Global Strike Awards 2012
By: Leslie Draffin
Updated: December 6, 2012
In the midst of summer's heat, Air Force teams like this one battled it out in a competition pitting airmen against airmen. And now they're finding out if all the hard work and sweat paid off. Awards for the third annual Global Strike Challenge give bragging rights for an entire year.
"Let's just say when you win you get to hold it over everyone's heads for a year so it's a good feeling." Lt. Col. Mike Petrosh says, "what we determine here is who is the best of the best in their skill set."
The awards play out like a rock concert and it's a time for everyone to let loose.
But Barksdale teams waiting in the crowd know they have big shoes to fill since their airmen won big in 2011.
1st Lt. Kendall Benton says, "I hope we got it" and several did.
And several did, the 2nd Bomb Wing's Conventional Bomb Loading and Munitions Maintenance teams took home top prizes, as did groups from security forces.
"It raises everyone to the level of excellence, supports our mission to assure and deter it gives team spirit, pride in their unit," Petrosh says.
And while the challenge challenges each airmen..."we got a whole month straight where its just us 7 training constantly getting all of our tactics done together, our firing together, and we became a tighter group," says Benton.
It also passes along a tradition, "all this is a link to our heritage, those of us who competed in this way back are handing it down to these younger guys."
A tradition 60 years in the making.
And one they say will continue for years to come.
