 Well, hello, and welcome to another Meet Your Army episode on Army Facebook Live, hosted by the U.S. Army's Office of the Chief of Public Affairs. My name is Hank Minitrez, and tonight I'm so excited. This is going to be a great show. We are joined by soldier athletes of the Army's World Class Athlete Program, or WCAP, as we call it, because it's the Army and we love our acronyms. They are competing with Team USA in the 2022 Winter Olympics, and that is awesome. For those who might not be aware, WCAP is an Army program that allows top-ranked soldier athletes to train and compete throughout the year with the ultimate goal of competing in the Olympic Games. We're excited to have three of these soldier athletes joining today's discussion, so without further ado, let's meet our Olympic panel members. We'll start with Sergeant Justin Olson. Sergeant Olson is a coach for both the Bobsled and Skeleton events at the Winter Olympic Games. Originally from San Antonio, Texas, Sergeant Olson joined the Army in 2011 and currently serves as a human resources specialist. He's a seasoned Olympian as a 2010 gold medalist. That's right, he is already a gold medalist, earned that in the four-man Bobsled event, as well as a competitor in both the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympic Games, so a breadth of Olympic experience already for our coach. So Sergeant Olson, thank you for joining our discussion. Great to have you. Hey Hank, delighted to be a part of the panel. Thanks for having me and I look forward to our conversation and here later this week getting to China and getting to work. That's right. Let's get it going. Let's get it going. Next we have Specialist Frank Del Duca. Specialist Del Duca is competing in the Bobsled event at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. He hails from Bethel, Maine, joined the Army in August 2019, currently serves as an infantryman. His prior athletic achievements include winning gold at the 2021 and the 2018 USA Bobsled Push Championships, so again some great experience there. Specialist Del Duca, welcome to the show. Hi Hank, it's a pleasure to be here. I'm also looking forward to the conversation and yes, thanks for having us. I can't wait to hear your story. This has got to be interesting. Finally, we have Specialist Benjamin Loomis who represents Team USA in the Nordic combined skiing event at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. He's from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, enlisted in the US Army in 2019. He was a silver medalist at the 2016 Youth Olympic Winter Games and the 2017 US National Championships as well as a member of Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics, so again some great experience there going into this. Specialist Loomis, we are happy to have you with us tonight. Thank you Hank. I'm excited to be here and look forward to telling you all about WCAP heading into these Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Hula Hula. Well, again, thank you all so much for being with us here today. We know that you are crazy busy as you're getting ready to go to Beijing, especially right now. I'm sure last minute training, travel. So again, appreciate your willingness to share your time and more importantly your stories here with us tonight and that's important because as we reach a larger audience, there are plenty of people out there who don't even realize that we have soldiers who actually compete as actual Olympic athletes and medal and do very well. As I say this, every time we've done one of these episodes, you know, we're really trying to show people what the Army is all about and how unique everyone's adventure in the Army can be. There's so many myths out there, you know, thanks to television and thanks to movies which of course have to overdramaticize things, but you don't know, soldiers are not walking around in their dress uniforms all the time, saluting each other inside and outside and screaming at each other and best of the best of the best, yes, sir, you know, there's so much more to it and this is one perfect example of, wow, I didn't know that soldiers could actually compete in the Olympics and the Army supports them. So let's get right into it. First question is really for all of you and we'll just go right down the line. Each of you will have a chance to answer. I know the journey to becoming a soldier and an Olympian has looked different for each of you. You've each had different experiences. So how did you personally come to join the Army's world-class athlete program? How did you hear about it? What was your process? And how was it different from other Olympic training programs that you've been a part of? Let's go ahead and start with Sergeant Olson. I think my journey started back in 2008 after doing a year of Bobsled and I fell in love with the sport. I knew that it was going to be a challenge to move away from home and dedicate my life to something if I wanted to be good at it. And my very first roommate at the Olympic training center happened to have his uniform in the closet. And as soon as he got back to the room, I sat down and I said, tell me about that uniform. I mean, how are you here? How are you doing that? So I kind of got the first-hand experience, you know, straight from the horse's mouth if you want to call that. But then I soon realized that we had a couple of soldiers on the team. And so I started to ask them about their experience and what kind of an opportunity was WCAP. And they said it's an amazing opportunity. I said, well, you know, how do I join? Well, it's not that, you know, it's not that difficult. First you got to be in the Army. So you got to sign a contract and then you apply for the program. So, yeah, I got started first in the sport, made the national team. I had already competed in my first Olympic games and had some success before I had the time to go to basic training and AIT and learn my MOS. Interesting. Interesting. So I'm sure it wasn't a difficult process. You know, you walked into the recruiter's office. You had all your paperwork and you enlisted the normal way. And then you found the WCAP program and then was it like an audition process? Well, there's an application and it's a little bit different for every sport. And it's outlined on our website at armywcap.com. And you can just say, you know, what's it take to be successful in this sport? And for Bobsled specifically, competing in Olympic games or competing at a world championships or being a member of the national team or having potential to do those