Palm Harbor native competes in ‘Best Warrior Competition’

Photo By Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jones | U.S. Army Spc. Ashlie Diggs, a paralegal specialist assigned to Army Reserve Medical Command, jumps off a high-dive platform during the command's Best Warrior Competition at U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., March 23, 2013. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jones/Released)  

PINELLAS PARK, FL, UNITED STATES

03.23.2013

Story by Lt. Col. Michele Sutak 

Army Reserve Medical Command

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Spc. Ashlie Diggs, a paralegal specialist for headquarters and headquarters company, Army Reserve Medical Command, Pinellas Park, Fla., is competing in the AR-MEDCOM’s prestigious “Best Warrior Competition” here and Camp Blanding, Fla., March 22-30, 2013. She is one of only 10 soldiers of the 9,500-strong AR-MEDCOM Warriors to be selected to compete for this honor.

Diggs, 22, resident of Palm Harbor, Fla., and a 2008 Countryside High School alumna, is representing HHC, AR-MEDCOM, Pinellas Park, Fla., besting more than a hundred soldiers in that command to advance to the next level.

“I am always trying to better myself as a soldier,” said Diggs, who is working towards a degree in business. “I will go to any length to be a stronger soldier physically and mentally.”

Diggs is no stranger to the military, “All the men in my family have served at least 3 years or more,” she said, with almost four years of service herself. “I am the first female in my family to join the Army.”

The Best Warrior Competition was developed by retired Sergeant Major of the Army Jack Tilley in 2002 as a test of a soldier’s physical endurance, military knowledge, current events, and mental perseverance. The competition is an opportunity for Warrior’s to highlight their military skills in a competitive environment and measures how well they perform under stress.

The grueling five-day event competition taxes each soldier mentally and physically. It includes a timed written exam, physical fitness test, and a number of mentally and physically challenging exercises including a 10 kilometer road march, M4 rifle qualification, urban warfare orienteering, an Army Combatives Tournament –and a Mystery Event.

Diggs began the competition at unit level, rising to command level and continuing on to higher command intended to select the noncommissioned officer and junior enlisted Soldier of the Year for AR-MEDCOM. The winner advances to train and prepare through U. S. Army Reserve Command, and upon winning will go on to represent the Army Reserve Command to the Army wide ‘Best Warrior’ Competition to be held later in the year.

The Army Reserve Medical Command has been represented at the top Army event in 2009 by Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, a medical logistics noncommissioned officer from Three Forks, Mont., at the Department of the Army level competition.

• Date Taken: 03.23.2013
• Date Posted: 03.24.2013 16:53
• Story ID: 104022
• Location: PINELLAS PARK, FL, US
• Hometown: PALM HARBOR, FL, US