Not your average team, The Minnesota Air Guard Veterans bowling fivesome are also Perfect 300 Vets: They won last year’s U.S. 47th annual Air National Guard Tourney in Salt Lake City and placed fourth this year in Duluth. It was the first time the tournament has taken place in Minnesota in decades,” says resident Dale Hauschildt, who has been with the team since ’82 and served our country as a National Guard veteran for a lot longer.
Bowling might be a flight of fancy for some, but don’t sell these guys short—their careers aren’t for the faint of heart. “We would deploy in C-130s (for you airplane buffs) to transport supplies,” Hauschildt says.
In Oman, Italy or Panama, the first sergeant of “MWR”—Morale, Welfare and Recreation, Hauschildt ensured that more than 100 military personnel were in warm beds, had meals and found what they needed far from home. “If somebody needed a group to be updated on shots, I’d get a vehicle to get those; if somebody got hurt, I’d get them to the hospital,” he says.
The Air National Guard tournament began in 1962 and is open to current members of the Air National Guard, employees, retirees and family members. At its peak in the late 1980s and early ’90s, the tournament had upwards of 1,300 bowlers and 250 teams. Throughout the past years the numbers have diminished somewhat because of the high number of overseas deployments. “Though the numbers have dropped, the same fun and camaraderie is had at each tournament,” Hauschildt says.
Team member Jim Meyers, who recently retired after 34 years traveling the world in the military and a last guard stint in Afghanistan, heralds bowling as a great outlet. The Brooklyn Center native recently scored a Perfect 300 at New Hope Bowl, where his guys team up weekly. (Hauschildt sports a gold Perfect 300 ring from New Hope, too.) —Aimee Nestingen Senior
The Team
All members on the team are from the 133rd Airlift Wing in the Minnesota Air National Guard
Bob Anderson, 35-year member, Apple Valley
Jerry Bublitz, 28-year member, Winona
Mark Flannery, 24-year member, Brooklyn Park
Dale Hauschildt, 37-year member, Plymouth
Jim Meyers, 25-year member, Brooklyn Center
