JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The 2026 Armed Forces Flag Football Championship kicked off July 22, bringing together elite athletes from the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps for a first-of-its-kind tournament on the gridiron.
The inaugural event is being hosted at the Cole High School stadium at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston from July 22-25. The event marks the first time Armed Forces Sports has held a flag football championship and features both men’s and women’s divisions.
The tournament is broken up into a round-robin group stage followed by a single-elimination bracket, with teams competing in 5v5 matchups. For Marine Corps flag football team wide receiver, 2nd Lt. Kroy Myers, stationed at Marine Corps Base, Camp Butler, Japan, competing in the inaugural championship carries weight.
“It’s a very significant thing,” Myers said. “Being out here with the inaugural team, all of us have a very thorough understanding of that honor, and we’re ready to just come out here and get after it.”
Myers is no stranger to the game. He grew up playing tackle football from the age of five, coached by his father, before playing at North Point High School in Waldorf, Maryland, and four years at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
“It wasn’t a difficult transition to flag (football),” Myers said. “Just learning the nuances and the little niche aspects of it all has been the biggest hurdle to get over.”
U.S. Army women’s flag football quarterback, Sgt. Shaunya Kahananui, stationed at JBSA-Lackland, Texas, said the honor extends beyond any single team.
“What we have here with the Army team, we definitely built a big family, a big sisterhood,” Kahananui said. “It’s a great opportunity to represent the armed forces.”
For Kahananui, the chemistry came quickly, even among teammates who had never met before arriving in San Antonio.
“The Army already gives us that bond,” Kahananui said. “When we come out here, we come from all different backgrounds, and we just come together and mesh very well. We’re all here for the same reason. Us coming with that purpose is big enough, and that’s why we mesh so well together.”
Flag football demands speed, communication and trust in the teammate beside you; the same currency servicemembers trade in every day. This weekend, one branch will be the first to etch their names on the trophy.