Photo By Sgt. Kenneth Tucceri | Staff Sgt. Luke Klein, with the 339th MP Company, demonstrates a combatives position...... read more read more
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GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - The event started early Thursday, April 10 and didn’t end until late the next day. There were portions of the two days that made the Soldiers test their physical fitness in the Cuban heat. Climbing ropes and running through an obstacle course, conducting land navigation in mountainous terrain, weapons qualification and an Army Physical Fitness Test.
There were events that also made Soldiers think and utilize their preparedness and training. Reassembling weapons and performing a functions check, writing essays, knowing and performing combative maneuvers and a board appearance where Joint Task Force Guantanamo Soldiers were tested on general military knowledge.
Selected Soldiers from each of the six units that fall under the 525th Military Police Battalion pushed themselves and put their Warrior tasks to the test at JTF GTMO to see who would come out on top and be named best Warrior of the year for fiscal 2014.
“Every aspect of their Soldier skills is being tested over these days,” said Sgt. 1st Class Stephanie Dembski, JTF Headquarters and Headquarters Company S3 noncommissioned officer in charge, who helped organize the event. “It’s quite long days, it will be grueling, but well worth it.”
The event began with the selection process. Each unit from the 525th selected their best Soldiers to represent them. Of the Soldiers selected, two Warriors, an NCO and junior enlisted Trooper, were named victorious over their peers in this intense competition.
For Army Sgt. Amio Taylor, a Soldier with the 491st MP Company, this wasn’t her first go at an event like this. She also participated in one while stationed in Hawaii.
“You’re going against Soldiers who are really squared away,” said Taylor of the tight competition they all faced, “Soldiers who are really physically fit and mentally fit.”
Though everyone was battling with each other, events like this can bring out much comradery in the 525th.
“It’s a competition but we don’t look at it as a competition,” said Taylor. “We just want everybody to finish every challenge they give us and every course we have to run through.”
The organizers of the event, who included Dembski and Army Sgt. Maj. Michael Baker, command sergeant major for the 525th, did a good job of keeping the participants on their toes. One of the events was labeled simply as “mystery event.”
“We had the mystery event which consisted of assembling and doing a functions check on the SAW [M249], the M16 and M9,” said Army Pvt. Kaden Fisher, a Soldier selected to appear in the event from the 189th MP Company.
The schedule for Thursday was an APFT at 5 a.m. followed by a weigh-in. After a quick breakfast break, the mystery event occurred. After lunch, the obstacle course at Marine Hill had the Soldiers huffing and puffing. This was followed by land navigation along the hilly Hutia Highway trail. Following dinner the Soldiers were put through a change of pace: writing essays.
The essays were written on topics of how to improve the NCO Corps, how to fix problems with the corps and how to be a steward in their profession, said Fisher.
“For the entire day today, I’ve been very happy with the outcome,” said Dembski of Thursday’s efforts. “Everybody’s been doing really well and pushing themselves.”
Friday started at 5 a.m. with an eight-mile road march. This tough event was followed by the weapons range. “Either you make it or you don’t,” said Dembski. It was a go or no-go at the range, no retries, she said. Combatives came next, followed by more Warrior tasks, and finally, the board.
The NCO who won was Army Staff Sgt. Luke Klein, of the 339th MP Company. The other victorious Soldier was Spc. Crystal Pittman, from HHC 525th MP Battalion. These two JTF Soldiers will be going off island in May to compete for the honor of being named best Warrior for U.S. Army South during the much larger competition in Joint Base San Antonio.
Good luck JTF Warriors!
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.17.2014 14:33 |
| Story ID: | 126463 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 119 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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