151st ESB soldier to compete for title of Best Warrior

Courtesy Photo | Spc. Lyubomir Mironenko, 151st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Bravo Company, trains for the state-level Best Warrior Competition during drill, Jan. 10, at the Bravo Company armory in Hodges, S.C.  

HODGES, SC, UNITED STATES

01.27.2015

Courtesy Story

151st Expeditionary Signal Battalion

HODGES, S.C. - A soldier from the 151st Expeditionary Signal Battalion, Bravo Company, was chosen to represent the 228th Theater Tactical Signal Brigade as the Best Warrior Junior Enlisted Soldier during the state-level competition scheduled to take place Jan. 30 – Feb. 3, at the McCrady Training Center in Eastover, S.C.

Spc. Lyubomir Mironenko will be competing for the state title against other soldiers from units across the South Carolina Army National Guard.

The competition contains many challenging events such as participating in a board, an obstacle course, marksmanship, land navigation, a ruck march, an Army Physical Fitness Test and a mystery event.

After completing the brigade competition back in November, Mironenko continued to train for the next level competition at the Bravo Company armory in Hodges, S.C. During January drill, Mironenko trained on assembly and cleaning of the M16A2 rifle, the M249 squad automatic weapon and the Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher in preparation for the state competition. Weapons proficiency is a basic soldier task, and is among the various events in which Mironenko will be judged.

Sgt. Allen Tripp, also from Bravo Company, is assisting training Mironenko for the state competition.

“He’s a hard charger and a sharp guy; he’s got it down well,” said Tripp. “You’ve got to want this, if you want to go all the way.”

Proficiency in the fundamental warrior tasks, Army knowledge and physical fitness are some of the key tasks that Mironenko seeks to build in preparation for the competition.

“I go to the gym all the time. I mostly swim and do running exercises, but I now started doing squats and lunges to get me ready,” said Mironenko. “Running helped me the most in preparation for the ruck march.”

Mironenko explained that he joined the National Guard in January 2013 in order to expand into a new skillset.

“I always wanted to join the Army…but being as I was already integrated into the professional work life as a truck driver, I thought that the National Guard was a good idea, because I could experience the Army and still continue my civilian career,” said Mironenko.

One of Mironenko’s goals in the Army is to progress through the noncommissioned officer ranks, possibly becoming a warrant officer in the Signal Corps one day.

“The more time that I’ve been in the Army, the more I regret not joining sooner,” added Mironenko.

• Date Taken: 01.27.2015
• Date Posted: 01.27.2015 08:57
• Story ID: 152819
• Location: HODGES, SC, US