1st Battalion 22nd Infantry
February 2012
Soldiers Battle in BOSS Tourney
Staff Sgt. Eric Goodman,
infantryman, assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company,
1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment,
1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division concentrates on
advancing to the next round during a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
3
tournament Feb 24, at the Raider Brigade Headquarters building as
part of the Better Opportunity for Single Soldiers program.
Goodman,
a native of Philadelphia, Pa., likes to play MW3 during his free
time away from work. The tournament was organized by B.O.S.S.,
a program created to enhance the morale and welfare of single
Soldiers, increase soldier retention, and sustain combat
readiness
through planned and execution of community service, recreation
and leisure events, and identifying well-being issues for
resolution.
Story and photo by Pfc. Nathan
Thome
1st Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office, 4th Infantry
Division
Thumbs mashing buttons and
wiggling joysticks, coincided with cheers of excitement and
groans of disappointment
resonating from the classrooms of the "Raider" Brigade
headquarters building, Feb. 24.
More than 70 Soldiers assigned
to 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, participated
in a
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" tournament hosted by
the unit's Better Opportunity for Single Soldiers program.
Soldiers competed against each other in the first-person shooter
video game by setting up timed, multi-player matches
with their personal video game consoles. At the end of each
match, the team with the most points advanced to the next round
in the tournament. Created to enhance the morale and welfare of
single Soldiers, increase Soldier retention and
sustain combat readiness, the brigade's BOSS program organized
the event for 1st BCT Soldiers.
"BOSS is mainly geared
toward Soldiers that are in the barracks, but includes single
Soldiers throughout the brigade,"
said 1st Lt. Nicholas Costello, brigade adjutant. The tournament
was the first BOSS event held since Raider Brigade
returned from its Afghanistan deployment last summer, said
Costello.
"An important aspect of
this event is that it was held during the workday, so it didn't
take away from Soldiers' personal time,
giving them the chance to incorporate training in a fun
way," said Costello. "That allowed Soldiers from
different battalions
to come together and build a network of camaraderie throughout
the brigade."
In the months ahead, Soldiers
from 1st BCT will conduct field training exercises, as well as
travel to the National Training Center
at Fort Irwin, Calif. With the busy schedule ahead of the
brigade, the tournament provided the Soldiers the perfect
opportunity
to relax and refresh, said Costello.
"This event was considered
training for the day, because Soldiers solidified strong ties
within the brigade, which is important
because it creates a support group that can sustain them through
deployment," he said. Unit representatives conducted
an informal survey in January, asking single Soldiers in the
brigade which BOSS event they would like to participate in the
most.
The survey ensured the voices of the single Soldiers are heard,
giving the troops the opportunity to provide input on things
that are important to them, said Costello.
"The Raider command team is
responsible for breathing new life into the BOSS program by
asking the Soldiers
what they would like to see more of," said Costello.
"They are really listening to what Soldiers have to say and
are giving them
what they want, while trying to reach every demographic of single
Soldiers."
Soldiers competing in the
tournament helped make the event possible by bringing their
personal TVs and video game consoles
to the brigade headquarters. As competition began, teams crowded
around 16 flat-screen TVs scattered throughout the classroom
to see who would win the first round.
"My teammate and I played
about eight consecutive games ... before taking first
place," said Staff Sgt. Michael Cruz,
cavalry scout, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st
Special Troops Battalion, 1st BCT.
Cruz said he never expected to meet so many people with similar
interests.
The event also provided some of
Raider Brigade's newest arrivals the opportunity to meet Soldiers
from other battalions
and build their own support groups. Soldiers make new friends and
connections outside of their units at BOSS events,
which help to build the team and create single-Soldier support
systems, said Costeilo.
"I think it's great that
the command has taken an interest in the single Soldiers of the
brigade," said Pfc. Justin Price,
cavalry scout, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st
Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st BCT.
"They are giving Soldiers the opportunity to meet other
Soldiers and build camaraderie; I know I've done that with the
...
people I met in this tournament."
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