Spurlin competes on international volleyball stage

Published July 22, 2009
By Airman 1st Class David Salanitri
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Ashley Spurlin, 334th Training Squadron combat control instructor, recently returned from multiple Air Force and Armed Forces volleyball competitions.

In early June, Sergeant Spurlin represented Keesler as part of the Air Force volleyball team in the Armed Forces Men's Volleyball Championship at Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Pont, N.C. Spurlin, a combat control instructor at Keesler for the past year, led the Air Force team to a 6-0 tournament record and the gold medal.

Later that month, Spurlin was selected to the U.S. Armed Forces team and he competed in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire men's volleyball tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team finished in seventh place.

"Being able to represent the United States through sport is very important to us as a nation," said the Bronze Star recipient. "Historically, in volleyball, much like soccer, the U.S. finishes outside the top three. But every year, we still go in order to show other countries who we are as people in the military, in the Air Force, the Marines, the Army and Navy.

"I played for the Air Force team in 2002 with a gold medal as a result and was selected to go to Romania as a player for the CISM games there," he pointed out. "Then in 2003, the Air Force won a silver medal and I was selected to participate in the Military World Games in Italy. This year was my third time playing."

Competing at this high level requires preparation, and the California native would train no differently.

"I was able to play in the Keesler intramural league with my squadron," he explained. "Other base teams had very competitive players that helped me train. I was also able to go to multiple beach tournaments on the weekends in Florida that helped as well."

During a time where Airmen deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan next to Soldiers, Marines and Sailors, Spurlin explained that the joint service concept is important in many ways.

"By traveling with the team made up of all the services, I was able to expand other services' knowledge of Air Force jobs and work ethics, along with promoting team work among the services," said the eight-year Air Force member. "Being able to play in the Armed Forces tournament against the different services, then be named to the CISM team a few weeks later to play as teammates with those same people, just shows the ability of the U.S. Military as a whole to get the job done, either in sport or down range.

"It is an awesome feeling to be in a foreign country in an arena full of spectators rooting for you, no matter what country you were from," he recalled. "Before every match, they would play the National Anthem as we all stood at attention. It was very motivating before we went out to play every day."