When American300, the nonprofit responsible for producing the first ever xHEAVY Medal Tour for the Department of Defense's Armed Forces Entertainment office found out that Charleston Air Force Base C 17's were at this undisclosed base in the middle east, it decided it had to do something.
It was the 3rd time the nonprofit had visited this command this year and founder and volunteer tour leader Robi Powers was determined to create a 'leave behind' for the base and one special group of American Heroes.
The 18th Anniversary of the C-17 was July 14th, the 14th Airlift Squadron a sister to the first ever C17 Squadron (17th Airlift Squadron, both out of Charlestown AFB, SC) was here at this base.... simply put, the strong July winds had blown in more then X Games Athletes and the stars were aligned with more then X Games Gold Medals here at this isolated and classified U.S. Air Base.
"The C-17 is a very unique aircraft, capable of some serious heavy lifting" said Powers, who noted that there are a lot of 17's in the specifications of the C-17 ( 174 feet long,170 foot wing span and a 170,900 pound lift capacity) "Makes me thing that more then one C-17 crew member has 'put it all on 17' in Las Vegas over the years."
While the team of ESPN X Games Gold Medalists: Levi LaVallee and Mike Schultz along with crew chief Glenn Kafka, prepared for a day of resiliency stop and talk visits with the bases behind the scenes units, Powers and Byron Turk (the nonprofits public affairs videographer for the tour) awoke early and headed for the flight line. Their mission- to capture the essence of a C-17 crew in film so that the base and C-17 teams could have a unique historical document to 'look back on', after their deployment.
"When Robi and Byron told us what they wanted to do, I was like heck ya guys... Glenn and I would haul a snowmobile over here and set it up for me to do back flips off of for these guys... if I knew how to operate a pro camera we'd have been right out there with them..." said 7x ESPN X Games Gold Medalist, Levi LaVallee " For me it starts at the top, both the base Commander and Chief are so motivated and it transfers right down to the youngest airmen we've meet, this place is fired up, we're having so much fun slamming X Games Gold Medals around their necks and talking with them all."
With Lt Colonel Henry Steenken serving as flight instructor, Captain's Kevin Grasse and Anthony Viccellio sitting right and left seats up front, Staff Sargent Shane Powell and Airman First Class Joshua Nettles handling the loadmaster duties... it was up to Staff Sargent Tait Panoke to give the entire team a thumbs up that it was time to fly, in his roll as Crew Chief.
Turk and Powers had done their part in documenting the entire preflight, the loading of three US Marine Amphibious Assault Vehicles (LAV-25's), caught the duty actions of the AeroPort and Aircraft Maintainer Teams... it was all in the log books...and on flim... now it was time to fly.
Moments later, the C-17 rocketed down the runway and counter rotated and lifted off into the sky...it's tail which stands 55' off the deck issuing a 'salute' to the dozens of troops who paused to watch it take off. Finding it's heading high above the Air Base it only took minutes before the huge aircraft was gone from sight. "That was just AWESOME" said Mike Schultz to Glenn Kafka. "Next time I want to fly in one of those" he added, sending a clear message to all that he along with this entire team would be willing to come visit this base and others in the years to come.
While no one on the ground could see the crew inside the plane, all knew that their was a single US Marine passenger sitting alone in the back of the massive cargo area... keeping a watchful eye on three of his units fighting vehicles.
A lonely Marine and his vehicles, a crew with a mission all working together on a base that doesn't show up on any map... another great day in the lives of great American's all of whom have volunteered to serve our country, all of whom are Heroes!
The Tours Continue...
** Full feature video on C-17 Loading, Crew Etc... will be posted to our FACEBOOK site on 01AUG 11.... Video Trailer available now at: 'Videos' from: www.American300.org
To see all the xHEAVY Medal Tour Photos, Videos and Stories as well as the nonprofit organization that provides Armed Forces Entertainment with these resiliency minded tours please visit: www.American300.org
Undisclosed Base Middle East- The X Games athletes awoke this morning to cooler temperatures then they'd experienced in days. Eleven hours worth of airline travel can have a profound impact on ones surroundings and perspective.
