Main Page/Intro

US Military teams have existed since the 1919 Allied games held after WWI and some of the players involved in those games went on to play in the 1920 Olympics. In the late 1920., we saw Marines in China in 1927-31[[1]] and in the 30s, Marines in Philadelphia. Servicemen have played on a variety of teams until base level teams in the late 1960's began to organize. They were fueled by the service academies who have had rugby history dating from the 60's and one of the more successful base level teams (Pensacola) took part in the Monterey Tournament in the 60s. Other early base level teams were Ft Jackson (AL) and Fitzsimmons (CO), and an overseas team in Taipai Taiwan. The first team in Europe, Frankfurt Americans, was started in 1973, and Okinawa Lyons also in the early 70s, but it was not until the formal organization of our national governing body, USA Rugby in 1974, that there began a concerted effort to support military teams. The structure provided for a 'military committee', but it lay dormant until 1979 when it began (providing for a Combined Services Chairman) allowing the opportunity for a USA Rugby Combined Services Committee . The activity of that committee are chronicled in the documents and Minutes of the Combined Services Committee and the on the field club actions in the CS Newsletter which started in 1981 and spanned for two decades keeping military ruggers in touch with each other . Some of this was summarized in the Combined Services Handbooks which were distributed to military rugby team leaders across the globe. You can read the subsequent military rugby history that led to the adoption of rugby into the official DoD sports programs, which followed the lead of the Marine Corps who gave 'official' status to the game in 1980. Up until that time, the CS committee worked under their own guidelines, and example of which can be found in the 1989 Handbook [[2]]

There are several notable firsts:

First Known 1979 Club Championships at Ft Benning GA

1980 First military women's team at Camp Pendleton CA -> PENDLETON 1979-1980 Women

1980 First Combined Services tournament at Wright Patterson AFB OH

1982 First Combined Services meeting where the above logo was adopted -> 1982 CS Documents

1982 First military base team to obtain base level varsity status, Kadena -> Kadena 1982-1983 Men

1983 First Combined Services Match, Ft Sill OK -> CS1983 Men

1984 First Combined Services Tour -> CS1984 Men

1985 First Interservice Tournament -> 1985 15

1989 First Club Sevens Tournament - > 1989 Club Championships

The official DoD Armed Forces Rugby website is: http://armedforcessports.defense.gov/Sports/Rugby.aspx

Click here to go to the sites for the -> service academies

Click here to go to the sites for the -> National Governing Body Officers with military background

Click here for a list of Fallen Military Ruggers: [[3]]

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