Photo By Staff Sgt. Kelsey Blankenship | U.S. Army Spc. Dustin Wilmoth, left, gets help with his uniform from Staff Sgt. Chris...... read more read more
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RALEIGH, N.C. – Ten soldiers competed to be named 60th Troop Command’s Best Warrior during a two-day competition in Raleigh on Feb. 2 to 3, 2013. The competition consisted of an Army Physical Fitness Test on Saturday morning and a board on Sunday morning, which required them to answer questions about everything from land navigation to chain of command from five board members including 60th Troop Command’s senior noncommissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. Ernest E. Bouton.
As the soldiers arrived for the APFT Saturday morning they received a motivational speech from Bouton to help calm their nerves and motivate them to compete at their highest level.
“I know where you are. I feel what you feel and I’ve felt it in the past,” said Bouton, as he spoke to the soldiers Saturday morning. “It’s very stressful when you are on the other side of the table answering questions from a panel of first sergeants and sergeants major.”
One benefit of competing in the Best Warrior Competition is the amount of visibility each soldier gets from leadership within the brigade, Bouton said.
Sgt. Nkosi Campbell, with B Company, Recruiting and Retention, recently transferred to the North Carolina National Guard from the Louisiana National Guard, accepting a rank reduction in order to fill a recruiting position. He is using this visibility, hopefully to his advantage.
“I am using this as a push to show the chain of command I am under now that I deserve my rank back,” said Campbell.
Although the soldiers benefit greatly from being seen and recognized by leadership within the brigade, one of the biggest benefits is the way a soldier can change themselves through the new knowledge they gain and the connections they make with other soldiers.
“You’d be surprised at how much you can see a soldier grow just from doing a competition like this,” said Bouton. “They grow in ways such as learning the Army regulations because they are preparing themselves, growing in mentorship and understand how the chain of command works. They have a better picture of the NCO side of the house.”
The stresses of the weekend, and all of the preparations leading up to the competition wear on the soldiers, but not without huge rewards. The rewards not only come from recognition and newly found knowledge, but it develops a life-long memory that the soldiers will cherish for a lifetime.
“One of these days I’ll look back and say ‘Yeah, I’m really glad I did this’,” said Spc. Dustin Wilmoth, with A Company, Recruiting and Retention Battalion.
The 60th Troop Command, part of the North Carolina National Guard, is based out of Raleigh. The unit serves as the brigade headquarters element for several unique Army units across the state, including a field artillery battalion, a recruiting and retention battalion, an Army band, two military police companies, two Special Forces companies, a medical detachment, a Public Affairs detachment, a military history detachment and a civil support team.
Wilmoth was named the 60th Troop Command’s Best Warrior enlisted representative, and Campbell was named the 60th Troop Command’s Best Warrior noncommissioned officer representative.
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| Date Taken: | 02.03.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 02.07.2013 09:47 |
| Story ID: | 101612 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 224 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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