AFGSC commander kicks off rowing challenge Published April 13, 2012 By Joseph Murray Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Five bases, five rowing machines, 30 days, one winner. Lt. Gen. Jim Kowalski, Air Force Global Strike Command commander, has set the pace, now who will accept the challenge? The command's "Never Quit" Rowing Challenge kicked off here April 5, with Kowalski rowing the first 500 meters, turning in an impressive rowing time of 1 minute and 48 seconds. Each of Global Strike Command's five base fitness centers has received a rowing machine, each designated with one of the five colors used to represent the Olympic rings. Teamwork is essential, as the machines will track the total number of meters rowed by all Airmen during the competition which will wrap May 5. The base which logs the greatest number of meters rowed during the month will earn $50,000 for quality of life programs. Additionally, the individual Airman who logs the most meters overall will accompany the American 300 tour to London in July 2012. Olympic athletes Sean Colgan and Dan Beery were on hand for the kickoff to share their experiences and encourage Airmen to row for life. "I think it's vitally important to resiliency, especially at my age of 57, I've had a lot of big humps in my road which seemed to be insurmountable at the time, but with time and experience you realize everything is surmountable," said Colgan, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and 1990 National Rowing Hall of Fame inductee. In 1980, the United States boycotted the Summer Olympics in protest of the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, a strong political statement that denied Colgan and his team the chance to compete. Instead of succumbing to bitterness over a missed opportunity, Colgan and his team turned their initial disappointment into a lifelong friendship. They even went so far as to challenge the original 1980 bronze winning Russian team to an informal rowing match. Twice the Russian team rose to the challenge, but Colgan and his team won on both occasions. "The tour has been amazing," Beery said while reflecting on the Global Strike tour. "It was supposed to have been about the troops getting a chance to meet me, but I have found this to be so rewarding to be able to meet them." Beery overcame a knee injury that ended his hopes for an NBA career; he then redirected his efforts into competitive rowing. As a result of this decision, Beery won the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal in the Men's Eights rowing competition. He also won many other top-rated games, including three gold medals at the World Rowing Championships and one gold medal at the 2007 Pan American Games. Robi Powers, the organizer of the "Never Quit" resiliency series, organized the group of Olympians to visit the bases. Powers is an Army Mountain Veteran and is eager for the opportunity to give back. "...resiliency programs like our Never Quit Series are not just fun and nice to have, they can literally help save the lives of our service members." said Powers, adding "... show casing real life examples of positive choices, positive balanced excellence, is saving lives and strengthening our force and families, especially when presented by individuals who have experienced very difficult times... and continued on to greatness...." The next scheduled event includes American300's Promise Tour series with guest speaker Mr. Howard "Mad Max" Mullen, who will visit with security forces during stops at, Malmstrom AFB., Mont. and Minot AFB, N.D., next week. Mullen is a retired master sergeant from the U.S. Army Rangers who served in Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada, and Operation Restore Democracy, Haiti.