AIRCOM orienteering championships held at RAF Lakenheath

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- The Allied Air Command Inter-Nation Orienteering Championships were hosted by the Lakenheath Fitness & Sports Center here Nov. 13 – 16.

Members of multiple NATO nations participated in the event, which featured teams from the Belgium Air Force, Polish Air Force, Royal Netherlands Air Force, German Air Force, Royal Air Force, and the U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

Orienteering is an event where participants are given a compass to navigate to different checkpoints on a given map on an unfamiliar course.

The Polish Air Force team swept all three orienteering events in both the male and female categories.

The orienteering championships were also the final event of the AIRCOM Inter-Nation Sports Championships, which features several different competitions in a two-year season, according to the 48th Force Support Squadron sustainment flight chief. The overall winners for the 2016-2017 sports season were the Polish Air Force men’s team, and the German Air Force women’s team.

During the closing ceremony, Col. Christopher Leonard, 48th Mission Support Group commander, congratulated all participants and thanked volunteers that helped set up the event. He also spoke about the camaraderie and teambuilding these events bring.

“I hope for the next time we meet, it’s in friendly competition, but if not, I will be proud to stand next to them in battle,” he said.

The Netherlands will host the first event of the 2018-2019 sports season.