Going For Gold
This fall, 12,000 soldiers from militaries across the globe will converge on a small spot in Wuhan City, China to face off. Usually, nothing good comes from different nations rallying their forces and sending troops to the front lines of conflict and competition, but not in this case. China is hosting the 7th Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) World Games.
Since 1995, the Military World Games have been organized the year before the Olympics as a spectacle of world peace and cooperation. While soldiers may be locked in competition, each hoping to bring home a gold medal, there’s nothing more representative of international harmony than over 100 different armed forces coming together in the spirit of camaraderie and friendship.
But the Military World Games isn’t the only place where soldiers from different nations come together for a little friendly competition. This past May, the annual Armed Forces Olympics took place in Naples, Italy between the American troops stationed at the Naval Support Activity (NSA) center and members of the Italian Armed Forces. We were honored to help create a special set of custom coins given to all the participants at the event that capture a sense of understanding and camaraderie between the two nations.
The Armed Forces Olympics in Naples, Italy
The annual Armed Forces Olympics in Naples packs plenty of excitement into a full day of competition. Active-duty U.S. soldiers stationed at NSA Naples are invited to form teams within their command groups and sign up for different events throughout the day like archery, 5k relay races, a truck pull and more.
Members of the Italian Armed Forces are invited to join in as well, and each team scores points in all of the events they enter. At the end of the day, the team with the most total points wins the overall championship trophy. This year, there were seven teams representing the Italian Commands stationed at NSA Naples, and six teams of American troops. Altogether, there were about 250 participants and over 500 people in total who made it to the event.
In an interview, Laura Di Marzo, the Morale, Welfare and Recreations (MWR) Sports Specialist responsible for organizing the event, said, “It’s all about the camaraderie and the fellowship. These two things are my priority in all the events that I help coordinate. It’s about making friendly relationships between the U.S. and their Italian hosts. This gives them the opportunity to have the day off, have some fun and compete in a friendly environment.”
The Armed Forces Olympics was created to give American and Italian troops a chance to aggregate outside of their daily duties. While not mandatory for anyone stationed at NSA Naples, many sign up because it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy a day off of work with all of their colleagues and take part in some friendly competition.
"The collaboration between the Italian and American commanders, the mutual cultural exchange, the smile and the joy of being able to spend a day with their colleagues and families, has further "sealed" the annual appointment with a single brand: ONE TEAM!"
While there are some traditional events like archery and the 5k relay race, there are also more contemporary events like bubble soccer, where players are encased within inflated PVC bubbles as they play so they can ram into one another as they jostle for possession of the ball. There’s also a strength course every year, a potato sack race and a tug of war contest. “The events challenge physical fitness (crucial for mission success), creativity, mental toughness and teamwork,” said Di Marzo, but more than anything else, the Armed Forces Olympics has a considerable sense of fun.
Apart from organizing the entire event, Di Marzo was also the one who contacted us about creating a custom challenge coin for all the participants. “I’ve received, out of recognition, many coins in the last five years that I’ve been in charge of the sports programs,” she said. When it came to designing these coins, she wanted to capture a sense of Olympic spirit as well as the fellowship between the two nations. “The two flags were a must-do, of course,” said Di Marzo. But the milestone anniversary marked along the edge of the design was another important aspect of the artwork.
For the past 25 years, the Armed Forces Olympics has been a symbol of cultural exchange, the collaboration between nations, and the honor shared between all the military personnel stationed at NSA Naples. The coins are a symbol of the camaraderie between nations and the understanding between soldiers, no matter where they come from, and, at the end of the day, that’s what the competition is all about.
A Little Friendly Competition Goes a Long Way
The Armed Forces Olympics takes up an entire day, and once the final events have concluded, all of the different teams of active-duty soldiers line up for the awards ceremony. The highest scoring team across all the events earns the overall championship trophy which they will take back to their command office and put on display until the following year’s games begin. After that, the trophy will be up for grabs again. While not every team gets a huge trophy, every participant receives one of the custom coins Di Marzo designed in honor of the 25th anniversary of the event.
While the Armed Forces Olympics is only open to the Italian and American soldiers stationed at NSA Naples, it’s still an incredible example of how foreign militaries around the world can come together in harmony. The competition is a display of sportsmanship and it helps soldiers who would otherwise have little reason to interact experience a sense of camaraderie. We’re honored to have been a small part of this year’s event by supplying the custom coins, and hope that they do their part in bridging the gap between armed service members from separate nations for many years to come.
