Troops ‘robot trot’ for wounded warriors
Troops ‘robot trot’ for wounded warriors
Raising more than $2,500 for the Wounded Warrior Project, nearly 130 people from all branches of service rallied together to support the 2011 Robot Trot, June 10 in Selfridge, Mich.The top runners will run as members of the Detroit Arsenal Team in the 2011 Army Ten-Miler Oct. 9 in Washington.The Robot Trot, championed by the Robotic Systems Joint Project Office, or RS JPO, and the Army’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Program, is an annual event that provides service members, civilian employees and their families with an opportunity to participate in a 5K walk or run."The event was well received by the community at large with runners braving the cool morning air to show their support for the Wounded Warrior Project," Lt. Col. Dave Thompson, project manager, RS JPO, said.Adding, "The Wounded Warrior Project does so much to help our men and women in uniform who have been injured in combat. This is our small contribution to help raise awareness for the cause and support our fellow teammates."But there are additional reasons that motivate the runners."It’s a lot of fun," Joseph Hurley, Stryker Brigade Combat Team PMO systems engineer, said.His wife, Pat, agreed."We had so much fun last year that we came back again this year."Accompanying the Hurleys was Pat’s sister, Lynda Miller, and their daughter Caitlyn.Karen Carnago, construction team leader for the U.S. Army Garrison-Detroit Arsenal Directorate of Public Works, said in addition to supporting our troops, she likes the fact that she gets to come out for some exercise and stay in shape.For the past two years, the Robot Trot has been held on the same morning as a qualifier run for the Army Ten-Miler.The top two male and top two female winners from this qualifying run travel to as a team to Washington, representing the Detroit Arsenal.Robots, holding a large purple ribbon, greeted the winners of both the Robot Trot and the Army Ten-Miler qualification run at the finish line.With a time of 1:08:53, Linda Sawvell was awarded first place in the women’s category for the Army Ten-Miler qualification.Sawvell, an Integrated Logistics Support Center workforce development supervisor, recently moved to Michigan transferring from Rock Island, Ill., as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Act.Ashley Wagner, an employee of the Heavy Brigade Combat Team PMO, came in second place.Maj. Anthony Lee, U.S. Army acquisition officer for the Ground Combat Vehicle PMO, was awarded first place in the men’s category for the Army Ten-Miler qualification with a time of 1:03:41.Devin Kliebert, TACOM Life Cycle Management Command, Army Contracting Center, came in second place.(Editor’s note: This story is based on an article by Lori Grein, public affairs officer, PEO Ground Combat Systems.)