Personal quest keeps Air Force flag flying at top of world

  • Published
  • By Karen Abeyasekere
  • 100th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
RAF MILDENHALL, England --  Guided by moonlight and headlamps to the crater rim of Mount Kilimanjaro, the "Pied Pipers" of the mountains worked their way around the 19,300-foot rocky summit. As they reached the summit marker July 16, the sun finally cracked the horizon, treating them to a spectacular view of Africa coming to life.

Eight others - led not by pipes, but by two men's enthusiasm, passion and experience - had successfully climbed to the mountain's peak as well. 

"Climbers on Mount Kilimanjaro only have a 50 percent success rate - so getting all 10 of us up there was quite a feat," said Capt. Rob Marshall, a 67th Special Operations Squadron pilot and one of the two who led the group. 

The other is 1st Lt. Mark Uberuaga, a 21st Special Operations Squadron pilot, and both are on a mission to take the Air Force and American flags to the highest peaks in each of the world's seven continents as part of their Seven Summits Challenge. 

Along with flying the flags atop the world's highest points, the two are using the challenge as a way to raise money for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation which provides college tuition money for children of fallen special operations troops. 

Mount Kilimanjaro is the second peak to be checked off their list. The two climbed Russia's Mount Elbrus by themselves in July 2005. When they returned from that first trip, they started looking for others to join their quest. 

This time around, Lieutenant Uberuaga's father, David, Captain Marshall's sister, Edie, Capt. Heather Healey, 16th Air Force vice commander's aide-de-camp, Captains Ryan Wilson and Nichelle Brokering, 351st Air Refueling Squadron pilots, and Capt. Jaime Rivas, a 48th Aerospace Medicine Squadron aerospace physiologist at RAF Lakenheath, joined the effort. 

Capt. Christina Stack, a Reserve Officer Training Corps instructor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colo., and 1st Lt. Graydon Muller from Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mt., rounded out the 10-person team. 

The ascent wasn't the usual snowy climb one would expect. The team trekked through the rain forest before tackling a rocky climb along the Machame Route. The journey ended with a 45-minute walk through snow and volcanic rock that led to the summit. 

"The weather on our night of ascent was excellent," said Captain Marshall, describing how a bright, half-moon lit the rocky, sandy path and helped them on their way. "With tens of thousands of stars overhead and the glow of the summit's glaciers beckoning us, we slowly made our way from camp (at 15,000 feet) to the 19,000-foot crater rim in less than six hours." 

The climb spanned seven days, and the team chose its route carefully to help them acclimate to the altitude. 

"All 10 of us started out together and finished together - that was the biggest deal for all of us," Captain Rivas said excitedly, reliving the memory. "It was such a team effort the whole way, and we were a big family at the end." 

The New Orleans native said she'd never done anything remotely like this before, and she hadn't considered herself a hiker, mountain climber or even the "out-doorsy" type.
"The group went a little faster than me," she said. "Most of the team are from Colorado or Seattle and have more mountain-climbing experience. I went a little bit slower, but when I got to the top, I was able to share the moment with everybody." 

It was then, Captain Rivas laughed, that she got "the ugly cry". 

"It was just so emotional - I saw my best friend Heather," she said. "She was proud of me, and I was proud of her. We gave each other a big hug and shared tears of joy. No words needed to be said. We were just overwhelmed - we couldn't believe we'd made it up there after six days of traveling." 

Reaching the top was an emotional experience for all, especially the two leaders. 

"I was overwhelmed with happiness when I reached the summit," said Lieutenant Uberuaga. "I was just so proud. My father was up there with me, and it was the first time we'd ever climbed a mountain together (his father is the superintendent at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington). I was overcome with pride for him as he did such a good job - and so did everyone else in our group."

'Super-crazy like a banana'
The group made an effort to learn Swahili on the trip. The guides would wait for them to walk by so they could yell things in Swahili, and the Air Force team would answer back. The group soon became known for their own Swahili phrases. 

"We nicknamed our group, 'Team Poa', meaning 'Super Team'," said Captain Marshall. "Many of the African people traveling with us would call out, 'Jambo', meaning 'How's it going?'. We started to answer them in Swahili - 'Super-crazy like a banana!' and they loved it," he laughed.

