We do Hero WODs to remember people of bravery and respect the memories of the fallen. They are a tribute to the sacrifice of those that fought for our safety and our freedom. Coach Michael personally served with Major Douglas Sloan a.k.a. "Lunchbox" and wears a memorial band to remind him of the man that gave his life for his country.

Article By Leef Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111400996.html)

Maj. Douglas E. Sloan was a teacher, a father of four and a career soldier credited with risking his life to flush out the enemy.

He was interred yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery, two weeks after he was killed by an improvised explosive device in Wygal Valley, Afghanistan. Sloan, 40, was the 44th person killed in Operation Enduring Freedom to be buried at Arlington.

A native of Duluth, Minn., he was one of three soldiers from the Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, who were killed Oct. 31 when their convoy was attacked.

Sloan was given a burial with full honors at Arlington. More than a hundred mourners followed a horse-drawn caisson to his grave, walking slowly behind the soldier's flag-draped coffin.

Sloan's relatives wept as members of the U.S. Army Band played "America the Beautiful" and flags were presented to Sloan's widow, Kerry Sloan, and his father, Emory Sloan.

At a Veterans Day service held for Sloan in Charlevoix, Mich., soldiers who knew him told stories about his bravery, recalling an incident in which insurgents attacked Sloan's base in Afghanistan. Rather than run for cover, he stood exposed, on top of a wall, pointing out targets where mortar rounds should be fired at the enemy, it was reported in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

In an online guestbook, Army Capt. Matt Newman, who is stationed in Iraq, said he met Sloan in college. He described him as one of the finest men he has ever known.

"I hope you can find some comfort in knowing that he has touched many lives and a piece of him lives within all of us who have had the pleasure to know him and serve with him," Newman wrote. "I am a better person for having known him as are all those he has ever worked with."

Brandon Freeman of Fort Knox, Ky., a drill sergeant, worked with Sloan as an instructor in the Army.

"Over the years of working together I realize I was in the presence of one of the finest officers already and hoped we were training the new ones to be just like Major Sloan," Freeman wrote. "He was an inspiration to me on many different levels. He helped me realize what a family was and what a true non-commissioned officer should be."

Sloan's combat team, also known as the Spartan Brigade, deployed to Afghanistan in February. The unit's 3,500 members have conducted full-spectrum operations on Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan, according to an Army news release.

Sloan was commissioned in June 1996 after graduating from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.

After the Infantry Officer Basic Course, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, N.C. In May 2001, he was reassigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment at Camp Greaves, South Korea, where he served as the unit's air operations officer.

Sloan was assigned to the U.S. Army Infantry Center at Fort Benning, Ga., in May 2002, where he was an instructor with the 2nd Battalion, 11th Infantry Regiment.

In June 2004, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment and served as the assistant operations officer and company commander.

Sloan had previously served in Iraq. His prior service included time with the 2nd Armored Division as a mortarman at Fort Benning in 1987. In 1989, he left active duty and served with the 38th Infantry Division, an Army National Guard Unit.

WOD - "Lunchbox"
AMRAP 20:
400m Run
12 Handstand Push-ups
21 Kettlebell Swings 55/35

171101 - Hero WOD "Lunchbox"