things will kind of get you in the door and allow for you to be a part of the program. You know, the program's not very big, so you're going to have to be a special soldier athlete to come on in. That's very interesting that you were the athlete first and then became a soldier and then went off to do it. I've talked to others in past Olympic games that were soldiers first and then applied and became an Olympic athlete like the USA Taekwondo team is a big one that that we used to highlight every year. So your story is very interesting, very, very interesting. I can't wait to get into a little bit more about that. I did have one question for you. It says Bobsled and Skeleton. Could you explain for the audience what the Skeleton part is? Because I don't know what that is. Yeah, so Skeleton is a solo sport. It's it's not a team sport like Bobsled is. And you were going down the same track, their sleds a little bit lighter. It's about 60 pounds, 75 pounds, and they lay on their stomachs and go first. Oh, gotcha. I've seen that before. That's well, you are a braver man than me for doing something like that. My hat's off to you. I'm just coaching them, I think. I don't think I would be daring enough to get into a Skeleton sled. Yeah, that's got to take a special special about a courage. All right, good. Thank you for that. Specialist Del Ducca, over to you. What's what's your story? How'd you get involved and what's it been like for you? I was an athlete first as well. I was on Team USA Bobsled and we had I had teammates and coaches who were in the program, the Army World Class Athlete Program. And I was drawn to them for several reasons. I thought they led by example and they always seemed to have their stuff together and be prepared and they just really led by example. So I kind of spoke with them and just said, hey, what's the process for for getting into this program? Do I qualify? What can I do to qualify? And what has your experience been like? So I spoke to a handful of athletes and coaches, and I really liked what what they had to say. I liked what the program was doing for the Army and for the team. So what I could see was something that was was right for me. So I enlisted in 2019. I went to basic training and I had world class athlete program in my first contract. So this is this is my first assignment in my first military. Oh, that is nice. That is so perfect. Well, let me ask you a question because both you and Sergeant Olson had mentioned that you were you had already been accomplished athletes before joining WCAP. Again, I'm a layman. I'm just kind of, you know, going by what I see when I watch television. But I would imagine that like your civilian counterpart athletes, you know, they're having to chase down sponsors all the time or their management team is probably to try to fund, you know, all of their training, all of their equipment, all of their gear. Does having joined the Army, does that take care of a lot of that stress because you're getting a paycheck, you're getting benefits and you've got a team behind you? Is that is that pretty much how it goes? That is exactly how it goes. I think there is a there is a common misconception that team USA athletes are well funded and we have salaries and all these things. And it's just not the case. We we all operate on our own savings. And and, you know, there are people up at the top of the endorsement chain that are probably doing pretty well. But for those of us, most of us were all self funded. And yeah, we're going out. We're giving jobs in the off season and we're working remote or fundraising. So for me, I switched to driving this this Olympic quad. I'm able to give all of my focus to my job. And that is right now on assignment at the Lake Blossom Olympic Training Center with the team. So I don't have to stress about how am I going to pay for this? Or how am I going to do that? The military has supported me to do the things I need to do and get the equipment I need to get for success. So I'm very, very appreciative for it. And I owe much of my success to the support of the army and the world class athlete program. Well, I imagine as an athlete, you know, just with any sport, the injuries happen and you go to an army doc and they fix you up. And there's no stress about how am I going to get medical care? That's just off the top of my head as an old guy. That's got to be comforting to you. Oh, absolutely. You know, the just having the support and the benefits as well, it really is it's just great. It really helps us so much in a sport where, yes, injuries happen. And it's kind of almost not if, but when because we're pushing ourselves so hard when something comes up, you just know it's taking care of and you're in good hands and you have the support you need. That's an interesting aspect that I bet a lot of people don't think about. Interesting. Thanks for sharing that. Specialist Loomis, over to you. Tell me your story and and and really I'd like to hear like how you balance the responsibility of, you know, being an Olympic athlete as well as being a soldier. Yes, certainly. So similar to Sergeant Olson and specialist Dalduca, I was an athlete previous to entering the army. And in 2017, my team brought on a coach who is previously in the world-class athlete program. So he introduced myself and then my fellow teammate, specialist good, who was also in the world-class athlete program. He introduced us and following the 2018 Olympics, we took a hard look at WCAP and it was a good fit for both of us. We enlisted together and entered into the world-class athlete program together. Excellent. And you've been loving the experience ever since? Oh, it's been a great experience and mirroring what these guys have said. It's really been much easier to focus on the sport and it has allowed me to commit to Nordica mind skiing and really take the next step in my career. How did you get started? Did you get started as a youngster or, you know, when did the when did the sport bug bite you and you decided, hey, I'd like to be a professional athlete? I started skiing from a really young age. I was two years old when I started cross country skiing and then five years old I started ski jumping. So it's always been a family sport for me and something I've grown up doing. I had an older brother who I followed around in the sport. And really when it took a turn for me, when I was 15 years old, I moved from Eau Claire, Wisconsin to Park City, Utah. And that was a big change for me, really allowed me to focus on training. I attended a sports school that