Team Semper Fi

Team Semper Fi

Hello to all;

A couple of weeks ago we went camping to Lake Anna (1hr SW of Fredricksburg, VA). I took my kids there to see Spanky Gibson and his team of heroic Americans. They ran a 1/2 triathlon as a team for the “Semper Fi Injured Marine Program” . It’s truly heart warming to see what the mind can make a body accomplish. At one point, I was caught between taking a photo of Mayor Adrien Fenty (DC) or Spanky Gibson, because they exited the 2000 mt swim at about the same time. F*** Mayor Fenty… I had to get Spanky hopping out of the water and through the event finish arch. He then slipped on his bionic contraption with an affixed cool li’l biking shoe and off he went to bike 55 miles.

These guys are truly amazing, and I think my children realized that there is “nothing” a person cannot accomplish if their mind is truly determined to do so. The swim entailed 2 laps around some floats in 54 degree water. One of the Marines appeared to want to quit after the first lap, but the former Jarhead and coach went out to meet the guy and gave him some type of motivational speech. The Devil Dog hopped a few meters and embarked on his second lap. He came in very last, but stuggling between a myriad of strokes, he finished the event. Ironically, before he came in, I asked the kids if they wanted to go get a bite to eat, and their reply was a solid “no”, we gotta wait for the last Marine to come in… Poor guy deserves some cheering for having completed the event. That was too Cool to hear this coming from my children!!! Enjoy the pictures!
Have a great week and Semper fi,
David Bolanos
Senior Systems Analyst-COP/CTP
Joint Command and Control for War on Terror Activities Joint Test and Evaluation (JC2WTA JT&E)