Airmen compete in national firefighter competition Published Oct. 13, 2006 By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee Air Force Print News ATLANTA (AFPN) -- The competition is a few minutes of physical torture and even the most conditioned warrior is brought to his knees when it ends. Staff Sergeants Cory McGee and Emanuel Villegas, from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., are among the 500 competitors at the 2006 U.S. National Firefighter Combat Challenge held here. Teams from Travis AFB.,Calif. and the Air Force Academy, competed in the event as well. The course is littered with daunting physical challenges including a six-story climb and descent of a tower, hoisting a 45-pound weight six stories, using numerous hammer impacts to move a weight, dragging a hose 120 feet to douse a target and the home stretch; carrying a 175-pound dummy backwards the final 120 feet. If this isn't difficult enough, the competitors do all of this while wearing more than 40 pounds of equipment and a helmet and mask. "It is compressing a 2 hour workout into 2 minutes," Sergeant Villegas said. "It is so demanding and you feel completely drained by the end of it." This is Sergeant Villegas's first year competing in the challenge. He was introduced to the event by Sergeant McGee, who is now in his third year of competing and the senior member on the Whiteman team. Sergeant McGee takes his position of leadership seriously and he passes on nuggets of advice to his teammates at every opportunity. "At each event it seems the course changes," he said. Everything from the weather to the location of the event affects the strategy we use to attack the course." Sergeant McGee set a personal record today when he completed the course in 1 minute and 34 seconds, beating his previous best time by 4 seconds. During the home stretch he said he kept his eyes on the clock. "It is a great feeling to set a goal and be able to get to it," he said. For Sergeant Villegas it is his team that keeps him driving to the end. "I can hear the voice of the guys on my team," he said. "They are constantly encouraging me and giving me the boost I need." Conditioning will only get you so far in the event, said Sergeant McGee. You have to reach inside to get the energy for the home stretch. "You can go for a while on your physical strength, but in the end it is all about your heart," he said.