Green is for girls, gold is for men
After learning only 50 percent of climbers summit Mount Kilimanjaro, the team was determined to make theirs a 100 percent success. 

"Our guides told us there were two certificates given out after the climb - green for those who made it near the mountain's top, and gold for those who actually made it to the summit," said Captain Marshall. 

"They would then say, 'Green is for girls; gold is for men.' But we told them, 'No - you don't understand. You don't know the people you're climbing with. We're all going for gold. We're all reaching the summit!' And we did," he said triumphantly. 

"They were only half joking when they kept saying it to us," added Captain Rivas. "But our response to them was that we'd decided green was for girls, gold is for women and platinum is for ladies." 

Reaching the summit
"I think the climb ended up being a little easier than I expected, but then again, I attribute that to the team effort and the motivation I drew off the rest of the team," said Captain Brokering. "The encouragement and motivation came from all directions." 

It's said that one of the reasons why you start late (the team began the last leg of their climb at 10:45 p.m.) and summit early (6:30 a.m. the next morning) is that it takes an average of six hours to get to the top, and climbers can experience the sunrise. 

"I say, if you looked up in daylight and saw what you had to climb for the next six hours, there's no way you'd want to climb it," said Captain Rivas. 

When the team started its final climb to the summit, it was pitch black. They had to walk single file behind their guide. 

"We had to take one step and breathe then another step and breathe," Captain Rivas said. "It was like meditating. An hour would go by, and you'd have to take a break."
Once they reached the summit, the group finally got to fulfill its goal - they flew the Air Force and American flags on top of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

"I think one of the proudest parts for me was when we unfurled the flags," said Captain Marshall. "Everyone with us (the guides and rest of their entourage) was so excited and kept jumping up and down, wanting to hold the flags themselves. People really connected to the fact that we were both American and Air Force members." 

Once the flags had been flown, Captain Marshall and Lieutenant Uberuaga still had one last mission to accomplish. They'd been sponsored by Tech. Sgt. Jim Gary, 21st Special Operations Squadron, to do push-ups on the summit. 

"He sponsored us for $1 a push-up, to a maximum of $100," said the lieutenant.
"We made sure we did more than 100 between us - Rob and I knocked out more than 80 between us, and my dad did 20," he said proudly. 

Back to reality
"It really hit me when I went back to work - I walked in the door and was greeted with pats on the back and high-fives," said Captain Brokering. 

Lieutenant Uberuaga also made quite a name for himself in the 352nd SOG. 

"When I came back to work I had to represent my squadron commander at group-level, during our daily operations stand-up meeting," he said. "All the (352nd) SOG squadron commanders and representatives from each of our squadrons and maintenance units were there. Col. Brian Cutts (352nd SOG deputy commander) was chairing the meeting, and the first thing he did was make a point of asking me how the climb went - that meant a lot to me," the lieutenant said. 

One of the first things Captain Rivas plans to do now she's back at work is to hit up her squadron commander for his sponsor money. 

"Col. Pat Storms, (48th AMDS commander) told me he'd pay me 40 cents for every percent of blood-oxygen saturation I had at the summit. The summit was just under 19,500 feet and my blood oxygen level was 75 percent (normal levels above sea level are 98 percent)." 

The team used a pulse/oximeter (blood saturation monitor) to keep tabs on their blood-oxygen levels, and ensure nobody developed mountain sickness. 

"Colonel Storms owes me $30," she laughed, "and he needs to pay up!" 

Though still not sure of the final figure raised for the SOWF charity, Captain Marshall said they are pretty sure they surpassed their financial goal of $10,000. 

"We each made a point of trying to raise $1,000, and we all reached way over that," he said. 

"The success of this climb really underlines that this is a very positive challenge, and it highlights the kind of people that are in the Air Force," said the 67th SOS pilot. "The majority of our group were Air Force members, and we had pilots, academic instructors and physiologists -- this success is because of the type of people the Air Force attracts. They're fit, not afraid of a challenge, and are willing to put themselves in a situation where they could possibly fail -- but overcome the challenge and succeed." 

Mount Kosciuszka, Australia; Vinson Massif, Antarctica; Mount McKinley, North America; Aconcagua, South America; and Mount Everest, Asia, still remain on their "to do" list.