Written by Sgt. Sinthia Rosario
101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (AA) Public Affairs
Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan – Officers and enlisted soldiers with Task Force Lifeliner dribble into the New Year. They competed against each other in a friendly game of basketball to prove once and for all “Who the better basketball player is?”
This game gave the Lifeliners an opportunity to demonstrate their sportsmanship and to further build on unit camaraderie outside of their operational mission.
![Pfc. Ryan M. Sindle, a native of Elkhart, IN, and convoy security team driver for Task Force Lifeliner, jumps up to shoot the basketball towards the hoop during a game between officers and enlisted soldiers, Jan. 5, 2014, at Bagram Air Field, Parwan province, Afghanistan. During the game the officers wore blue jerseys and the enlisted wore red jerseys. (Sgt. Sinthia Rosario, Task Force Lifeliners Public Affairs) Pfc. Ryan M. Sindle, a native of Elkhart, IN, and convoy security team driver for Task Force Lifeliner, jumps up to shoot the basketball towards the hoop during a game between officers and enlisted soldiers, Jan. 5, 2014, at Bagram Air Field, Parwan province, Afghanistan. During the game the officers wore blue jerseys and the enlisted wore red jerseys. (Sgt. Sinthia Rosario, Task Force Lifeliners Public Affairs)](https://www.clarksvilleonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Fort-Campbells-101st-Sustainment-Brigade-brings-in-the-New-Year-1-480x318.jpg)
As if the soldiers were in a gymnasium back home, the crowd cheered loudly when their team scored or groaned in disbelief when they missed a shot or experienced foul play. The players on each side never held back there intensity throughout the game, but in the second half it started to become clear who truly is “the backbone of the Army.”
Both the officer team and the enlisted team demonstrated their skills on the court, but at the end of the day there could only be one winner. With shouts of excitement the enlisted soldiers celebrated their victorious win over the officers with a final score of 58-45.
One soldier playfully added with a sense of accomplishment why it meant so much for them to capture the win in this particular match.
“It’s very nice coming out here and beating our bosses. It means a lot, we get that bragging rights over the officers for a whole year,” said Pfc. Ryan M. Sindle, a native of Elkhart, IN, and convoy security team driver for Task Force Lifeliner.
King, a native of Marianna, AR, honorably stated, “The enlisted played well. They played just like a noncommissioned officer is supposed to play. They truly displayed that they are the ‘backbone of the Army.’”
He then reinforced how this game directly aligns with all the hard work the soldiers do on a daily basis that ensures the officers are successful in their mission with a simple statement, “so they got out, beat our behinds real good to let us know that, hey we still got this.”
Video
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0YQul4ZWM8[/youtube]