CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait -
Day zero
The competitors wait in line to receive keys to their temporary billets. Some seem excited, others silent, but all focused and concentrated on the mission at hand.
It’s day zero of the 2014 U.S. Army Central Soldier/NCO of the Year competition at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, May 18, and the Soldiers and noncommissioned officers follow their sponsors through the initial in-processing portion of the three-day competition.
Starting tomorrow at 4:30 a.m., the competitors’ success will lie solely on their shoulders. The task might not be as big as Atlas’ but the challenge is daunting enough for the 12 Soldiers and NCOs selected to compete.
Every piece of gear is checked to ensure each competitor has everything required on the packing list. The NBC protective mask, reflective belt, and Army Combat Uniform are all called off.
The mood is still light during their initial pre-combat inspection. It could be the apocalypse and a room full of Soldiers will still tell jokes.
“Looks like I’m a no-go at this station,” joked Steve Morales, who is deployed to Afghanistan with the 10th Sustainment Brigade. He is wearing the multi-cam uniform, designated for Soldiers deployed to Afghanistan, but of course it won’t be considered a deficiency.
For Morales, it’s been about going above and beyond the daily grind of deployment to get to this point in his Army career.
“It’s a big challenge,” said Morales. “It’s a lot to take on. There’s a lot of sacrifice that goes into competing. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication.”
To compete at the USARCENT level, competitors had to win multiple competitions at the company, battalion and brigade levels.
Day extended scale
Normally the Army Physical Fitness Test scale ends at 300 points. Normally. But in a competition of the best the Army has to offer, the scale must be extended.
The warriors filed into the gym and stretched after they received the standards brief for the test: two minutes for pushups, two minutes for situps and a two-mile run.
Morales got down in the push-up position and started to knock out the repetitions, but the opening event of the competition did not start the way he envisioned. Adversity showed up to the party.
“Stop,” said his grader. “You’re not extending your arms.”
His grader stopped him due to incorrect form before he did 10 repetitions and sent him to the back of the line to try again. Morales showed no signs of frustration or disagreement and when his number was called the second time, he performed 79 to-standard pushups.
“My leadership has prepared me,” said Morales. “I’ve got a lot of great senior leadership backing me up and doing their best to set me up for success.”
Spc. Elizabeth Laskey, all source intelligence analyst, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, said she had some doubts heading into the test and with good reason.
With a sore throat and increased standards due to a new age bracket, Laskey was not sure she would max the test like she normally does. Her doubts were overshadowed by a newfound confidence gained after competing for so long. End result: 325 points on the extended scale.
“My biggest expectation of myself is that I would push myself through everything and remain calm,” said Laskey. “This is the first competition where I’ve been able to stay calm, cool and collected through each event.”
Switching gears from the physical aspect of the first event, which resulted in an average score of 291, competitors were next tested on their mental fortitude. They were required to complete a 50-question multiple-choice exam in one hour and write an essay on the Army profession in one hour.
“It’s a little exhausting sometimes, going from competition to competition,” said Sgt. Deyanira Ochoa, supply noncommissioned officer in charge, 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery. “I expect to come out of this competition a better NCO and to one day be able to tell my troops that anything’s possible.”
After a break for lunch, the competitors prepared for a night orienteering course.
First Sgt. Larry Johnson gave them a crash course in the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) as the sun dipped below the edge of the horizon.
The competitors were required to use the navigation system to locate three points throughout Camp Buehring in less than two hours. Each point found was worth 10 points with a maximum of thirty points for the event.
With their body armor on, combat helmets strapped in and NBC protective masks attached to their sides, the competitors ran off into the night in a race against the clock.
The first night of the competition concluded as the competitors came back one by one. It was late and the following morning would begin even earlier.
Day 5.56
Eighteen rounds. Eighteen rounds and on the 18th round fired the competitors must have successfully zeroed in their rifles. No optics or M4 rifles were allowed, just Soldiers, M16-A2 rifles, 5.56-millimeter rounds and a 25-meter zero target.