gave me time off in the winter to travel for competitions and preceding that. I made the national team a couple years later and it's been game on from there. That's pretty awesome. I'd like to talk a little bit about your sport in particular, because as a youngster, myself, when I used to watch ABC's wide world of sports, you're way too young to remember that program. But that would go sell was on there. And he would he would always talk about the ski jumpers. You're talking like flying through the air at like a million miles an hour, 300 feet up in the air. How do you do that? It's it's definitely an extreme sport. You know, we're going around 60 miles per hour down the ski jump and flying upwards of 400 feet in the air. So it is an extreme sport, but it's really controlled. And you start from a young age and progress your way up to bigger and bigger ski jumps and the Olympic size ski jumps. Are about where they top off in terms of size. So it's a long and gradual progression in the sport. What's what's been your biggest jump or your longest jump? Or how, however you measure like this was my best. My longest jump is 143 meters. So that's over 400 feet. And then just recently, I had my longest jump in a competition of 138 meters. Holy moly, that's amazing to me. That's just simply amazing to me. And my hats off to all three of you because you're doing things that, you know, us mere mortals only dream about or or or we play. What is it? What do they call that recliner quarterback or couch quarterback? Oh, yeah, well, if you would have done this, but man, you guys are out there doing it. That's just so amazing to me. I'm very excited to be talking to you guys. All of you have great stories. Let's get back to the whole responsibility of representing your country. Both in uniform and at the Olympics. A couple of you've talked about having met previous world class world class athletes and and how they presented themselves, impacted you and gave you a perception. I'd like to hear we'll start with Sergeant Olson. You know, what's that responsibility like for you? Well, I think the the underlying reason why I do this is is to inspire our nation's youth or or and even in our sport. I mean, you really don't get started until you're an adult. So even if we're aspiring young athletes and when I say young, you know, your rookie year is your youngest year. You don't have to be five years old. So, you know, serving as an inspiration to them, that all things are possible through hard work, dedication and and a positive attitude. Because when I came into the sport, I mean, my eyes were big. And I thought there's there's no way. I mean, look, look how fast these guys are. Look how strong they are. How am I going to do that? And then I started to slow it down a little bit and and and I found my role models on the team and most of them were soldiers, just like they were when I was growing up. I have always admired the men and women who who made that choice to serve. And so, you know, what drew me to the program was or I'd say to the army was I always wanted to serve. And then I always wanted to compete at that elite level. But it means more. Your legacy means a lot more. And, and, you know, somebody might watch and see your performance or your actions through a little bit different lens. And and all I can hope for is that you believe that nothing's impossible. If you, you know, if you get the right team behind you, you make a solid plan. You work your tail off and you're 100 percent all in. That's really all you can ask for it. Not, you know, not every team is going to win, but you'll be a better person for for going out there and not being afraid to, you know, set some goals that are some might say that's a little far fetched. Wow. Now, that inspiring words. I love the don't think that anything's impossible attitude. Again, having interviewed many, many professional athletes, that's sort of a common theme there. And it really is true. My kudos to you again. I just I just can't believe that that we get a chance to talk to you guys. Specialist Del Ducca, how about you? The responsibility of representing your country, both in uniform at the Olympics. What does that mean to you? Well, it means a lot. We're we're wearing two uniforms, but it's for the same team. It's for USA and this wonderful country. And we don't take that lightly. I I'm now a part of that group of people that I look up to of these people that carry themselves with with respect and and being selfless towards those around them and making sure that their actions are for the betterment of the team. And I'm learning from them. I'm growing from them. And it really is just it's such an honor. And I'm very grateful to be a part of of the army and then both the program. Outstanding specialist Loomis, what does it mean to you to represent your country both as a soldier and as an Olympian? It's a true honor. And I'm really looking forward to these games following my my Olympic experience in 2018. I was when I enlisted following that. So this will be a new experience for me going in as a soldier as well. And like I said, I'm truly honored. And just to give a bit of a backstory when I was in basic training, no one really knew for a while that I was an athlete or that I had intentions of going into the world class athlete program. But then eventually word spread and people found out. And I was shocked by how supportive people were. And they all loved it, loved the idea. So it was really cool to me to have that support and for everyone to be encouraging of this opportunity. Oh, that's awesome. I was going to ask you about that because you when you go to army basic training, it's a different world and for a very good reason, you know, turning civilians into soldiers and, you know, and there's a lot of intentional stress put on you as you're going through our basic combat training to build your character, you know, break it down, build you back up, make you stronger than before. And in the back of my mind, I was like, what was it like when the drill sergeant found out like, oh, we got a hero over here. He's an Olympic medalist. What's going on? I mean, but it's nice to hear they were very supportive, very cool. Let's move along. Now, let's talk a little bit about your military occupations. You all have a separate MOS, you know, one of you was able to get WCAP in your enlistment contract. That's that's outstanding. But I think our audience might be wondering, how are you able during, during regular times to, to sort of balance the responsibilities of your training