Gone were the tour days of big bases, instead the threesome of Levi LaVallee, Glenn Kafka and Mike Schultz found themselves starring out at unfamiliar surroundings on a base that 'doesn't exist' in a country that they had to google to even know exactly where it was.
While the name of the base, country and location will never be reported, what can be said is the fact that US Air Force, Army, Marine and sometimes Navy personnel occupy a piece of ground that functions as a key ingredient in American and Coalition Forces missions throughout the region. Like all Bases there is a commander, executive officer and staff of hundreds that perform all the functions necessary to accomplish the mission. " At the larger installations they have material assets, if something breaks they can fix it on the spot." said a unidentified US Air Force Sr Master Sargent serving here. " We're like a medical clinic compared to a full blown hospital, we have to do the best we can with the resources at hand."
Hands were exactly what was involved when American300 first created resiliency tours for the Department of Defense. " We start with a hand shake and let that lead to conversations." said X Games gold medalist Levi LaVallee "Having the gold medals we won over here is a bonus, I love slamming them around the necks of these guys." he added.
From guard posts to explosive ordinance detection specialists, doctors to dog handlers the American300 team of volunteers has been looking for behind the scenes heroes over the past 8 days.
"These troops could be on our team any day of the week, their work ethic, attitude and professionalism is exactly what we're looking for on Team LaVallee" said co-owner Glenn Kafka. "This afternoon we drove around visiting guard shacks, shaking hands and talking, it was so rewarding."
Rewarding Heroes...one at a time... American300 and it's sponsor Armed Forces Entertainment.
The Tour Continues...
For more information on the Department of Defense Office Armed Forces Entertainment go to:
Today in the middle east, X Games gold medallists; Levi LaVallee and Glenn Kafka of Team LaVallee along with Mike Schultz of BioDapt, came together on day 7 of the first ever Armed Forces Entertainment xHEAVY Medal Tour, sharing their gold medals and stories of success and passion is something they've grown comfortable with in and around our troops serving here in southwest asia.The tour, designed by the nonprofit: American300 brings great American's to the front lines to honor our American Heroes. Heroes that weardifferent uniforms, report to different commands, but all embrace the modern day Armed Forces Combined Arms Joint Service nature of battle and defense.
Many refer to this new one team approach as 'Going Purple' and while there's no snowmobile manufacturer or branch of service that sports the color it's completely apparent that the 'Blend is On'. Gone are the days of regimented separation, bases that house only one branch, global commands that are lead by single branches.
"In the 80's, we saw a huge separation in service, there was always combined arms and branch training that took place, but at the end of the day branches went their own way" says Robi Powers, volunteer board member and manager of American300 and veteran. "The rivalry's are still out there, but the underlying theme is one of total team work." he added.
As X Games Gold sparked off of multi colored and patterned uniforms today at this small remote US Naval Base, it was apparent that the One Team approach was brick and motor of the bases command.
Navy and Coast Guard troops adjusted their schedules to allow Army security guards the opportunity to meet X Games Athletes, the Army Staff Sargent in charge of guiding the group, made sure to include the Navy and Coast Guard teams in the mornings visit... simply put, X Games Gold Medals and stories weren't the only things being shared on this base to
day.
"We've been to so many bases over the past week, this was just so cool to be able to talk it with members of the Navy, Army, Marines and Coast Guard today" said Glenn Kafka " Maybe it's a good thing that we're headed to a remote Air Force base, or I'd feel guilty for having had so much fun today." he added.
“How many in this room know someone who is a purple heart award recipient?”
That was the question Robi Powers of American300, asked 40 members of the 553rd CSSB, JTF 6 (6th Trans BN), and 230th Sustainment Brigade staff Combat Services Sustainment Battalion, today in the Middle East.
“I don’t want to go beyond ‘purple heart’ right now, but I wanted you all to confirm visually something I’ve been telling Mike, Levi and Glenn about the approximate numbers of troops effected by personal injury or friends who have been.”
Of the 40 troops in the room close to 30 hands went in the air, a percentage that Powers says he sees at bases all over the world while on Armed Forces Entertainment Tours.
