Some professional athletes in top physical condition recently had an eye-opening experience when they tried their hands at some routine Army exercises.
The Fayetteville Observer reported on Fox Sports' annual "Spring Training to the Troops" program that will finish its second year Feb. 7. The event brings a collection of current and former Major League Baseball players to military bases to interact with troops and see how difficult their training can be.
Chris Archer, a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays, is one of the top young prospects in the league. When he tried to pack a parachute in the four minute window allotted to Fort Bragg troops, even he was at a loss.
"It looks tough," Archer said. "But actually doing it – it was way tougher than it looked."
Fox Sports collected photos and tweets throughout the event, as well as some reactions from the participants.
It wasn't just players who experienced life on a military base. Rex Hudler spends 162 days the year as the color commentator for the Kansas City Royals, but that side of him disappeared when he was put behind the grill at the fort's mess hall.
"I loved that so much that I want to go back tomorrow morning and do it again," Hudler told Fox Sports. "They serve us, and it was so nice, for one small moment, to be able to serve them."