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    Airmen win Kansas Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition

    Kansas Guardsmen compete for title of Best Warrior

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Zach Sheely | Six Kansas Army National Guard Soldiers and two Kansas Air National Guard Airmen...... read more read more

    TOPEKA, KS, UNITED STATES

    03.27.2015

    Story by Sgt. Zach Sheely 

    105th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

    TOPEKA, Kan. - Eight National Guardsmen representing units from across Kansas converged on the Great Plains Joint Training Center near Salina, Kansas, March 19-21 to contend in a grueling competition to determine the Best Warrior in the Kansas Army National Guard.

    In an upset, the winners are not even in the Army.

    Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Austin and Senior Airman Dean Johnston, joint terminal attack controllers, 284th Air Support Squadron, Kansas Air National Guard, claimed the title of Best Warrior in the Soldier (specialist and below) and noncommissioned officer categories, respectively.

    “We are the Kansas National Guard, which is made up of Army and Air,” said Command Sgt. Major James J. Moberly, command sergeant major, Kansas Army National Guard –Land Component, of the Airmen winning the traditionally Army-based event.

    This was the first time Airmen participated in the Kansas National Guard Best Warrior Competition and Moberly explained that the future model of the event will be a joint-service competition.

    “The Airmen this year were my test subjects,” he said. “Next year we will open the competition to the 184th Intelligence Wing and the 190th Air Refueling Wing.”

    The competition pushes contenders to their limits, testing their mental fortitude, physical stamina and knowledge in all facets of Soldier skills and Army doctrine. It’s an exercise in resilience under stress.

    “There’s a lot for these contenders to be able to know and do,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Ricky Matticks, commandant, 235th Regional Training Institute. “It’s a long race. It’s not necessarily about winning each event, it’s how you average.”

    Day one of the arduous three-day event was the most physically demanding.

    The day began with an Army Physical Fitness Test – two minutes of pushups and situps and a timed two-mile run – and weigh-in, followed directly by land navigation, wherein competitors had to locate five points on a four square-mile course as fast as possible using only a map, protractor and compass. Then, during a nearly 12-mile ruck march – conducted in accordance with Army Air Assault standard – each participant, wearing body armor and Kevlar helmet, carried a 35-pound pack over the rolling terrain of Smoky Hill Weapons Range without being told the distance or time they would be walking. Once finished with the ruck march, competitors were given an additional three points to find on the land-navigation course under the darkness of nightfall – all within roughly 12 hours.

    Day two tested marksmanship, starting with zeroing and qualifying with the M4 carbine. Next, a “mystery event” included a live-fire exercise with the M249 squad automatic weapon, M320 grenade launcher and 12-gauge shotgun as competitors moved from range to range on foot. The event wasn’t timed, but only the first four to finish were awarded points. There was also record qualification with the M9 pistol. Then each competitor conducted a call for fire drill and wrote an essay on the subject of mentorship.

    The final day, each participant was given a written exam and scrutinized on their appearance in their service uniform by a board of sergeants major, who asked them question on modern Army doctrine.

    Throughout the event, competitors were tested on various warrior tasks including assembling and disassembling the M249, calling in a medical evacuation and identifying and treating battle wounds.

    “This competition has been years in the making,” said Brig. Gen. Robert E. Windham, commander, Kansas Army National Guard-Land Component. “Every year it gets a little better and a little more challenging.”

    At its heart, the Best Warrior Competition is designed to build morale among competitors, their units and the Kansas National Guard as whole.

    “It brings me back to the core of Soldiering,” said Matticks. ”It’s what the basics of Soldiering are all about, and I think that’s what really motivates these guys.”

    Sgt. Michael Meyer, combat engineer, 772nd Engineer Company, was motivated by sheer will. Meyer, a 53-year-old native of Higginsville, Missouri, won his company-level Best Warrior event months prior, and was nearly three times the age of most of his fellow competitors.

    “My pride won’t let me stop,” he said. “I can’t quit. I had to talk myself into continuing, but once a quitter, always a quitter, so I just had to keep moving. I may not win, but I won’t be last.”

    Ultimately, no competitor quit. Each showed strengths and also learned lessons to take back to their respective units, according to Moberly.

    “This also serves as an external evaluation for me on the quality of training within my subordinate units and what shortcomings need to be addressed,” said Moberly. “I think this competition is critical to monitoring the readiness of our force and, most importantly, recognizing the top individuals.”

    Windham strongly encouraged all who love being a Soldier to compete in future Best Warrior Competitions.

    “Everybody that competed is a winner,” he said. “The competitors are the pride of the Kansas National Guard, but at the end, there’s only one number one.”

    To the number ones, Johnston and Austin, Moberly said, “You better come back next year with the intent to win.”

    He then strongly challenged his subordinate unit command sergeants major not to let the Air Guard win again next year.

    Winners of the competition at the state level will go on to a regional event against winners from neighboring states. Since the official National Guard competition hasn’t opened to Airmen yet, the two runners-up, Sgt. Matthew Copeland, tank gunner, Company D, 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 137th Infantry Regiment, Emporia, and Spc. Karson Zeltwanger, computer detection systems repairer, 995th Maintenance Company, Concordia, will represent Kansas in the Region V competition at Fort Leonard-Wood, Missouri, in May.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 03.27.2015
    Date Posted: 03.27.2015 15:44
    Story ID: 158374
    Location: TOPEKA, KS, US
    Hometown: HIGGINSVILLE, MO, US
    Hometown: SALINA, KS, US
    Hometown: TOPEKA, KS, US
    Hometown: WICHITA, KS, US

    Web Views: 244
    Downloads: 1

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