so that you keep up your athletic ability and also perform your duties as a soldier? Sergeant Olson, let's kick that over to you first. Well, I can say that, that juggling the two is, you know, earlier, we talked a lot about we were 100% of our time is, is into training and that is our job. But at the same time, we are, we are soldiers and we have to perfect our craft and, and stay up to speed on that. So one of the opportunities that, you know, before Sochi, I actually, before 2014, I got to go to BLC before I became a soldier. And it wasn't the time that I, I had hoped it was going to be, it was in September and we were leaving in October. So we all come to each other and said, hey, this is what we signed up for. So let's go out to Colorado and let's try to get the distinguished undergrad. I mean, all of us are going to be fish out of water. You know, we're not uniform we wear every day is this one right here. You know, we're not wearing, we're not wearing OCPs and showing up to formation, you know, quite as often as everybody else to our daily lives look a little bit different. But I think what was really cool about it was we got out there, we learned as fast as we could. We knew we were going to make mistakes, but you just have to be resilient. And you have to say, hey, I'm ready for the challenge. And I know this is going to be uncomfortable because it's not what I do every day. But now that I'm a coach, I do a little bit more of my MOS is the 42 alpha. And I try to serve as a, you know, administrative liaison to all of the soldier athletes that we have up in Lake Plastid. And it can become stressful at times, but I think if you just strive to be the very best version of yourself and, you know, ask questions of your mentors and your platoon sergeants and say, hey, you know, what can I do better? And how can I better serve these soldiers? That's really what it's all about because the army's about growth and leadership and people are going to make mistakes. It's what you decide to do with those mistakes. So it's not easy, but you just got to be ready to be a fish out of the water every once in a while and give everything you got. Sure, sure. You know, either be buried by your stake or you're going to learn from it and grow to become a better soldier, better leader. So good on you for that. That's interesting that you had to go to BLC right before. That's, that would have stressed me out. I, again, kudos to you. You guys are definitely a special breed. Specialist Del Ducca, what's been your experience with having to balance both? I think you said that this was already written into your contract and this was your first assignment. So how's that been going for you? Yes, that's correct. So I went to Fort Carson to in process into the little class athlete program and then I actually flew straight to a bobsled race. So we, it was basic training in processing. Don't mess lead, let's go race. So we were always representing the army. We are, we're soldiers, but we're athletes as well. So sometimes we have to, we're wearing the same uniform but we'll switch the hats. So that week I was a bobsleder. I was, it was all bobsled. But when I'm not traveling on tour with the team and training and competing, I'm doing my military obligations. Whether that be schools or trainings or whatever we have on our plate, we just make the time to do it. And it takes a little more forethought, a little planning and because right now we've been on tour competing for several weeks, even months at this point. So you have to make sure you're getting your obligations done with the military and then also performing at a high level with the USA. So once, once, you know, we've all prepared for Beijing we're gonna go over, we're gonna do our absolute best. Then when I come back, I'll probably do more military stuff and bobsled will kind of be over for a little bit. I'll focus on my military obligations. Make sure I'm continuing to learn and grow in the military sector. And then I'll go back, you know, but this time next year and be training and competing as a bobsleder. So you kind of do both. That's really cool. Now, what was your basic training experience like? Did they find out that, you know, you were gonna be a world-class athletes? You know, what was the environment like if that happened? I think I lost you on the audio, my apologies. No, that's okay. I'll repeat the question. What was your basic training experience like? And did they find out like they did with our other Olympian? Did they find out that you had joined up to be a world-class athlete? If so, what was that like with your platoon? Basic training was actually a great experience. It was, I likened it to more of my experiences as a team. You know, you're going through something as a team and there are some good days. And yes, there are intentional stressors put on you, but you know, really when you're a part of a team and you have those skills to work together and find what we need to do and how to do it, it really, I enjoyed basic training and I missed the guys I met there. You know, we stay in touch and it really was a great experience. I didn't tell anyone I was doing a Bobsled or the world-class athlete program. Just for me, I was focused on what we were learning and doing and it didn't seem too applicable at the time. But as you know, as the stressors tend to get a little less towards the end and you start talking a little more and opening up to people, I told a couple of guys and a couple of people found out and yeah, it was very, it was well received and the drill sergeant said, hey, you know, good going, we'll be rooting for you and that's cool you do that. And some asked some questions and I was almost taken aback because at that point, you're not really having those types of conversations with the drill sergeants, but they were like, hey, tell me about this. This sounds cool. What's, what's going on? Yeah. Oh, that's awesome. That's awesome. I'm glad it was such a good experience for you. It's amazing the amount of support that you've been getting out there even from your very first days in the Army. So that's outstanding, really, really cool. Specialist Loomis, how about you? Balancing responsibilities of being a world-class athlete along with being a soldier. What's that been like for you? Yeah, so starting off with basic training, it was a break for me to take from skiing. I've been doing it for so long and I'd never taken that long of a break from training and from skiing, so that really left me very motivated to get back into skiing as