MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan --
The First World Igloo Building Championship in Hiroshima took place in the Osorakan Snow Park, located in the town of Akiota, Feb. 3, 2013. Along with everyone in attendance, Marines from CombatLogistics Company 36 entered three teams into the event.
Maj. Andrés H. Cáceres-Solari, CLC-36 commanding officer, came out to support his Marines, saying he encourages his platoons to venture out in Japan during the winter months in pursuit of experiences such as this.
“You get so much more work out of a Marine if you work him four days out of the week and then give them a day break, even if they come back sore, than if you make them work through the weekend, just because they’re happy. Happy Marines will take care of you. If you take care of them, they’ll look out for you, if you run them into the ground, they’ll run you into the ground.”
Eight different countries comprised the 43 teams participated in the world-wide competition.
“This is one of the best means to communicate with each other,” said Hiroshi Yamane, igloo building championship volunteer. “You came here from Iwakuni, this is a very, very good thing. This means you have the will and the mind to exchange cultures. This is the best thing I got out of this event.”
The competition was split into two categories, speed building and artistic. While the first team to complete the speed building took about 45 minutes, the artistic challenge lasted approximately six hours.
While CLC-36 didn’t win any of the events, everyone who participated still walked away with the experience of being a part of a world-first event.
“It was fun to go as a unit and get to know everyone better,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua A. White, igloo competition participant. “Being a corpsman, it helps me get to know my Marines better. Events like this improve working relationships and boost morale through the roof.”
The event also gave the Marines an opportunity to build ties with the Japanese in attendance.
“It was fun getting to go hang out with the Japanese,” said White. “Anything we can do to improve our relationships with the Japanese is something of an advantage. It shows them.. we actually care about their culture and we want to be involved.”