Photo By Staff Sgt. Anthony Mitchell | Spc. Justin Garret draws a bead on a pop up target in his sector of fire during the...... read more read more
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FORT BENNING, Ga.- Fort Benning, Ga. warmly welcomed and accommodated the 3rd Medical Command Deployment Support as they kicked off their 2014 Best Warrior Competition at a site that is new to for the command.
Ten competitors were vying for the title of “Best Warrior” in each of two separate classes; one for non-commissioned officer, and the other for junior enlisted soldier. Many events, including several mystery events, ran from well before sunrise until very late at night. Soldiers and NCOs displayed proficiency in a wide variety of subjects attempting to out-perform their peers in order to prevail.
The first event competitors faced was an Army physical fitness test at 5 a.m. Shortly afterward, they were judged on their performances on many Army warrior tasks that were graded and scored for competitiveness. Such tasks included tossing hand grenades into marked, simulated enemy areas, evaluating and treating casualties, and map reading.
Several of the events were common basic soldier skills like maintaining an M-16 rifle, ruck marches, and land navigation. However, many more are scarcely seen by most soldiers. A couple of those tasks were correcting a malfunction on a 240B machine gun while taking fire from a mobile enemy, and subduing a resistant combatant which is daunting for anyone under any circumstances. D/2-54 helped by facilitating the weapons qualification portion of the competition.
An event that has become a crowd favorite for spectators is the combatives tournament. The Army teaches soldiers a method of hand-to-hand combat that is based on several martial arts disciplines. This method is named modern Army Combatives Program, and is considered a core warrior task. 198th Infantry Brigade helped facilitate the Combatives tournament for 3rd MCDS.
More Best Warrior Competitions include combatives. Many competitions open this event to the public and some broadcast it live on the internet.
“That was so much fun! It was exciting to watch.” said Spc. Celina Williams, support staff for BWC, remarking on the combatives event.
Maj. Gen. Ronald Dziedzicki, Commanding General of 3rd MCDS was in attendance to see Sgt. David Brooks and Spc. Joshua Comer overcome their competition to become the combatives champions in their respective categories.
“This was awesome!” exclaimed Brooks after his victory. “We don’t get to do this all the time, so any chance to roll helps us all.”
The contest culminated with an appearance board in front of five command sergeants major who each quizzed competitors on several subjects. Subjects such as current events, wear and appearance of Army uniforms, and military bearings were highly scrutinized in order to determine the best performer. Soldiers and NCOs in their Army Service Uniforms displayed the depth of their knowledge after studying at any and every given opportunity during the competition.
The top performers in the board appearance were not openly identified, as was the case in most of the events. However, the overall winners and runner-ups were announced in an award ceremony Sunday, April 6th.
Staff Sgt. Folarin Durosawo and Spc. Christopher Irazarri were the NCO and soldier “Best Warriors” for all of 3rd MCDS which includes nearly 8,000 soldiers. Durosawo said of his victory, “I didn’t do as well as I wanted to in some of the events like land nav. That’s not my specialty, but I knew I could still make up ground in other areas like the board. And I did.”
Both of the winners will go on to compete for the title of “Best Warrior” in the Army Reserve at the U.S. Army Reserve Command competition. Durosawo and Irazarri have the opportunity to advance to the army wide BWC, which will crown the Army’s best warriors later this year. This year’s competition will be held at Ft. Dix, N.J. in late June.
3rd MCDS moved its division level competition from Fort Campbell, Ky., to Fort Benning. The move turned out to be a good one according to those who had been involved in previous competitions at Campbell.
Staff Sgt. Lynndale Dixon, a supply sergeant for 3rd MCDS said, “The facilities are definitely better here. I’m glad we have better ranges and lanes closer to home station.”
1-50 Infantry Regiment helped coordinate the dining facility and lodging, as well as the ranges.
The Best Warrior Competition was a success thanks to a few units on Fort Benning, and created a great experience for all involved.
| Date Taken: | 04.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2014 10:21 |
| Story ID: | 125098 |
| Location: | FORT BENNING, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FOREST PARK, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT GILLEM, GA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT MOORE, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 182 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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