JOINT BASE SAN ANTNOIO-LACKLAND, Texas. –
Airman 1st Class Abdias Palacios, a 502nd Communications Squadron client systems technician at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, helped the Air Force soccer team score a 5-2 victory over the Navy in the 2018 Armed Forces Men’s Soccer Championship June 11 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
The team fought back from a 2-1 halftime deficit in the championship to defeat the Navy, earn gold and stay undefeated for the entire tournament.
“It felt amazing to be able to win and remain undefeated for the whole tournament,” Palacios said. “This is only the third time in about 30 years that a team has done it. I reached the one-year mark in my Air Force career shortly after the tournament, so it was a good way to celebrate.”
Palacios imparted the key to the Air Force squad’s success was their consistent commitment to professionalism.
“I’ve played on a lot of high-level teams before,” Palacios said. “The thing that really set this team apart was the professionalism. That was the emphasis in everything we did. It’s absolutely crucial to keep that high level of professionalism, not only to help us win but any time we’re representing the Air Force.”
While going undefeated was an amazing experience, meeting Airmen with vastly different backgrounds and experiences was just as important, Palacios said.
“When I played in college we were all the same age and generally from the same areas,” Palacios said. “The oldest guy on the [Air Force] team was around 32. As the youngest player on the team, I gained a lot of knowledge playing with older guys and people with different experiences.”
At just 20 years old, Palacios said the experience is something he will never forget.
“It was awesome and it was definitely nice to get to do something different for the Air Force,” Palacios said. “There’s a big tournament coming up next year with a combined Armed Forces team so hopefully I get the opportunity to represent the Air Force again.”
The U.S. Armed Forces Men’s soccer team will compete against several other nations at the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) Military World Games in Wuhan, China. Founded in 1948, CISM’s 136 member nations makes it the largest military organization in the world and the second largest multi-sport organization after the International Olympic Committee.
“It was great just playing against the other services,” Palacios said. “To get to go all the way to China and compete against other countries as a united team would be a dream come true.”