Giving 100 percent -- deployments and marathons

  • Published
  • By Maj. Damien Pickart
  • 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) --  Some days it seems like deployments last forever and they're difficult to get through. Other days I can hardly believe how fortunate I've been to serve here and how quickly my year-long tour is passing at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.

I'm often asked by family and friends back home, as well as by Airmen deployed here, "How are you getting through a year away from family and a normal life back home?"

My response has been to ask if they've run a marathon.

A marathon can test a person's mettle unlike anything else. If you've ever run 26.2 miles, you might agree it takes a lot of mental perseverance and determination to get through it successfully. It's about establishing a good frame of mind, a vision of finishing and giving 100 percent effort from the first step to the last. It's your brain telling the body and spirit to keep pushing forward when the miles turn the minutes to hours.

The same holds true for a long deployment away from home. Deployments, like marathons, are incredibly rewarding and challenging experiences. It's hard to cover all the rewards, but the two that most often come to my mind is the privilege to serve in time of war and the camaraderie of combat and expeditionary life.

But there are challenges as well. There's the whole issue of doing your job in an entirely new and dynamic environment. Between making friends and new work relationships, we also grapple with establishing a new routine and growing accustomed to things like wearing a uniform 24/7; communal dining, showers and restrooms; and no weekends or holidays for the length of the deployment.

And I haven't even touched on the dangers faced by those in more hostile locations, such as coping with the threat of death or bodily injury at any time. But in the end, the rewards of surviving a deployment and marathon are quite similar; pride, a sense of accomplishment, a medal on the chest; and stories to last a lifetime.

My comparison between the two occurred several months into my tour here and nine miles into my first marathon.

To begin with, I wasn't as prepared as I could have been when I signed up for the Air Force marathon the night before I ran it. Sure I work out frequently, but I certainly didn't condition my body for more than three hours of hard running. How am I going to successfully face this challenge and get through it?

This is a question many of us in the military ask ourselves before we deploy.

To get through my first marathon, I opted for a simple approach of setting a consistent pace and try to maintain it as long as possible. To keep my energy up the entire journey, I planned to sustain myself with gel packs and carbohydrate drinks from time to time.

The same has held true for this deployment and those I've done before. I've established a sustainable pace so as not to burn out early. Working six or more days a week, 12-plus-hour days can take a toll physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This can be even more amplified if exposed to the trauma and consequences of combat.

Throughout my deployments, I've sustained my body, mind and spirit in a variety of ways to get me through the journey. Church and Bible studies have been invaluable for me. I've found that if my spiritual strength is maintained, my emotional and mental strength is equally high. Working out every day has given me the endurance and stamina to get through the most trying of days and on most Sunday afternoons, I watch home movies, look through family pictures and try and keep in touch with those I love back home. Doing so consistently for more than seven months has kept me emotionally together.

During the run, I found myself imagining that getting through the 26.2 mile course was a means to reunite with my family. The longer I maintained a strong pace, the quicker I believed I'd reach them. If I slowed down, I told myself it will only take that much longer to finish and I won't be pleased with the effort I put into it.

As I pushed through the last painful miles, I continuously reminded myself that this punishing journey was strengthening my spirit and would help me to get through the toughest of future challenges. I reminded myself not to let up my dedication and finish as strong as when I began.

In the final yards of the journey, the pain was drowned out by cheers of my Manas family encouraging me to reach for them as I approached the finish line. Outstretched arms and kind words kept me on my feet as I caught my breath, "You've given your all and we're proud of you for it."

Five months to go. I continue to push hard and maintain the pace. I know that the incredible feeling of accomplishment I experienced crossing the finish line will return when I look out the rotator's window at the ground I've covered. For those of you deployed or preparing to deploy, I encourage you to set a sustainable pace and hit the ground running. Give it your all from step one to the finish line, no matter the duration of your tour. 

I'm looking forward to June and reaching with outstretched arms as I run those final steps into the arms of my family. I'll have the satisfaction of knowing I gave this marathon of a deployment everything I had.


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