well as pursue my career in the Army. And I'm fortunate that WCAP has been so supportive and it can certainly be tricky to balance some of the obligations, but it's very worth it. I've been thrilled with the experience and the support from WCAP as well as the Utah National Guard where I'm based has been immense and it can be a challenge for sure, but it's very rewarding as well. Well, you three are breathing some rare air as they say. When this is all said and done, there aren't that many soldiers who can say that they were a professional athlete, they were a world-class athlete, they were Olympians and soldiers. Very few of you can say that. So if anything, 20 million years from now when you're bouncing your grandson on your knee, dad, what'd you do in the Army or grandpa, what'd you do in the Army? You can proudly say I was an Olympian. That's pretty outstanding. What I'd like to do is talk a little bit more about the upcoming Olympics. We've got your back stories. Now let's look ahead. This week you're gonna be in Beijing for the 2022 Olympic Games. Sergeant Olson, what are you looking forward to? Well, number one, I'm looking forward to the performances of these athletes, both civilians and soldiers. I've been for the last two years now working with them almost every day and just seeing their journey. I mean, I know that specialist, Elduke, and I had a conversation in September and he said, this is what I'm going to do. And I said, let's hear it. And he outlined his map to making the Olympic team and it was not what everybody else was gonna do. And I said, hey, that's what I'm talking about. Go out there and get it because that's what is a plan. And I'm looking forward to watching all of our soldier athletes compete. But most importantly as a coach, my role is to support and to make sure that they have what they need and there aren't any distractions. And I know that when we won our gold medal and when we raced in 2014 and 2018, our coaches provided an immense amount of support. Like we didn't know that we were at the Olympics. We didn't know that there was all this other stuff going on because it's just, hey, we need to stop over here for a few minutes and answer these few questions and then you'd be on your way. So I look forward to the performances. I look forward to the amazing moments that Team USA always provides. I think Here Comes Diggins was probably one of the biggest phrases of 2018. And just getting to see people that, I mean, now, you know, now Dalduca and Loomis and all the other WCAP soldier athletes get to be a part of that family, once an Olympian, always Olympian. But just like being in the military, you're a part of something much bigger than yourself. And so you share those victories together. We go through it together and I can't wait. Well, you bring up a couple of interesting points. So two questions for you. Number one, you're the coach. So how many WCAP athletes total? And number two, do you guys get to stay in Olympic Village like everybody else? And do you ever mingle with the other athletes from other countries and other sports? Are we talking about just our delegation for 2022 or the total program? Just the delegation for 2022. So we've got nine soldier athletes and including our coaching staff, five athletes, four coaches. And then, yep, we're just like everybody else. We stay in the Olympic Village. Many of our teammates are civilian teammates and we just like, I mean, specialist Dalduca said it perfectly. You know, you're wearing multiple uniforms, different hats. It's here and it's there and just like everybody else, we just, we also have to remember that we're soldiers too. Roger that. I get what you're saying. Cool, thank you very much. Specialist Dalduca, over to you. What are you looking forward to once you hit the ground in Beijing? It'll be my first Olympics. So I just want to take it all in. You know, take a moment to, I don't even know if I've done it yet. Just take a moment to be like, wow, this is happening and it's a dream come true. And just continue to prepare and enjoy the moment but then I'm excited to compete. I absolutely love competing and I'm a racer. So now that I'm driving and I get to compete on the world stage and be representing Army and Team USA and my support system, friends, family, it really is just, it's a dream come true. So I'm, I just can't wait to compete. I just, I'm envisioning like being on the start line, hands on the push bar and I'm just ready to go. And I just can't wait to do it. So, but yeah, like I said, I want to take it into and be a part of the team and kind of share this experience together because it's several of my friends and teammates first, Olympics and then a handful of them have said it's their last. So we're all a part of the same journey but we're on different timelines and I just want to experience that with the team and be there for my teammates and then go out there and compete with all I've got. Visualization, you hear that a lot whenever you talk to athletes, they'll spend time visualizing. Just like you said, I mean, down to the minute detail, hands on the bars, doing this, doing that, standing on the first place podium, getting that gold medal. Keep that vision going and I'm wishing you the best of luck. That's awesome. Specialist Loomis, how about you? What are you looking forward to when you hit the ground at Beijing this week? Well, first and foremost, this being my second Olympics, I feel like it's my first Olympics again going in as a soldier for the first time. So I'm most excited about that as well as getting to meet and see a lot of my fellow WCAP teammates will be really cool. And it's also going to be a very different and new experience for all athletes going to China is not somewhere that most athletes compete regularly. So it'll be different and puts everyone on a level playing field in a sense of there's not a lot of local athletes or there's not a lot of local competitions held there previously. So it'll be really exciting to get to the new venues which all look spectacular and show what we can do as Team USA and world-class athlete program. That's awesome. That's awesome. I'm so pumped for you. You have no idea. As a follow-on, I want to go back to Sergeant Olson. Both as a coach and as someone who has not just competed but has gold medal in Olympic games, what advice are you giving to the delegation and what advice specifically have you given to our panelists? Well, I think the opening ceremonies if we were permitted to partake in that, take it in. I remember that was really the