Subscribe
BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Massachusetts – Senior Airman Tenzin Dakar, 104th Medical Group airspace medical technician, competed in the 2024 Massachusetts National Guard’s best warrior competition, held from April 11 to April 13, 2024, at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts.
The competition featured a total of twenty-six competitors from both the Air National Guard and Army National Guard and consisted of six demanding events which tested competitors on their strength, mental acuity, and overall physical fitness. These events included the army combat fitness test, day to night land navigation test, a written exam and board, a weapons qualification and medical aid test, and a twelve-mile ruck march.
“As my first time competing in best warrior, I definitely found it to be harder and more challenging than I expected,” said Dakar. “The events like the day to night land navigation and the M4 and pistol weapons qualification were especially challenging for me, since I did not have much experience with these until I began training for this competition.”
Despite these challenges, Dakar excelled in the final event of the competition, the ruck march. Competitors were required to carry a variety of standard equipment including an M4 rifle and a drybag weighing at least thirty-five pounds throughout the grueling twelve-mile trek.
“Being in the Air Force, rucking is not part of our training, and it’s not a requirement for us like it is in the Army,” said Dakar. “Because of this, when I placed 3rd in this event out of twenty-six Army competitors, that really felt like a big accomplishment.”
To train for the competition, Dakar emphasized the importance of having a personal fitness routine while also being able to rely on his fellow Airmen for further preparation.
“Physical fitness is really important to me, and I try to work out at least four times a week, whether it’s running, rucking, or hiking,” said Dakar. “For the other events, Security Forces have been a huge help in getting me ready for weapon training, while my leadership, especially Tech. Sgt. Rizzari, have all been very supportive of my decision to compete in this competition.”
Tech. Sgt. Daniela Rizzari, 104th Medical Group health services technician, further expressed her support for Dakar and all of his hard work leading up to the event.
“We are so proud of Senior Airman Dakar for representing the 104MDG, and for all he has accomplished leading up to this competition,” said Rizzari. “Dakar is an exemplary Airman and I am honored to be serving with him.”
Competing in the best warrior competition helps Airmen maintain their mission readiness by testing their physical and mental toughness during real-world drills and scenarios.
“Competing in an event like this allows you to gain experience and knowledge from the other competitors, many of whom are serving in different branches,” said Dakar. “This is beneficial for mission readiness at Barnes because it allows Airmen like me to bring new knowledge, tools, skills to the unit that could potentially be implemented in the day-to-day mission.”
The two best warriors of the competition will go on to compete at the Region One Best Warrior competition in May with the hopes of competing at the national competition later this year. Dakar said he remains focused and motivated for next year’s competition.
“I am definitely planning on competing again next year and winning it.”
| Date Taken: | 05.02.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.02.2024 14:16 |
| Story ID: | 470146 |
| Location: | WESTFIELD, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Barnes Airman competes in Massachusetts National Guard’s 2024 best warrior competition, boosts physical fitness and mental toughness, by Jerry Hewitt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
LEAVE A COMMENT