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Athlete from Scott join other servicemembers to win in Europe

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Amber R. Kelly-Herard
  • 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Many people have heard the term "military brat" to describe someone whose parent or parents served in the military.

By that definition, a 375th Contracting Squadron officer could be considered a basketball brat because both of his parents play basketball.

Second Lt. Andrew Henke, 375th CONS construction contracts manager, recently returned with victory from the All Armed Forces Team.

"In the first week of November I was called to play because they needed extra people, and I had previously played at the Air Force Academy," said Lieutenant Henke. "I had about 10 days to prepare so I woke up early each day to practice, and I practiced again after work."

Servicemembers from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Coast Guard joined together at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where they practiced twice a day for more than two hours per session.

"We also played two warm-up games against professional teams," said the lieutenant, who started playing basketball at age 3. "We won one and lost one, but the whole team played very competitively, we were a really good team."

From Ramstein AB, the team traveled to Mons, Belgium, where they participated in the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Basketball Tournament. The team played against eight countries and won the whole tournament Dec. 4.

"It felt so awesome playing on our team. A friend who I played with at the Academy was there so it was nice to see him," said the Minneapolis, Minn., native. "It's also always good when you get to join with other services and be on the same team."
The journey for Lieutenant Henke is not over yet.

He has been invited to play again for the Air Force in the Armed Forces Tournament during April. Training will be held in St. Paul, Minn., and the tournament will take place in San Diego, Calif.

From there, the team will also play in the 5th Military World Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where 4,900 athletes from 100 different countries will compete in 24 sports.
"I hope we can keep playing and keep winning together," said Lieutenant Henke. "It gives me a special feeling to represent our country, while promoting goodwill among the other countries we play against."

The Air Force has 15 different sports programs that any Airman can participate in. Anyone interested in playing sports for the Air Force should visit www.usafsports.com/AllAFSports.htm.