Help Out Crossfit Sadr City!

Hi! My name is SGT Brian Collins of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. My unit is deployed to Sadr City, Iraq which is a Shiite enclave here in the capital city of Baghdad. We left the land of the free in the beginning of February and got to Iraq about a month later. Now, our company is located at JSS Sadr City (JSS is an acronym for Joint Security Station). With a busy schedule and a lot of stress from day to day operations, we find that a great way to blow off steam is through good hard exercise.

My friend Josh and I started following a workout program called Crossfit at the beginning of March and we quickly realized that this methodology provided a great way to get and stay in great shape. This is especially true when applied to a deployment as the equipment necessary to execute is minimal by today's standards.

Having found what we believe to be a superior workout program, we have been very vocal toward the other soldiers in our unit as we try to convince them of the value of Crossfit. Not only does it provide great cardiovascular, strength, and general functional fitness for day to day life, it's especially rewarding for those in a physically demanding job such as ours where we must carry 50-75 pounds, lift heavy objects, and move at a high rate of speed at any given time. It is my firm belief after using this program for 2 months that if the Army adopted the Crossfit methodology, the level of soldier fitness and physical capability would rise to a never before seen level.

My goal, along with my counterpart Josh, is to raise money through donations to this blog to purchase specific equipment needed to allow a greater number of soldiers to begin Crossfitting. Already, we have seen the interest level rise among a few of our collegues and I believe that with an increased amount of equipment, to include bumper weight sets, kettlebells, and medicine balls, soldier interest would be piqued and thereby increase the overall well-being, fitness, and combat readiness of our company.

The equipment I am looking to purchase with the donations can be viewed by clicking on Rogue Fitness Fire Team Package. It would include all of that equipment minus the rowing machine as it is not able to be shipped to an APO address in Iraq via the commercial channels. The total amount I have been quoted for the equipment plus shipping is $4708.74. The shipping alone would be $1,386.00 so I believe the $3,321.84 for the equipment is a very reasonable price. This equipment would be avaibable for use by our entire company and would be maintained to the highest standard so as to ensure use by many in the years to come.

We will be posting information about the total amounts donated as well as an announcement when we purchase the equipment and many pictures of soldiers utilizing it. To donate, find and click on the link below to contribute to the pay pal account I have set up. Thanks so much for your time and assistance.


-Brian