“It’s important to understand, we have troops performing at such a high standard, while dealing with an underlying ‘hurt’ that comes from having dealt with personal injury or the injury (and of course death) of a combat buddy.” says Powers, “ I can’t run away from it, so instead I'm trying to put it on the table and talk about it, today's 70+ percent of hands that went up is spot on with what I'm seeing at remote and combat bases all over the world." he added.
Armed Forces Entertainment is helping Powers and American300 talk about resiliency building in all its forms, all over the world this year through a series of small group ‘resiliency engagements' with our troops.
This month the theme is ESPN’s X Games and X Games gold medalists Levi LaVallee and Mike Schultz along with LaVallee’s crew chief Glenn Kafka. Together the 3 ESPN XGames Greats have 10 gold and silver medals, that they’re sharing with the troops, along with personal stories.
In the case of Mike Schultz, perseverance doesn’t begin to describe the uphill battle that he faced when during a snowmobile snocross race two years ago (motocross style racing on snow) he injured his left leg to the point where it had to be amputated above the knee. “It hit me like a ton of bricks” says Schultz, who after learning how to walk again chose to resume with the sport of snocross and motocross dirtbike racing, only to find out that there weren’t any prosthetics capable of allowing him to compete in the sports he loves so much.
Instead of quitting, Schultz went to his garage... and started developing an extreme sports prosthetic capable of withstanding the rigors of snocross. “I knew I needed a leg that could withstand a drop from 6 feet... so that’s exactly what I did... built prototypes, climbed up a ladder and jumped off... it took a while, but my new leg and I are living proof that the ‘MotoKnee’ works.” With patents in hand, Schultz is now producing the MotoKnee through his company Biodapt, for amputees who want to ‘Look Forward... Not Give Up’ says Schultz. For his part he has done the same, having raised the bar on what above knee amputees are capable of to include competing head to head with athletes in sports ranging from extreme motocross and snocross to wake boarding and snow skiing to name a few. “This MotoKnee is going to create a reclassification by the ParaOlympic Rules Committee, in skiing...” commented Powers in front of a group of service members “Right now Mike would have to compete with amputees who have lost a foot, even though he is an above knee amputee... he’s simply capable of using both of this legs in a way that is so darn close to non injured athletes” he added.
“It’s not like I don’t have to make adjustments, but the most important message that I’m bringing to the Troops is that we are making progress, life doesn’t end for amputees, it just goes through a ‘reset’ ... there’s always something to look forward to” says Schultz.
Looking forward was exactly what Schultz was doing as he drove a 30 ton Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) US Army vehicle around this evening, a ride that the Chief Warrant Officer who served as Mike’s instructor said went off without incident. “I could tell he kept wanting to go faster, but he managed to hold back on turning his test drive into X Games” said the Warrant Officer. “That is one sweet rig, I wonder how much air you can catch in one” said Schultz after the test drive through his signature infectious grin.
The Tour Continues...
For more information on the Department of Defense Office Armed Forces Entertainment go to:
Undisclosed Area of Operation Middle East - Summer has arrived here in the middle east and with it temperatures reaching 130+ degrees. On an average day our troops faces are glistening with sweat from hard work in austere conditions, but today the reflective shine that could be seen on our troops faces was a mixture of sweat, sun and pride, brought to the front lines by ESPN X Games 7x X Games Medalist, World Record Holder and just fun guy: Levi LaVallee of Longville, MN.
"We met so many different service members today, at so many different bases... I don't know where to begin in describing all of what we did... who we met." said Levi out in front of his concrete bunker of a structure as the clock struck midnight on this huge military installation that provides command and control for over half a dozen other smaller 'bases/posts' throughout the region. " We met flight line mechanics, vehicle maintainers, command leadership, security forces, administration and logistics specialists, engineers and ended the day with some special folks that blow stuff up... or disarm stuff so it can't blow up... it was amazing."
