June 24th, 2021 By Spud

9 years ago, on June 20, 2012, our country lost a soldier, two parents lost a son, a man lost his brother, a young woman lost her husband, and two children lost their father.  This workout is dedicated to Ryan Rawl, a good friend and classmate from The Citadel who was Killed in Action in Afghanistan while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom.

WARM UP

Loose Change x10ic

Hillbillies x 15ic

Windmill x 10

Arm Stretch OYO 

Mosey to Veteran’s Memorial on Union St, a fitting setting for our work. 

The Thang

SSH x 30 IC  (Ryan Rawl was 30 years old when he was KIA in Khost City Afghanistan

MERKINS  x 20  (It was early afternoon on June 20, 2012. U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ryan D. Rawl was commanding a South Carolina National Guard Military Police platoon operating a checkpoint in a crowded market where they were doing fingerprinting and retina scans, looking for insurgents and searching for explosives.  In the crowd, a suicide bomber detonated a vest packed with small ball bearings killing 3 guardsman and wounding 5, also killing 21 Afghans and wounded many more. This was the deadliest day for SC National guard since the Korean War)

LBC x 100  (Approximately the number of days Ryan had left in his deployment)

OH Claps x 104 (Aside from his Lord, his family, and his country, Ryan loved the Citadel and was a proud member of the Citadel Class of 2004.)

Indian Run x 2 laps around the block (Ryan is survived by 2 kids, Caleb age 10 and Callie age 12 – 1 and 3 at the time)

Flutter Kicks x 133 OYO (Ryan was assigned to the 133rd Military Police Company based in Timmonsville, SC)

Burpees x 15 (Five burpess each for the three guardsman killed that day

• 1 LT Ryan Rawl of Lexington
• Sgt. John Meador of Columbia
• Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Thomas of Travelers Rest

 

WW2’s x 40 OYO  (Honor is the most cherished principle at The Citadel and Ryan was voted on by his peers to serve his company on the highly esteemed honor court.  There were 40 members on the court.)

 

Hand Release MERKINS x 25 (5 for each Medal Ryan Received)

• Bronze Star
• Purple Heart
• Combat Action Badge
• SC Medal of Valor
• SC Meritorious Service Medal

 

Mosey back to OCT 

To the Wall – While at the Citadel, Ryan and I both served on the training Cadre for the incoming class of 2007 in 2nd Battalion, I in E Company and he in the neighboring F Company.  Ryan had a broken right arm so there were some aspects of PT where he was limited.  One area he was not limited in was air chair and his legs were like tree trunks so he could air chair longer than anyone you have ever seen.  Ryan also mastered the one-arm push.  Partner up:

 

First PAX Air chair on wall, 2nd PAX do 1 arm plank, 45 seconds and switch

Rinse & Repeat – 4 rounds

Sprints –9 for the 9th Anniversary of Ryan’s death 

MARY

Plank in the front leaning rest in silence while TAPS plays – 1 minute 30 seconds

COT

Prayers/Announcements

Carol Grady as she continues her fight 

Baby William, Popeye’s nephew, home from NICU

Hip’s nephew’s accident rescue – injured parties have a long road ahead still. Thankful Hip’s nephew and friend came upon the scene and had the training and calm mindset to save lives 

Lil Shute as he heads to AF Academy today

Praises for Skinner’s mom having a good day yesterday 

MOLESKIN

I got this workout from my good friend and Citadel classmate in SC who put it together for his F3 group to honor our classmate. I appreciate you guys hanging in there with me for something new and something a little more serious with less of my trademark chatter. Turned out to be a good one and was a good time of reflection for me. 

I struggle with how to tell these stories, but I do know it’s important to tell them and help these guys be known and remembered. And this is often neglected, but I think it’s important to remember them not just as heroes or in their moments of glory, but as the regular guys they were just like you and me. Because that’s what makes them so great. They’re not larger than life characters that we could never hope to be like. They’re made of the same stuff we are at the core level, but through a series of conscious and principled life choices have built the kind of character within themselves that makes them heroes. 

Guys like Ryan were fathers, and sons, and brothers, and friends. They had things that annoyed them and things they got excited about. They had favorite teams. They had flaws. They had worries and fears. Just like you and me. If Ryan Rawl were here today there is a 100% chance he would be in F3 just a couple hours down the road. And that should inspire you even more. It’s easy to just remember him as a hero, he is one. But he’s more than just that. He’s a regular guy like us, with the kind of character that made him great that we can learn from and strive to live up to. 

They say that only the good die young, and Ryan wasn’t just good but he was the best of us in so many ways. I’ve been around a lot of heroes, and in my experience a hero is just an ordinary man placed in extraordinary circumstances. It’s the character of a man that gets him through those circumstances and makes him a hero. I believe your character can be a choice, it just needs the right inspiration. 

Be inspired by the courage of Ryan Rawl and let his story inspire you to be a better person. Strive for the values that made him who he was – faith, integrity, courage, family, country – so that when your moment of truth comes you know who you’ll be. That’s how you honor guys like him. 

1LT Ryan Rawl, KIA in Khost City Afghanistan, June 20, 2012

 

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