Bodybuilding Contest: Iraq Base

A bodybuilding competition was recently held at Contingency Operating Base Speicher in Iraq and Sgt. Erica Rinard won the overall.

(Photo courtesy of the California National Guard)

Quote from The National Guard website

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE SPEICHER, Iraq, (5/27/09) — From a high school and college track star to a Soldier, and now a competitive bodybuilder, Sgt. Erica Rinard has ventured into new experiences not many have attempted nor accomplished in their lives.

Rinard recently accomplished a personal goal when she won “best overall” in a bodybuilding contest judged by Billy Blanks, the creator of Tae Bo, held here at Speicher.

“It was a personal accomplishment, I was out to beat myself and no one else,” Rinard said.

On her second deployment to Iraq, Rinard mobilized with Company C, 1st Battalion, 185th Armor, a California Army National Guard unit from Palmdale, Calif. She grew up in Myrtle Creek, Ore., but currently resides in Victorville, Calif., and works at Fort Irwin, Calif., as a wheel and track mechanic.