FISH ON

  • Published
  • By Air Force Staff Sgt. Zachary Wolf
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Communities around military bases are generally supportive of military members. The further people live from a base, the less they may be aware the base even exists.

Alaska is one of those places where this doesn't happen. In a town called Seward, nearly a three-hour bus ride away, appreciation for Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson active-duty members shines like a beacon on a hill.

Several fishing charter companies demonstrated that appreciation by donating their services and boats for the 8th Annual Armed Services Combat Fishing Tournament May 22.

"The purpose is to take the junior enlisted ... who have been deployed or who are scheduled to deploy and we are just looking to take them out for a day of fun," said Keith Manternach, co-founder of the tournament.

Just before 5 a.m., a police car escorted two buses into Seward. On the road next to the harbor, fire trucks flashed their lights and citizens of Seward waved as the buses drove by. About 200 personnel made the trip to Seward by driving themselves or by bus.

"It's amazing to me how many people are out at 4:30 a.m. to see the buses come into town," Maternach said.

Donuts and coffee were served to the service members while they waited. Then the call came for everyone to board the boats and begin the fishing tournament.

The fishing may have started slow for some, but only five people didn't catch a thing.
"It was kinda slow at first, but everyone [on our boat] got some halibut," said Senior Airman Nathan McKever 3rd Maintenance Squadron, Crash Recovery Wheel and Tire crew chief. "We all got some good-sized ones."

Military members came together to help each other out when they noticed someone who might not be catching anything.

"For the most part if we already caught one, we'd come around to [those fishing] and we'd ask where the rod was sitting and see if they were hitting the ground," McKever said. "The group we had did pretty well. The problem was not catching the fish, the problem was catching the wrong fish. I think one out of every 10 fish were halibut, and the rest were sharks."

Some people dread going on a boat because they are prone to seasickness, while others have never experienced it before.

"The funniest part was watching a bunch of the guys losing their meal, me included, because the wakes were a little bit too much for us to handle," McKever said.

After the boats came in, everyone had their largest fish weighed and each boat of fishers stood next to their fish for a group photo. Once the fish were filleted and turned in to be frozen and shipped back to JBER, the buses took them to a banquet hall to receive prizes.

"I would say the banquet is my favorite part," Manternach said. "A lot of the guys don't realize what's planned for the day so often times they get on the bus in the morning not really knowing what to expect and they get down here ... and end up at the banquet hall, put on by the American Legion every year, and win lots of cash prizes, door prizes and nice trophies."

There were trophies for many things, from the biggest fish to the sickest fisherman. Other prizes were drawn by randomly pulling fish weights for the prize.

Overall, 20 charter companies provided the boats for the military members.

"We couldn't do it without the charter fleet in Seward," Manternach said. "For these guys to give up a day of fishing, in a charter season that lasts 100 days, would be like the average business that is open year-round to give up three days of gross receipts. "

The tournament is one small way Seward shows its military pride despite being small and relatively far away.

"I think there is probably a little bit of a surprise that the community of Seward is so into taking care of the military," Manternach said.

And that appreciation does not go unnoticed no matter how much time has passed.
"I know myself and a lot of the other guys definitely appreciate all that the YMCA and all the organizations that have gotten together to help support this," McKever said. "If there is anything I could say, it's thank you, again and again, for all the hard work that has been put in."