-plus and 50-plus. No matter what category or division they're in, the firefighters compete on the same course with the same physical requirements.

The challengers battle the clock and each other as they run through the obstacles. To start, the competitors climb a five-story tower while carrying a 45-pound hose load, hoist a rope with a 45-pound rolled hose up to the top and run back down five stories. Next, they simulate a forcible entry - also called the sled - by driving a 160-pound steel beam five feet with a nine-pound mallet. After the sled, they do a hose advance by dragging a fully charged hose 75 feet and spray a target. Their final challenge simulates a victim rescue where they must drag a 175-pound life-sized dummy 100 feet across the finish line.

"By the time you get off the sled you're out of breath, your muscles feel like they can't keep going anymore and you're barely jogging through the rest of the course; you're just trying to finish it at that point." Sergeant Packard said.

At that point, a gut check pushes her through the rest of the course.

"I keep telling myself, 'It's just the back end of the course, there's only 200 feet left' or 'I have less than one minute left and I'm done,'" she said. "It's just keeping that positive attitude throughout the course that helps me get through it faster, rather than just quit and walk away."

The competition is called "the toughest two minutes in sports" since that's how long it typically takes a male to complete all tasks. The team competes against civilian and DOD fire departments in numerous firefighting challenges throughout the country from April to November to prepare them for the world challenge.

Overall, the team finished the world challenge course in 4:47.54, which is the combined time of the top three team members.

The co-ed tandem team, made up of Sergeant Packard and Marine Staff Sgt. William Alexander, completed the course in 1:35.63. Sergeant Packard finished the run in the female division in 2:31.69.

Sergeant Packard said training throughout the year with her team and doing everything her team does helped her reach the top spot as female world champion.

"They push me and put me through all the training that they do," she said. "There's a lot of other females who train with just females, so I think that just gives me a little more of an edge."
Sergeant Packard credits her success at this year's world champion to the support from her family, the fire school and her team.

"I couldn't do this without them and all the other supporters and competitors out there who make doing this such a fun and absolutely rewarding experience." she said. "This has truly been an amazing year for all of us."