200th Military Police Command

Story by Sgt. Darius Kirkwood

FORT DIX, N.J. – The newly formed Fort Meade, Md., based 200th Military Police Command achieved yet another milestone Sunday as it completed the first edition of its very own Best Warrior Competition here.

The top finishing non-commissioned officer and junior enlisted Soldier will represent the 200th MP Cmd. at the U.S. Army Reserve Command Best Warrior Competition to be held at Fort McCoy, Wis., July 13-17. Winners of the Fort McCoy competition will move on to the Department of the Army level competition scheduled in September at Fort Lee, Va.

Out of the 12,000 Soldiers assigned to the units of the 200th, six junior enlisted Soldiers and NCO's rose from the ranks to compete for the title of best warrior of the military police command at this weekend's competition. The competition pitted them against each other in a number of tasks that evaluated their physical aptitude and soldiering skills.

"We wanted to make sure we had a well-rounded competition that would test the Soldiers in both their tactical as well as their technical skills," explained Sgt. Maj. Todd M. Pekel, the 200th's operations sergeant major and competition senior non-commissioned officer in charge.

Though the contenders did what they could to prepare for the challenge, including competing in – and in several instances, winning – best warrior competitions at their battalion and brigade levels, the details of upcoming events were closely guarded secrets revealed at the last possible moment. Not knowing exactly what to expect forces the contestants to have a thorough understanding of a wide range of subjects, and increases the long-term training value imparted upon them.

"The idea is not to get competitors that have studied for a test – and can pass a test. We want competitors that are prepared for anything – that are adaptable, flexible, show initiative, and can meet the challenges as they come," said Pekel.

Spc. Kyle R. Loch, a health care specialist at the 391st Military Police Battalion in his native hometown of Columbus, Ohio, appreciated the mystery clouding the competition.

"I think the best thing about it is not knowing what's gonna happen next," said Loch, who won best warrior competitions both at his unit and at the 300th MP Brigade.

The competition kicked off Thursday with a physical fitness test. A written exam followed later that evening, wrapping up the first of several grueling days of events for the six highly skilled entrants eager to mirror the tour de force accomplished by then-Spc. David Obray, who recently became the first Army Reserve Soldier to win the Best Warrior Competition at the Department of the Army level.

Sgt. Lucas G. Heideman was the other winner at the 300th MP Brigade's Best Warrior Competition. This weekend Heideman, a military policeman at the 415th Military Police Detachment in Pocahontas, Iowa, was also able to claim the honor of being the 200th's first NCO best warrior.

The Waukee, Iowa, native agreed that the diversity of events would give him something to take back to his unit, though he may need a bit of time to recover from one in particular.

"The most challenging event was probably the ruck march," said Heideman. "It was very competitive. It was not like a normal road march where you walk at a more leisurely pace with everyone else. There was definitely a lot of running."

Heideman was the overall winner among non-commissioned officers who, along with the junior enlisted contestants, were tested on warrior tasks such as crew-served weapons maintenance, first aid, and tactical radio communication. The NCOs were also tested at skill level two for several events. Soldiers were evaluated on these warrior tasks and their land navigation prowess on the final day of competition, before cleaning up for a board appearance presided over by Command Sgt. Maj. Brendan R. Toth, the 200th's most senior enlisted Soldier.

Another Military Policeman, Spc. Brandon L. Harp, won the overall junior enlisted 200th best warrior competition. Harp is assigned to the 304th Military Police Battalion in Bluefield, W. Va. The Knoxville, Tenn., native is currently majoring in biochemistry at Virginia Tech.

"It's wonderful," said Harp. "I put a whole lot of hard work into it. I guess it paid off. I didn't win every event, but I think I did pretty well."

Harp's extraordinary accomplishment was certainly no accident by his account.

"I spent a week at my unit going over all of the Warrior tasks, taking apart weapons and putting them back together ... most Fridays I would go up to my unit and do whatever tasks the training NCO had me do that day," he explained.

Harp plans on sharing his experiences at the competition with Soldiers from his unit that hope to compete in the future. "Next year I'm going to be training the best warrior that we send up, so I'll know a lot more about what to prepare them for."

Like nearly every other participant in this year's competition, one particular event stood out as being the most difficult for Harp, which he will be sure to warn his future protégé to expect.

"I'm gonna tell them to practice ruck marching," he said. "They need to get their feet ready."

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