only moment I personally let my guard down and said, wow. I mean, my heart was racing. I couldn't believe that I was in a stadium, sitting shoulder to shoulder with some of the best athletes in the world. And then a couple of days later, I put the blinders back on and I remember that I'm here to complete the mission and I'm here for a reason. So I didn't come to the Olympics to be a spectator. I could be a spectator at home. I came to the Olympics to represent my family, my friends, do this alongside my teammates and not forget who you are. You don't have to be anything more than who you are because that's what got you to this Olympic team. So we don't need to overreach. We don't need to go the extra mile, the work is done. We need to keep doing what we have been doing to be successful to this point and really just come out there on race day and execute to the best of our abilities. That consistency and then that focus. I totally get what you're saying. I've been and invents myself where you walk in and you become starstruck and they're like, wait a minute, I'm here for a reason, focus. Breathe in, breathe out, concentrate and let's get this done. So good on you for doing that, good point, very good point. All right guys, let's switch it up a little bit. We've talked a lot about Beijing. We've talked a lot about your stories. We'd like to always inform our audience or introduce our audience to soldiers and their hobbies and their lifestyles because again, we are all from different parts of the country, different regions, different backgrounds. So let's get to know you just a little bit. We'll go down the line, I'll ask a question and if the three of you can just shotgun answer it on your own, that'd be great. What would you be doing if you were not a soldier athlete? Fire away when ready. I'd be a soldier. I'd be competing against my peers, trying to be number one there. All right, specials Del Duca. I'd probably be out racing cars or ski racing or just trying to go fast somewhere. Going fast somewhere, racing cars. That's a man after my own heart. Specialist Loomis, how about you? What would you be doing if you were not a soldier athlete? That's pretty hard to say for me, I think skiing and being in the army are my two biggest identities. So I really can't say what I would be doing right now and it's hard to imagine life without those two things. Gotcha. Back over to Sergeant Olson. Most recent movie you watched? Well, most recently watched Ozark. I caught up on the new episodes of that before we went to Beijing and what a crazy show is all I can say. So that is a crazy show. And side note, a very good friend of mine. We were both 46 Romeo's together a long time ago. That was broadcast journalist. Dave McDonald stars in that show. Another soldier that has gone on to do other things that you would not associate with being sort of army-ish. Just like you guys. That is really cool. Great show though, absolutely you're right. Specialist Del Ducca, last movie or show you watched? I watched Rush. It's a movie about two famous Formula One drivers and it's a great movie about racing and life in general and some two very different characters racing against each other and being fierce rivals but also respecting each other. So it's a great movie, probably my favorite. Yep, know the movie well as a racer, absolutely. Great movie, you're absolutely right. All right, Specialist Loomis, most recent show or movie you watched? I watched the latest James Bond movie, No Time to Die. I believe it's called. I watched it yesterday on the plane. It's a great movie, a little bit sad. Yeah, watch it. Yeah, no, I'm a lifelong Bond fan. Saw the movie, mixed feelings about the ending. So I'm not sure what Barbara Broccoli is gonna do with the franchise but I'll be interested to see, very cool. Okay, back up to Sergeant Olson, favorite book. The Hot Zone. We were required to read that in high school. I think that's the first book that I read the entirety from open to close. No kidding. It's about a Bola Zaire virus, yeah. I was hopeful. Wow, okay, I'm writing that down as a book to read. I have not read that one. Specialist Del Ducca, favorite book. Well, it's crazy. I read it in middle school and I've yet to find a book that captures my emotions like this. It's called High Heat. It's a book about baseball and a young kid going through some adversity and really just an incredible story line, High Heat. Nice, High Heat, also writing that one down. And Specialist Loomis, over to you, favorite book. I will say I just got a new book today called Dope Sick that I am looking forward to reading. Really? So, side note, Dope Sick was made into a miniseries on Hulu starring Michael Keaton and Rosario Dawson. And you'll see me if you look really hard. I was an extra in that. So yeah, the book is really good. The miniseries also very, very good. All right, back up to Sergeant Olson. Favorite season, summer or winter? Summer, for sure. Growing up in Texas, it's pretty much summer, 12 months out of the year. Well, that's another part of the story right there. You are from San Antonio, Texas. And how did you get into bobsledding? I don't see a lot of snow down there. What's up with that? You know, I was in between playing football at I was getting ready to walk on at Texas A&M and see if I could make their football team. And my mom said, why don't you try out for the bobsled team? There's going to be a tryout down at Comlander Stadium. And I said, mom, nobody tries out for bobsled in San Antonio, whatever you're owed is a lie. And then a couple of weeks later, she said, hey, did you give it any more thought to that bobsled tryout? I said, mom, are you for real? You're really still talking. I mean, if it'll make you happy, I'll drive out there and I'll see what, you know, see what the fuss is about. And I mean, I couldn't really ask for a better story, but I, you know, I kind of turned that and just say, not everything good that your parents tell you to do is kind of be the best because as pre thinkers, we like to think we're in control of our own destiny. But, you know, this one time and many times thereafter, I heated her advice and look where it landed me. I mean, I knew a bobsled, I never thought that I would be good enough to make the team. But yeah, just on a whim. That's really cool. Thanks for sharing that. Specialist Del Ducca, summer or winter for you? Summer. Yeah, I'm with you. As a winter athlete still, I love the sports in winter, but I love the climate of summer. Well, you can do more racing in the summer, right, in