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"Magnificent Seventh" Best in Show

11 May 2015 | Lance Cpl. Alvin Pujols 1st Marine Division

With the sun beating down on their backs, sailors from the 1st Marine Division competed in the Sailor’s Cup aboard Marine Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif., April 24, 2015. This quarterly competition, which is usually held on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, was designed to test the sailors’ ability to work as a unit and complete team-based tasks, such as tug of war. This was the first time the competition was hosted by the 7th Marine Regiment or the “Magnificent Seventh.”

The competition involved teams of sailors from the Division Surgeons Office, 1st Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Regiment, 7th Marine Regiment and independent units. The winner of the competition would place a piece of their unit’s history on the trophy.

The trophy is comprised of parts and pieces that every winning regiment has added over the years, along with plaques that commemorate the date and unit that won the event for that quarter, said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Brian M. Jacobson, the senior medical department representative for 7th Marines.

“After dominating this quarter’s cup, we now are required to add to the trophy before the next cup,” Jacobson said.















The sailors began their competition with a ridge run, which included first-aid stations throughout the course. The sailors practiced placing tourniquets, calling out a 9-line and carrying a patient on a litter throughout a course that was more than a mile in length.

After the run, the teams divided into pairs and competed in a push-up and pull-up challenge, which led into their next competition: ultimate Frisbee.  The sailors later competed in High Intensity Training exercises as five-man teams and finished the competition with a tug of war.

“The biggest factor in completing all these events was the ability to work as a team efficiently and effectively”, said Hospital Corpsman Second Class Eric M. Kostamo, the assistant command fitness leader for 7th Marines.

“After completing the cup, I was exhausted but I knew I had put out everything I could,” said Seaman Christian Archer, a corpsman for 1st Tank Battalion.

The 7th Marines will be holding onto the trophy until the next cup, for now they have to place a piece of their own history on the trophy.

“I know I would be in good hands if I was deployed with any of these corpsmen,” said Sgt. Benjamin A. Shockey, a squad leader for 7th Marines, assisting with the competition.

The Sailor’s Cup encompasses many duties that a corpsman would have when deployed. It pushes the sailors of the 1st Marine Division to maintain effectiveness and combat readiness in order to be prepared in any situation.



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1st Marine Division