"Mentally, CrossFit is helping me realize that there's always something harder than whatever you think is hard at the time."
For the past three months, Private First Class Zachary James Dyer has awoke in U.S. Marine Corps Base, Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
“Everything is so foreign here that almost nothing reminds me of home,” the 20-year-old says. “It's really different from home in Ohio. It's hot and it's dry. It averages between 95 to 120 everyday.”His hometown of Sidney, Ohio covers 10 square miles in the center of the state. The small blip in the Ohioan plains is at the junction of interstate highways and railways. Neither he or his friends knew what he was getting into when he deployed to Afghanistan.
“I feel like everyone at home thinks we go out and get blown up and shot at everyday. We've been here for almost three months and I haven't fired a single shot,” Dyer says. “I throw more candy than bullets.”
Deployment has offered long, quiet stretches and sudden conflict.
“We had cleared a route for a British Infantry Patrol. They saw something in the road and went off the path that we cleared for them,” he explains. “As soon as they went off the path they got hit by 70 pounds of explosives.
“The vehicle that was hit got completely flipped over and the crew had to be airlifted out. Later that day, I found out that one (of) the men in the truck had died on the way to the hospital here on Leatherneck. That was when I got that, ‘Oh shit, I'm actually in a war’ feeling.”
To suit up for a mission, Dyer has to put on pounds and pounds of gear.
“I wear our standard multi-cam uniform, my ACH (army combat helmet) and my IOTV (improved outer tactical vest). On my IOTV, I have ammo pouches that carry about 400 rounds of 5.56 ammo, an IFAK (individual first aid kit) and a grenade pouch that I use to hold my iPod. All of that weighs around 70 pounds,” he says. “I also carry my M249 SAW light machine gun that weighs about 18 pounds.”
To be able to carry the load and stay ever ready, Dyer turned to CrossFit.
He got involved with CrossFit during the lead up to deployment. He was instantly drawn to it and felt a surge of relief when he heard he could continue to train at the base’s box: CrossFit Leatherneck.
CrossFit Leatherneck makes the most basic warehouse box look plush. With only a sunshade, the Marine CrossFitters train outdoors.
“We are subjected to all the heat and dust blowing around so it adds a new level of difficulty to each WOD,” Dyer says. “I actually kind of enjoy it because it’s only making me that much stronger … and it makes it that much easier for me to swing my 50 caliber around.”
The strength he gained isn’t just physical.
“Mentally, CrossFit is helping me realize that there's always something harder than whatever you think is hard at the time,” he says. “Like, no matter how shitty the situation you're in is, there's always something worse.”
The hardest thing for Dyer isn’t the heat or the gear of the countryside. The most uncomfortable parts of his tour are his memories.
“I think of home everyday. I miss my dogs, home-cooked meals, my whole family, my girlfriend and my whole CrossFit family. But CrossFit definitely helps me prepare for this. I feel like I'm the strongest I've ever been.”