the car. Exactly right. Excellent. Specialist Loomis, summer or winter for you? Did we lose him? I'm very much in between. I like the spring when I can ski in the morning and it's nice and sunny and warm and I can go biking in the afternoon. That's why I love living in the mountains and love those spring days. Ah, best of both worlds. That's right. That's it right there. Very good. Sergeant Olson, run or rock? I'll rock any day. I get outran on the regular. Yeah, dude, same thing here when I was in the Army. Not the fastest runner, always pass my run. Never had a problem passing the two mile run. But you strap that ruck on my back and tell me I need to go 12 miles. I got it all day long. I can do it. Drop of a hat, let's do it. I'm with you on that one. Specialist Del Ducca, run or rock? Rock all the way. Heck yeah. Okay, now we're talking. I struggle with the two mile. I do struggle with the two mile. Oh, do you really? That's interesting. That's interesting. Yeah, everything we do is such a short burst of speed and power that, yeah, that's two mile. I mean, I do okay, but just relative to everything else. I can strap a ruck on and just go. Ah, that's interesting. That is interesting. Yeah, I've talked to people who, athletes who were like sprinters, you know, 200 meter, 400 meter, two miles was difficult for them, but they could really knock out that short burst stuff quite easily. Maybe it's more anaerobic than aerobic. I'm not sure what it, I'm not a professional, but yeah, what you just said brings true to me from what I've talked with other professional athletes. Specialist Loomis, over to you, run or rock? Seem as I'm in the minority here, I'm definitely taking running. That's part of my training and something I can always excel at in the Army. Very good, very good. There's always got to be one like me, doesn't want to be like everybody else, got to be in the minority, that's awesome. Fantastic, well, guys, those are great answers, a little bit of fun kind of peeking into your personal lives and getting to know your personalities a little bit. One last question as we wrap things up, this has been a great conversation. We talked a lot about being driven, both as an athlete and a soldier, the things that motivate you. What are you looking forward to after you return from the Olympics and you're able to kind of reset after all these months of training? Sergeant Olson, over to you. Well, I'm looking forward to really getting into the nitty gritty of my military career and challenging myself as a leader and as a soldier and hope to go to OSTS as soon as possible and go to that board and be accepted and maybe one day get to come back to Bobson as a coach, but I finally feel like it's okay for me to step away and for the longest period of time, I was so focused on being the best in the world at Bobson, I couldn't imagine spending more than six months away. I mean, I did basic in AIT and three days later, we had push championships. I flew straight from Fort Jackson and I don't even think that I had done a sprint yet, but we had world championships at home that year and I said, I'm not gonna miss out on the opportunity to win world championships again. So I can't wait to come home and accept that new challenge. I don't know much of what it's gonna be like. I know it's probably gonna be hard and it takes time, but I'm ready for it. Excellent. Well, I wish you all the best in applying to and being accepted for officer candidate school. That's a brilliant, brilliant goal to have. And with all the leadership experience you have up to this point, not just as a non-commissioned officer, but having been an Olympic coach, having to sort of lead and mentor and guide a team that will serve you well as an officer in the United States Army. I wish you all the best with that. Thank you. You betcha. Specialist Del Ducca, how about you? What are you looking forward to after the Olympics? Well, I'm looking forward to taking some time to catch up with family and friends and spend some time with my wife. And yeah, just catch up with family and spend a little time together. We do get very focused and devote all of our time to this. And so catching up with them is great. And then I'll have some time to devote back to my military career and see what I can do with the military. And yeah, just kind of put on the other hat, switch uniforms and yeah, get back to work. Switch gears, get back to work. Love it. Specialist Loomis, how about you? What are you looking most forward to once you get back from the Olympics? So pretty soon after the Olympics, still have a few competitions to finish off the season. So excited to keep that rolling and keep skiing through the winter. But proceeding that, I'm looking to attend BLC here in the next year. So I'm excited for that and keep progressing in my military career and get back in touch with my local unit here in Utah a little bit more. So it's gonna be a busy year coming up and I'm excited for it. Excellent, excellent. Thank you so much. Thank all of you by the way. So all the time we have for our show tonight, wanna give a special thank you to each of our panel members for sharing your experiences and your story with us. This has been so great. I hope that you've enjoyed it as much as I have and I know our viewers and listeners have as well. And for those of you who are watching, you can also check them out at their website. If you have questions about the world class athlete program, ask them in the comments section. We've got folks who are online who can answer your questions about how to join the program, what it can do for you, what are the qualifications and the requirements. And we also wanna give a special shout out to everyone who's joined us virtually for this Meet Your Army episode. We wanna thank you so much. We hope you enjoyed the event. And to learn more again about WCAP, visit armywcap.com that's A-R-M-Y-W-C-A-P.com and follow along on social media for live updates during the Olympic Games at US Army WCAP. Again, thank you everyone, gentlemen, best of luck to you. You've got our full support. Go Team USA. And for all of us here at the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, thanks for watching. I'm Hank Minitrez. We'll see you next time. And that's a wrap. Thanks everybody. That was great. All right. Yeah, really, really good. I'm looking forward to seeing you guys do well over there. Yes. See you later. Hey guys, Joel Adams, that was fantastic. We really appreciate you taking the time and sharing your stories. And we had quite a few participants and lots of light shares and comments. So really good session. Thank you for doing this and best of luck moving forward. Hank, well done, my friend. Hey, this was a lot of fun. And Joel, I just want to thank you because you're always reaching out, giving me the opportunity to moderate these. I'm happy to do it. I love doing it. I just want to thank you for the opportunity. 