JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas —
Security forces members and firefighters from across Joint Base San Antonio faced off once again for the annual battle of the badges Oct. 19-20 at JBSA-Randolph.

After two days of competition, the members of the 502nd Security Forces Group emerged victorious as back-to-back champions.

“You put yourselves between people and danger, and take care of them at all cost,” said James Graham, 502nd Civil Engineer Squadron director. “I’m so honored to have fighters and defenders on my team; it’s humbling to see what you do every day.

This year’s Battle of the Badges was comprised of three main events: a force-on-force exercise, firefighter combat challenge and a fire truck pull.

In addition to the traditional challenges, this year’s event opened with a basketball game Oct. 19, where the defenders pulled off a victory.

The defenders were also able to edge out the firefighters in the truck pull and firefighter challenge with a time of 26:30 and 2:10:31.

The firefighters completed both challenges with times of 28:45 and 2:11:49.

The firefighters were however able to pull off a victory during the force on force exercise and a dance off between Sparky the Fire Dog and McGruff the Crime Dog.

Families and friends of security forces members and firefighters also attended the event to learn about some of the first responder missions performed around JBSA on a daily basis, to cheer on competitors and meet with Sparky the fire dog and McGruff the crime dog.