Having left behind the hustle and bustle of juggling a schedule of finishing off his new home, training for the upcoming AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series, Special Guest duties at Summer ESPN X Games (just around the calendar corner) and the never ending responsibilities as one of RedBull's professional team members, Levi is doing what he does best - smiling, goofying around and wearing his pride of our our service members on his arms. "Our vetting process usually takes several interviews" says Major Jesse Stewart, a decorated US Army combat veteran and active duty soldier who founded American300 along with Powers and a handful of other veterans, Olympians and Business Leaders " Robi brought the board Levi's resume and vouched for Levi right out of the starting gate, between Robi's endorsement and Levi's track record, there wasn't much to do other then lean forward" he added.
So how's the X Games Medallist handling the 18 hour days, constant travel, time zone adjustments and temp's that are now pushing 130+ degrees? "I've captured hundreds of hours of film for Armed Forces Entertainment, all the folks American300 brings 'over' are great with the troops, but Levi takes it to another level." says Byron Turk, the tours official videographer and assistant team leader, " Levi is just amazing, he 'wears it on his sleeves, there's genuine gratitude... and then there's 'Levi LaVallee Gratitude'... he's not just a Gold Medallist at X Games" says Turk.
"Guys what are you doing?" asked Powers, of a group of Troops who for the first time in nearly a year had special guests come to visit them on their tiny base. "this is American300... we don't 'Do' Autograph Session Lines, come on over and circle up and meet these guys, we're here to meet you, get to know you... Thank You!" he added, and with that out came the Gold Medals and Sharpies, followed by down to earth, on the ground conversations... exchanges that for the most part were the first our troops had had with an American Guest on their base since they got here.
Note- American300 works directly with Armed Forces Entertainment on focused resiliency oriented troop engagements. Focusing on the smallest, hardest to get to areas of hardship deployment within the Department of Defense. While American300 Tours both organized by the Department of Defense and self initiated by the non-profit spend the vast majority of the time visiting the 'Sun Don't Shine Bases' around the World, there are times when at much larger bases, American300 Tours, simply go back into the hard to get to areas of work, spending time with Troops who due to duty tasking simply miss out on the normal flow of World Class Entertainment and Morale Activities that our Department of Defense offers.
Things Get Hot Behind The Scenes
Undisclosed Base Middle East- 'Launchin' Levi LaVallee and 'Monster' Mike Schultz, big powerful names for two great Americans. Nicknames have been used by fans and sportscasters over the span of time to help describe in word form, the awesome, the unique, the standouts.
Levi and Mike are no exception. Early in both superstars racing careers they displayed a certain flair that caught the attention of the fan base and in the spark of a moment... the nicknames were applied by fans and sportscasters working in concert to attempt to add that special 'something extra' to help capture the essence of the man.
The Armed Forces Entertainment xHEAVY Medal Tour has placed these two ESPN X Games and AMSOIL Championship Snocross Series greats with our Troops in remote, hardship deployment locations throughout the Middle East. The mission: Give American Athletes the opportunity to Honor and Salute our American Heroes! It's a mission of resiliency building that the small nonprofit American300 has been working at in supporting Armed Forces Entertainment and our Troops for over 3 years now.
For over 14 hours today, the X Games Greats shook hands with security forces guards at their duty areas, mechanics out on boiling hot flight lines, and wounded at a world class remote location hospital. To top the day off, the group spent 3 hours sharing X Games Medals in a huge Meet and Greet 'Medals Ceremony' followed by a visit to the bases security forces night shift workers.
Amongst the medal sharing and high five'ing one underlying theme emerged: Behind the scenes troops felt the love, felt the importance of their roles in supporting the overall force. "Guys, I've been pretty darn lucky throughout my career, won some pretty cool events" said Levi LaVallee, 7x X Games Medallist to the various groups he encountered today " but none of it would have been possible, if it weren't for my right hand man, my Uber Awesome Crew Chief - Glen Kafka."
Kafka, has been a professional snowmobile tuner, team owner and behind the scenes man for over two decades. For those 'inside' the industry his name is well known, but for those like the millions who watched LaVallee pull off the one and only first ever Snowmobile Double Backflip at X Games or World Record 361' RedBull Distance Jump... Glen Kafka's name isn't household material.
"We spent the day visiting the 'Glen Kafka's' of our US Armed Forces and it was Awesome! It just doesn't get any better" said Mike Schultz, who while not a part of Team LaVallee, has
been a long time friend of this crew chief and master of the wrench work "in our sport the abuse that the machines go through is just amazing... snowmobiles simply weren't made to take the constant punishment that we put them through, if it weren't for the Glen Kafka's of our sport... we wouldn't have a sport" he added.
