Photo By Spc. Steven Bennett | Soldiers with the 78th Troop Command competed in the Best Warrior Competition Jan....... read more read more
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MARIETTA, Ga. - With a steady drizzle and the surrounding trees acting as nature’s amplifier, Sgt. Brady Hudson, a squad leader with the 201st Regional Support Group, paced himself with cadence from his airborne training during a 4.5-mile ruck march, the first event of the 2014 Georgia Army National Guard major commands' Best Warrior Competition in Marietta, Ga.
“Just the other day, I heard the jumpmaster sah-yah,” Hudson sang, “My way, your way…my way’s the right way!”
Hudson’s voice punctuated with each step as he and other participants completed the march with the requisite 40-pound rucksack.
The three-day competition began with 13 motivated Marietta-based Guardsmen vying to represent Georgia’s Department of Defense, and ultimately the U.S. Army as the best warrior.
The ruck march was a first step toward the national competition, which tests the fortitude of enlisted soldiers in various warrior challenges – physical endurance tests, written exams, warfare tactic simulations and other tasks pertinent to the Army’s operations.
“This is where we, as leaders, drive home how important muscle memory is; the things we are expected to know as professional soldiers,” Sgt. 1st Class James White said of the challenges the competitors faced.
The Guardsmen had to demonstrate that they could assemble and disassemble key weapons systems ranging from pistols and rifles to the M240B machine gun and .50-caliber M2 machine gun.
White and other instructors introduced the competitors to the task and then evaluated their performance.
“Soldiers are hesitant at first,” White said, keenly watching as a competitor finalized the assembly of an M4 carbine and began testing the weapon’s functionality. “Once that function check is completed you see that confidence return.”
Confidence did not lead to arrogance as the soldiers encouraged each other and the more-senior soldiers mentored the junior enlisted representatives throughout the competition. Eventually the Best Warrior competitors became the best team encouraging each other to strive harder and show individual strength in character as mentors.
The senior ranking competitor, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Hutton, has seen combat twice in his career as a military intelligence analyst. The hills of the arduous 4.5-mile ruck march were no match for his determination. Hutton crossed the finish line at just under 40 minutes then immediately bounded back to the hills to encourage his fellow competitors.
“I like being out front and setting the example,” Hutton said of his effort. “Being a senior (noncommissioned officer), I need to live up to the standard and exceed it because regardless of the outcome of this competition I will need to adjust fire and become the mentor my warrior needs to win.”
“As Guardsmen, we don’t do this everyday,” Pfc. Lucas A. Renz pointed out, following the written map-reading test phase.
He and Hudson, who belong to the same unit, took time from their civilian jobs and families to prepare for the competition.
“I don’t fire a shotgun on a regular basis – honestly I have never fired a shotgun – but we prepare as best we can and I’m just happy my NCO is here so we can encourage each other,” said Renz.
In March, Hudson and Hutton will meet again as the two were named 2014 NCO Best Warrior for 201st Regional Support Group and 78th Troop Command respectively. The junior enlisted representatives are Spc. Kyle Lee, a military policeman with the 201st RSG and Spc. Matt Segars, a trombonist with the 78th Troop Command’s 116th Army Band.
“Those I competed against motivated me to be better,” Lee said. “The harder they pushed the harder I was forced to push myself and I believe I can go that much further!”
| Date Taken: | 01.12.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.23.2014 18:52 |
| Story ID: | 119568 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 231 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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