33 years of broadcasting and I'm still at it. Thanks to folks like you who believe in me. So thank you very much. My pleasure, my friend. And Victor and Nick, thanks for everything. I think we appreciate everything you guys are doing to make this pull us all off. So I think we're clear, guys. Again, thanks very much for doing this and best of luck moving forward. And if we can ever do anything, you know, please reach out. Sgt. Olson, as far as you want to pursue the officer thing, we got some hooks and we got some folks who can help you down that path. Yeah, don't lose my name, Sgt. Olson. I've already helped one soldier get through OCS, get accepted. So, you know, look me up. Yeah. I'll be happy to write something for you. Okay, I appreciate that. I've only glanced at it a little bit. I had my packet kind of together and then I broke my neck and my commander said, you kind of got to hold off on that whole application, you know, since you have a profile. So I wanted to see this through, go to the Olympics, support these men and women and take some time to better myself too. Yeah, get yourself cleared by Med. Okay, you know, get the docs to sign off on it. Then look me up, okay? I'm serious. My day job, I work in the Army G1, like the top personnel one. So look me up, I'm serious. Okay. Before you guys go, we talked a little bit about fitness, run, rock, ACFT. Have all you guys taken it? And what are your thoughts? No. I like it. It's a slippery slope, but huge pivot for the Army. I mean, it's, we've been doing the same PT test for, you know, 246 years. And this is clearly a new direction. I think if we did a one mile run, people like, especially Stalduk and myself, because we, I remember in 2011, we were doing trials for this ACFT. We didn't really know what we're doing in morning PT, but, you know, I don't know if there's a record for the medicine ball toss, but I'll go for it. And, you know, we, it's kind of right up the alley of how you train to be a Bopsid athlete is these plyometrics and the shuttle runs and the litter carry. And we just really struggle at the two mile because our muscle fibers are not like specialist lumus. I mean, we couldn't much different from each other in that regard. So I think it's wonderful. I can't wait to take it. Someone from Korea was just, you know, how far do you think you can throw that ball? And I said, well, we'll find out here pretty soon after the Olympics. Nice. I think it's cool. Yeah, it's, you know, I, I surfed 27 years and I just remember on, you know, PT test days. Sometimes it was a struggle just to get enough mats and get it organized. Yeah. So now the resources and all the stuff you need to execute an ACFT a little bit different, you know, and not everybody's been doing deadlifts the whole life. And so now you're incorporating all these different movements and I think there's goodness in it. But I also think, you know, in order to be good at deadlifts, you got to do deadlifts. It's just, it's more wear and tear on everybody's joints. And it's just not taking the test two times a year. It's everything you need to get ready for it. And we all know there's enough grind in the army. And then my concern is that a long-term well-being, the force, I think it's a great test, but I think it comes with a certain cost as well. Yeah. So my two cents. Luckily, the deadlift is a hex bar. So luckily it's that. Yeah, yeah. If it was a better. Yes, if it was a barbell deadlift, a lot of people would be popping their backs. Yeah. The reality is, you know, I mean, there's millions of Crossfitters across the army, but there's also millions who've never done anything like that. And you guys have all, I'm sure done the deadlifts and you just round your back a little bit, you get in the bad position and you're gonna get hurt. And that's it. So I guess, you know, I keep thinking about this. We've been, we've been grappling with this whole way CFT thing for a long time. And, you know, as a Crossfit guy, you know, who has, who's had bilateral hip replacement, you know, I, we all know the kind of the wear and tear in the grind of some of those exercises. So, but I guess that's where we're going in April. So we shall see. Hopefully, you know, leadership or personnel can really show proper form. And I personally, I think it's a little more applicable to what you might see at ACFT is combat fitness and you're still getting the two mile in, but now you're moving weight because if you need to move someone out of harm's way, you know, now you've trained to kind of move, move, you know, a couple hundred pounds around. And I don't think it's gender neutral, I believe. So, you know, the deadlift is not. It is without question. And I think they're all functional movements, you know, that they absolutely make sense, given a lot of the tasks and requirements that we have in the Army. I'm excited because I'm a bigger person. So it'll be nice to see, you know, if I were to go down in combat or something like that, see if somebody can drag me out because it's my take to you. Yeah, you know, my guide or my main position all along is I thought the Marines kind of get this right, you know, pull-ups, push-ups, setups, three mile run. You can't fall out of bed and do well in a three mile run. Pull-ups, you gotta move your own body weight. You know, there's no hiding from that. Yeah. So I always thought it was just better in terms of functionality. They don't let you, they don't let you enlist unless you can do a pull-up on the spot, right? I don't know what the latest of a lot, you know, I know when I was at AMRG, we used to activate in national events all over the country and I'd go out there with these $7 million trailers and all the high-speed stuff. The Marines would show up with the same shed every time. Three Marines in a pull-up bar. Yeah. That was it. When I was on recruiting duty, that's exactly what they did, you know, the Army, we're passing out, you know, t-shirts and swag and the Marines are out there challenging people to pull-up contests. Some things never change. Okay, Jens, again, thanks very much. We appreciate your time and look forward to it. Hua, yes, good luck to all of you and I'll be watching.