"These men and women are working on billion dollar aircraft in the direct sun with temp's north of 120 degrees for hours on end, turning wrenches, checking specifications, doing everything necessary to make the planes ready to fly, it's so damn humbling to see their greatness on display" said Kafka " Meeting these heroes of behind the scenes work today just put into perspective the entire XHeavy Medal Tour for me, Robi Powers told me about all the work our servicemen are doing over here in extreme conditions, today I got to see it being done up close and personal"
The xHEAVY Medal Tour rolls on to more remote bases here in the Middle East. The regional weather forecast is for more brutally hot days, days that will be spent by the US Armed Forces 'A Team' of behind the scenes work, heroes who put on their uniforms and perform their duties, standing on the front lines, protecting our bases, wrenching on our equipment processing our wounded, pushing through the logistics... all with the goal of ensuring that everyone 'comes home safely'!
For complete tour coverage in photos, video and stories visit: www.American300.org
Being the Best - Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
Germany- Being the best in the world is something that ESPN X Games athletes; Mike Schultz and Levi LaVallee know a thing or two about, between the two men nearly a dozen ESPN X Games Gold and Silver Medals have been awarded. Over the past two days in the small towns of Landstuhl, Sembach and Ramstein -Miesenbach, Germany the two gravity defying geniuses of winter snowmobile racing and freestyle competition have been introduced to America's finest, our US Armed Forces!
'K Town' also known at Ramstein Air Base has for years served as the launch and recovery site for many of America's wounded heroes. With Air Force transport planes coming and going on a daily basis, teams of mechanics, weathercasters, medical staff and flight crews along with so many others all work in harmony to ensure that one very special group of servicemen get the best possible treatment, care and handling that can be provided.
Once US Air Force transport planes are loaded with wounded, supplies and joint service medical providers, they literally launch into the airspace above this peaceful agricultural region located in the central western part of Germany with destinations ranging from Andrews Air Base in Maryland to Lackland Air Base in Texas.
"We've got some weather out over the Atlantic and it's a little nasty at Andrews AB," reported the commander of a wounded warrior laden C17. Words that weren't lost on the special guests. LaVallee's crew chief and co-owner, Glen Kafka, recalled how the commander at Sembach Weather Station, LTC Wall and his team had given a comprehensive behind the scenes look at all that goes into weather casting for the region. "I knew full well where the information had come from and who had delivered it to this Mississippi Air National Guard team of flyers," said Kafka.
Providing information as to where the 'smooth air' can best be found is something that our US Military weathercasters take to heart. "The average traveler doesn't mind a little turbulence here and there, but we're not dealing with flights full of 'average anything', our travelers need as smooth a ride back to the U.S.A. as possible," stated one weather station airman.
As the X Games greats thanked everyone from United Services Organization volunteers to joint service medical care providers, it wasn't until Mike Schultz, of Pillager MN, found himself bedside next to a young US Army soldier that the mission he'd volunteered for really struck home. "I met a young man today, that like myself, was looking at life from in front of a mirror that now only included one leg," said Schultz. "I knew exactly how he was feeling, what was going on inside his head, what I didn't know was that my being there next to him and placing one of my X Games Gold Adaptive SnoX Medals on his chest, showing him my MotoKnee prostetic would cause his eyes to get so huge," recalled the 3x Adaptive above knee amputee of his time spent next to one of our recently amputated warriors. "I had no idea that being next to this young man showing him what I'm now capable of doing in sport would have such a positive impact," he added.
"We get a lot of visitors here at LRMC, but Mike, being able to show our wounded how he has continued to live and charge forward is something very special that doesn't happen everyday," said LTC Lisa Toven, USAF LMRC.
Between Schultz sharing his MotoKnee prostetic and Levi LaVallee comparing surgical scars, the two days at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center have been a mixture of one part Rocky and one part Jaws (the scene where marine biologist and ship's captain get into a 'oh ya...'), but in the end the final product has been one of resiliency, mixed carefully and nurtured gently, something that American300's Robi Powers has little doubt will be the case here at this World Class region of US Joint Service Military Bases for months to come.
