NCO motivates other Soldiers in the NCO of the Year competition to never give up

Photo By Master Sgt. Helen Miller | Spc Tiffany Chesney, a Soldier with the Lansing-based 46th Military Police Command, does the fireman's carry with a medical dummy during the stress fie competition. Soldiers and noncommissioned officers of the Michigan National Guard participate in a Best Warrior competition held at Fort Custer, Mich., on April 12, 2014. In a grueling three day event the competition decides the Soldier of the year and the noncommissioned officer of the year. The competitors are measured against their peers in events testing aptitude in a broad range of Army skills including accountability, physical fitness and agility, day and night land navigation, weapons familiarization, weapons qualification, and reflexive fire and written communication. The culminating event for the competitors was an appearance before a formal board in which they were individually evaluated by a panel of their superiors. ( MIARNG photo by Staff Sgt. Helen Miller, released)  

LANSING, MI, UNITED STATES

04.18.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Helen Miller 

46th Military Police Command

FORT CUSTER, Mich. - Sgt. Tiffany Chesney may not have won the NCO of the year competition, but she did receive a coin from the state command sergeants major for being the most motivated and determined Soldier in the competition. Chesney, 46th Military Police Command, Lansing, Mich., was also the only female in this year’s competition.

Chesney’s journey began when her company noticed her willingness to volunteer no matter the task and her desire to always give 110 percent. And although she had only been an NCO for four months, the 46th Military Police Command decided she would compete for NCO of the year at this year’s Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Custer, Mich., April 11-13, 2014.
Fellow Soldiers and NCOs helped competitors as they prepared with training, experience and motivation. Sgt. 1st Class David Buck was Chesney’s “coach” for the preparation of the competition. And he was by her side all three days of the competition, cheering her on and motivating her to never give up.

“From the beginning SFC Buck told me I needed to grab this big Army study guide book and start reading and start doing more PT and training for the six mile road march with a 37 pound rucksack,” Chesney said.

Chesney and her coach Buck developed training plans every step of the way to prepare, focusing on physical fitness, basic military knowledge and core warrior tasks and battle drills.

“It requires a lot of goal setting, a lot of time, a lot of preparation and a lot of determination to keep moving and keep pushing yourself to the your limit,” Chesney said. It took Chesney a bit longer than the other contestants to finish some of the events but she never gave up, even when she was trying to lift and fireman carry a 110 pound medical dummy in full combat gear that outweighed her by 10 pounds.

“A Soldier or NCO doesn’t become the Soldier of the Year or NCO of the Year alone,” Chesney said. “They become the Soldier and NCO of the Year through training and a lot of hard work, but you can’t accomplish that training alone. And I had a lot of help and support from people in my unit.”

The Best Warrior Contest, held at Fort Custer, Mich., pushed the Soldiers physically and mentally with events ranging from an Army Physical Fitness Test, a written essay, a weapons qualification, a stress fire event, and a six mile road march, land navigation and other events where the competitors were tested on warrior tasks and battle drills.

• Date Taken: 04.18.2014
• Date Posted: 04.23.2014 08:13
• Story ID: 127195
• Location: LANSING, MI, US