Zombie attack boosts squadron morale

by Airman 1st Class Brittany A. Chase
366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

6/17/2013 - MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho -- A peaceful summer day ended abruptly for members of the 366th Logistic Readiness Squadron June 5, 2013, when their compound went under lockdown due to zombies in the area.

The 'Humans versus Zombies' invasion was the first event kicking off the squadron's 101 Critical Days of Summer Olympics.

"This is a unique opportunity to team-build within the unit while at the same time reinforcing the important concepts of resiliency and wingman culture," said Lt. Col. Todd Jensen, 366th LRS commander. "We have a large organization of truly great people and this is an excellent chance for us to break away from occupational specialties in order to foster broader interaction."

The Olympics is a morale booster for Airman rewarding them for the work they do during the day-to-day mission.

"We did a unit climate assessment and one of the things the members identified was that we don't do a lot of squadron activities," said 1st Lt. Todd Gamiles, 366th LRS deployment distribution flight commander. "We were really looking for a fun and constructive way to respond to the feedback we received while also building an overall LRS team concept."

After much discussion, the LRS team decided to hold a series of events broken down into eight weeks ranging from physical to mental team-building tasks.

"Humans versus Zombies was the first event and we battled with Nerf guns," said Tech. Sgt. Miriam Pestilos, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of vehicle management and analysis. "Some upcoming events will be water balloon fights, obstacle courses and many others incorporating not only physical but also mental challenges.

"I think this kind of an esprit-de-corps building competition is very important and it says a lot about our commander and senior leadership for noticing how hard we've been working to accomplish the mission," she continued. "Now it's time to let some steam out and reward the people who have been working so hard with something fun to do."

So far, seven LRS teams have signed up to participate in the future challenges, all battling to obtain the ultimate prize, a trophy donated by Gamiles and of course bragging rights.