JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. –
At first glance, it looks as though someone dropped a shipping container near the Tactical Fitness Center here, and then surrounded it with pull-up bars.
A closer inspection reveals that the container is actually a 10 foot by 10 foot tactical training locker, providing service members who want to train outside a full-gym experience.
In May 2018, JBA was one of many bases that received the lockers, known as TRX boxes, from the Air Force Services headquarters. They each have enough equipment stored inside to allow 50 people to work out at once. They contain equipment such as squat racks, chin-up bars, a 12-foot climbing rope, medicine balls, racks, kettle bells and free weights. The locker can also be used in both deployed and in-garrison locations.
“We have a lot of people who don’t like to work out in air-conditioned areas,” said Sabine Lopez, 11th FSS fitness and operations manager. “They like to be more exposed to the elements. We will have people come work out in the rain because they are gung-ho about doing stuff like that, or they are prepping for something that they need to do military-wise.”
For service members interested in utilizing the lockers, gym staff offer free instructional courses on how to best utilize the equipment inside.
One locker is located on the west side of base, next to the Military and Family Support Center and across from the outdoor basketball courts; the other tactical locker, called a BeaverFit, is next to the east side track, across from the East Fitness Center.
There are hopes to receive an additional locker, Lopez said. Squadrons like the 11th Civil Engineer and 11th Logistics Readiness Squadron have a high number of personnel, and an additional tactical locker would provide enough equipment for a large squadron to perform physical training together, said Lopez.
To use the lockers, patrons need to fill out a form at the front desk of the west side Tactical Fitness Center Monday through Friday from 4 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
To learn more about classes and times, call 301-981-7101 or visit the Tactical Fitness Center.