For more information on Armed Forces Entertainment the presenters of 'XHEAVY Medal Tour' please visit: www.armedforcesentertainment.com
To follow the tour in Facebook, Photo's and Videos please visit: www.American300.org
X GAMES GREATS TO VISIT TROOPS
While winter here in North America has vanished, the Department of Defense Armed Forces Entertainment office and American300 hope to bring the cooling effect of winter athletics to the middle east this July by sharing ESPN X Games Gold Medals and Medalist; Levi LaValleeand Mike Schultz with our troops.
The Mission - put great Americans with our troops, allow for connectivity to take place one on one... the brick and mortar of resiliency.
For the past 3 years a little known nonprofit, American300 has been sending Olympic Medalist to the front lines, once there Olympians have shared stories of success, teamwork and determination with our troops. 'xHEAVY Medal Tour', will mark the first time that the nonprofit has coordinated generation 'X' athletes from ESPN's famed X Games. "From our very first Olympian supported 'HEAVY Medal Troop Tour' we noticed that the athletes and troops had a ton in common" says, Robi Powers, the creator of the program, "it was only natural to expand the medals to include ESPN X Games medallist and their stories of dedication, perseverance and success with our warrior heroes serving far from home".
Now over a decade old, ESPN's X Games feature both a summer and winter 'X' championships pitting the world's most talented athletes in competitions ranging from Snowmobile to Skateboarding.
Levi LaVallee, who lives in Longville, MN owns 7 X Games Medals, a World Record and a gravity defying attitude that had the world sitting on pins and needles after his horrific crash in California last year. He'll be teamed up with his crew chief Glen Kafka who LaVallee, credits with all of his athletic accomplishments, due to Glen's 'Wizard of Wrench Work' reputation and partnership with Team LaVallee.
The other athletic great joining the tour is Mike Schultz, who lives in the small town of Pilager, MN. 'Monster Mike' as he is affectionately known owns 3 X Games gold medals, in adaptive SnoX and MotoX and is considered the world's greatest above knee amputee - extreme sports athlete. "When I first met Mike he not only had both of his legs, but he was climbing the ranks of pro open snowmobile's standings every year " says Powers " when word came to me that Mike had lost his left leg in a competition accident I, like so many was devastated. Here we had this incredibly humble superstar athlete that had been served up a life changing injury, it was just tragic. When (Mike) 'climbed back on the horse' and re-invented extreme sports prosthetics technology... and then applied it, I realized that God had a mission for Mike, one that our troops and their battle wounded buddies needed to see and hear!"
This will mark the first time that American300 has called upon a civilian adaptive athlete to help raise the bar on resiliency, something the nonprofit plans to expand upon in the years to come. "We've mentioned Mike to several service members while on other tours this year, and the troops can't wait to meet him" says Powers.
With base names and areas of operation being classified at this time, the only location that is available to the public is the tours first stop: The Landstuhl Wounded Warrior Hospital in Germany. Like all American300 supported Armed Forces Entertainment Tours, each day will feature stories, photographs and video making for a real-time follow along environment for family members (and America as a whole) of the troops that come in contact with the tour.
To follow the tour, look for links from non-profit's website: www.American300.org
*American300 is a non-government agency, with a mission of supporting our Armed Forces Members, Their Families and the Communities in which they live and Operate In. American300 an officially listed key supporting organization of our DoD Armed Forces Entertainment Department, no further association or affiliation is offered or implied.
While the name of the base, country and location will never be reported, what can be said is the fact that US Air Force, Army, Marine and sometimes Navy personnel occupy a piece of ground that functions as a key ingredient in American and Coalition Forces missions throughout the region. Like all Bases there is a commander, executive officer and staff of hundreds that perform all the functions necessary to accomplish the mission. " At the larger installations they have material assets, if something breaks they can fix it on the spot." said a unidentified US Air Force Sr Master Sargent serving here. " We're like a medical clinic compared to a full blown hospital, we have to do the best we can with the resources at hand." 
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