Traveling from Honolulu to central Arkansas wasn't an issue for Chad Agustin.
"I will fly anywhere in the world to play softball with these guys," said Agustin, whose 15-hour flight to Little Rock included layovers in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Agustin, a captain at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, plays for the Joint Task Force/Louisville Slugger slow-pitch softball team, which is competing this weekend in the Busch/Pepsi Classic at Sherwood Sports Complex.
It is the first season for the JTF team, which is comprised of military members from across the United States, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas and Hawaii.
"Our team is based on a military brotherhood," said Agustin, 34. "Every military soldier, airman, sailor, marine, we all stay and we all move. But we keep the brotherhood together and also give opportunities to our fellow servicemen."
The Busch/Pepsi Classic is JTF's sixth tournament this year. JTF beat NSS/Dennis MFC/CPI 18-17 on Friday and SOL 19-15 on Saturday afternoon before losing to Aftershock 16-10 on Saturday night.
The team also has competed in tournaments in Columbus, Ga., Las Vegas, Shawnee, Kan., Atlanta and Dallas. There are two tournaments remaining in the USSSA Conference schedule -- the Cincinnati Men's Major tournament July 18-20 and the USSSA Military Worlds on Aug. 14-17 in Panama City, Fla.
JTF Coach Danny Bond, 48, served nine years as a mechanic in the Army. He credits Clayton Shaw for getting the ball rolling for the JTF team.
"His objective was to show that they're not just military, but they're athletes and there is life other than the military," Bond said.
Players pay their own way to play, but Shaw said the love of the game and the camaraderie are enough for his team.
"We do this as a hobby," he said. "It's a stress relief for when we're not at work."
Lorenzo Holloway, 27, agreed that winning isn't the main objective for him or his teammates, who haven't won a tournament yet this season.
"It's about coming out and having fun with your buddies that you haven't seen in a while," said Holloway, who is in the Army special forces and is stationed with Shaw and five other JTF players at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Agustin helps wounded and ill soldiers anywhere within the Pacific Rim as part of the Wounded Warriors project. He wanted to join the military because of his friends and his father Mel, who also served in the Army. He was a teacher and worked in the Honolulu Police Department before joining the Army.
Traveling to the mainland is a sacrifice for Agustin, but he said that his wife Jaci has been supportive of him.
" That's my outlet," Agustin said. "When I'm happy, the family is happy."
Getting an opportunity to represent his country away from work is important for Agustin, too.
"Yes, it's for the brotherhood," Agustin said. "Yes, it's an opportunity for resiliency off the battlefield, but it's also to show that this is where we can get together and be a team. It doesn't matter what military branch you're in."
Shaw said most members of the team played sports growing up. He wanted to get an all-military team together this year and was able to do so through word of mouth and past meetings at Armed Forces events
"Everybody has a job," said Shaw, 34, an Army transportation driver at Fort Campbell. "These guys are busy throughout the week. Some of them are deployed. We have to deal with turnover, but we want to prove we can play at this level."
Sports on 07/06/2014