Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy | Competitors in the 2010 Best Warrior Competition take the Army Physical Fitness Test...... read more read more
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FORT BENNING, Ga. - Preparing for the Army National Guard’s Best Warrior Competition is challenging enough for those sent to compete in the annual event here at the Guard’s Warrior Training Center.
But for the cadre at the WTC preparing for the competitors can be just as challenging.
“It’s difficult,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Gregory Slater, the sergeant major of the WTC. “The cadre put in a lot of hours here … making sure that their classes are squared away, making sure that they are the subject matter experts.”
And Slater wouldn’t have it any other way when it comes to the competition, which selects the soldier and noncommissioned officer to compete at the Department of the Army level.
“There was a time, really far back, when our boards picked the soldier of the Year and NCO of the Year, and we really just selected the prom queen,” he said. “We sent them to the board, they looked nice in their Class A uniform, and we picked the one that can answer the questions the best.
“Now, we’re really in the process of selecting warriors. We’ve got them out and they’re running, they’re shooting, they’re doing land nav. So, we’re really trying to find the best all-around warrior.”
The competition is designed to mirror two things, said cadre members. First, it’s similar to what those who win will face while competing in the Army-level competition. And secondly, it draws on experiences from real-world scenarios that may be faced while deployed, such as having to respond to a strike by an improvised explosive device.
“For those young soldiers, hopefully we’re setting something in stone in their mind early on about realistic training, being battle focused so that when they do become sergeants they’ve got this experience in their mind,” said Slater.
One of the most noteworthy examples of that, said Slater, comes when competitors go to the range.
“We’re not talking about the old days of climbing in a fighting position and knocking down some targets,” he said. “We’re talking about a simulated [improvised explosive device] strike, running and getting that heart rate up to 150, 160 beats [per minute] and trying to knock down targets and discriminate between an enemy and friendly. Then, moving a casualty in the middle of that scenario, then picking up a pistol and having to transition to a different weapons system. It’s very realistic training.”
And while the end result of the competition will select those to go forward to the Army competition, the real focus is on providing a solid training event.
“They should walk away from this, whether they win or not, with some good, quality training,” said 1st Sgt. David Snitchler, first sergeant for C Company at the WTC, adding that the competition includes numerous events that involve equipment or tasks that some competitors may not have worked with before, such as the M2 .50-caliber Browning heavy machine gun or having to call in artillery fire.
Though the competitors spend three days going through the competition, the preparation on the cadre’s part takes much longer.
“We start planning this about 60 days out and then we go through a validation station,” said Snitchler.
Their planning and preparation encompasses quite a bit.
“There are countless hours put in from the instructors that are out there to the staff guys behind the scenes that are resourcing the stuff, coordinating for the ranges, the chow and the equipment,” said Slater. “So, there is a considerable amount of work that happens.”
Part of the planning process also means incorporating input from different sources, such as the sergeant major of the Army Guard, state sergeants major and after action reports from previous competitions into the final competition plan, said Snitchler.
Once all those aspects are coordinated for and the lanes set up, the cadre members themselves then go through each event themselves to validate it and work out any kinks.
“First sergeants, sergeant majors and other instructors will go through and ensure the flow is correct,” said Snitchler. “It’s a pretty intensive process to get it validated and ready for the competitors so that it does go smoothly.”
For Slater, being a part of that process is one of the best things about his job.
“The validation is difficult, but it’s one of the best things I get to do as a sergeant major,” he said. “I get to compete in the competition, so to speak. I’m out putting on the body armor, putting on the helmet. I’m out hitting the targets, shooting them and knocking them down, then running to the next station dragging rescue dummies. I don’t know of any place in the Army where you can do that as a sergeant major.”
For the competitors, all that planning and validation means a challenging event.
“I think it’s a pretty good gut check,” said Snitchler. “They’ve gone through the boards at the state level and this kind of ramps it up.”
| Date Taken: | 08.03.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 08.03.2010 06:53 |
| Story ID: | 53872 |
| Location: | FORT BENNING, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 158 |
| Downloads: | 85 |
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