They received one chance to qualify on paper targets at 25 meters in timed iterations. Two minutes for prone supported, one minute for prone unsupported and one minute from the kneeling position.
“It was a little bit more of a rush in a way,” said Ochoa. “To make sure you get all your rounds off before the time’s up.”
The morning’s weather conditions were decent for a shooter: fair visibility and light wind, but that didn’t stop adversity from showing its all too familiar face.
Laskey fired off 18 of the 20 rounds allotted in the prone supported. The only trouble was that her magazine was short by two rounds.
What happens when your magazine is shorted rounds in a competition of this magnitude?
She could have miscounted but she stuck to her guns and requested two more rounds. After verifying her target, she was given two more rounds which she promptly fired downrange.
Morales wasn’t only out there in the Kuwaiti heat, laying down rounds just for his greater good, but also to make his unit and the Army proud.
“I get to represent my unit and do good things for the Army,” said Morales.
After the range and some of that awesome, Army chow, the competitors moved into their final event of the day: warrior task testing.
The event consisted of five lanes for the Soldier portion and five lanes for the NCO portion. The lanes tested the competitors on their ability to complete military warrior tasks under pressure.
The lanes included performing first aid, requesting medical evacuation using a nine-line MEDEVAC, searching an individual and other tasks Soldiers’ can face on any given day while deployed.
“Line 3,” said Morales into the radio, calling in his nine-line. “Two Alpha One Charlie, Break!”
Each lane was worth 10 points for a maximum of 50 throughout the afternoon.
Next up: the formal board. The warriors headed into a full a night of sleep. They would need it as six sergeants major waited to test their nerve under pressure the following day.
Day board questions galore
Each competitor knocked three times on the U.S. Army Central sign that hangs on the entrance door to the board. Command Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Kelley, command sergeant major, USARCENT, and president of the board, commanded each competitor to enter.
Each board member had a stack of questions at least five inches thick in front of them and decades of military experience between them.
The questions ranged from what a class III leak is all the way to naming each amendment in the bill of rights.
Laskey answered the latter as if she was James Madison himself. It may have surprised a few board members, but not her; she remained calm and stuck to her game plan.
“Each board has taught me something different about myself,” said Laskey, of her road to the USARCENT competition. “A lot of times I over think things and I get stressed out, but I’ve learned that whenever I stay calm and go in confident, I’ll be fine.”
The finale
After a day of rehearsing for the awards ceremony, the big day was finally upon the competitors. Seated in the front row of the chapel at Camp Arifjan, they waited for the guests, leadership and fellow Soldiers to make their way to their seats.
It’s been a long road for everyone and one that won’t end for the winners who will move on to compete at the U.S. Forces Command competition and then potentially at the Army level.
Command Sgt. Maj. Ronnie Kelley congratulated all of the competitors at the ceremony for their dedication to the Army.
“These young Soldiers are my inspiration,” said Kelley during his speech. “When I get to engage with Soldiers like these, my day instantly gets brighter.”
The runners up were announced first: Pfc. Cortney Groff, 224th Military Intelligence Battalion, won the runner up for the Soldier of the Year and Sgt. Justin Engle, 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, won the runner up for the NCO of the Year.
The runners up were awarded the Army Achievement Medal.
And then the moment they all had been waiting for – the winners are: Spc. Elizabeth Laskey, 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry division, won the Soldier of the Year and Sgt. Tyree Kitchen, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th ID, won the NCO of the year.
The winners were awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
“The future of the Army is in good hands,” said Kelley. “These Soldiers are physically fit, competent warriors. They are the best of the best.”
| Date Taken: |
05.23.2014 |
| Date Posted: |
05.23.2014 14:55 |
| Story ID: |
130976 |
| Location: |
CAMP BUEHRING, KW |
| Web Views: |
575 |
| Downloads: |
1 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, USARCENT Soldier/NCO of the Year winners selected, by SGT Ryan Hallock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Subscribe
