Kandahar Airmen complete 265,000 push ups

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Angelique N. Smythe
  • 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  Sixty-three members of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing completed a total of 265,597 push ups throughout the month of November.

Nov. 30 ended the wing's 30-day challenge in which Airmen were challenged to complete 10,000 push ups between Nov. 1 through 30.

Tech. Sgt. Jason Whitehorn, of the 451st AEW command post, initiated this challenge to help Airmen prepare for the new fitness standards in January 2010.

"With the new fitness standards looming on the horizon, this was an excellent opportunity to give everyone a chance to prepare now," he said. "This challenge also helped with morale by giving Airmen a specific goal to strive for.

"When you make and attain goals, it increases your morale by having a great sense of achievement," he said. "Even those who may not have reached the 10,000 mark can still have a sense of pride by saying they contributed to the overall total and gave it their all or very best effort."

Sergeant Whitehorn said he also did this as a way to help time pass somewhat quicker for Airmen on this deployment.

Chaplain (Capt.) Jonathan Hurt, of the 451st AEW chapel, did 10,101 push ups and said the challenge helped the month of November go by faster.

As Airmen completed their push ups each day, they would report their numbers to the command post. Although 10,000 may have seemed like a lot, when calculated, this equaled to 27.7 push ups per hour for a daily 12-hour shift.

"A lot of us did more than we thought we could," said 1st Lt. Chris Casler, of the 772nd Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, who finished with 5,350 push-ups. "This was a fun thing for the squadron."

The top finishers included three males and one female. 2nd Lt. Aaron Peterson, of the 772nd EAS, completed the challenge with 26,000 push-ups. Following behind him was Chief Master Sgt. Steve McDonald, the 451st AEW command chief, with 24,000 push-ups. Maj. Kenyon Bell, the 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron commander, finished with 21,111. Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Anderson, of the 451st AEW Public Affairs Office, completed 10,300 push ups. She was the only female to exceed 10,000.

"It was a great way to get fit, be disciplined and an effective way to see what you can really do in 30 days here in the (area of responsibility)," Major Bell said.