Fire academy instructor named 2007 Goodfellow Athlete of the Year

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Luis Loza Gutierrez
  • 17th Training Wing Public Affairs
GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Wearing "full bunker gear" and a SCOTT Air-Pak breathing apparatus, he races against dozens of others, a clock and himself. He performs a series of five tasks, which include climbing a five-story tower, hoisting, chopping, dragging fire hoses and carrying a life-sized, 175-pound dummy to the finish line. His breath almost gone, his brow full of sweat, he looks up at his teammate and somehow manages to smile after realizing he just did all that under two minutes.

That was pretty much how things went during 2007 for one staff sergeant from Goodfellow Air Force Base.

Staff Sgt. William Gates, a technical rescue instructor at the Louis F. Garland Department of Defense Fire Academy and member of Goodfellow's premier international firefighter-combat-challenge team, the SAMSquad, was named the 2007 Goodfellow Air Force Base Athlete of the Year.

"I'm sure there are several qualities people think of when they hear the words athlete of the year. The first two that come to my mind are dedication and motivation, and Sergeant Gates has both," said Tech. Sgt. Joseph Stacker, SAM Squad captain.

"I and rest of the squad are proud to have Sergeant Gates form part of our team this year. He came up big for us in several important competitions during the season," added Sergeant Stacker.

Sergeant Gates did indeed come up big. In November, he helped the squad place second as a team in the at world firefighter combat-championships in Las Vegas by finishing eighth overall with an individual time of 1 minute and 33.14 seconds.
Along with fellow instructor and teammate Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Charles Ammon, Sergeant Gates placed third overall in the tandem competition with a time of 1 minute and 21.25 seconds.

Additionally, the six-foot, four-inch tall NCO from Colorado Springs, Colo., finished with the second fastest individual time at three competitions earlier in the season. These and other performances in the tandem and relay categories resulted in Sergeant Gates and another one of his teammates, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Nicholas Cook, being ranked as two of the top-ten competitors in the individual-national standings for firefighter-combat challenge competition.

When asked what being recognized as the Goodfellow Athlete of the Year meant to him, Sergeant Gates humbly responded by saying that he is glad to have been selected, but he hopes his individual achievement will translate into more recognition and support for the SAM Squad and the sport, which he and the rest of his teammates so passionately dedicate themselves to.