Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Wyatt | Soldiers from 16th Sustainment Brigade plot their coordinates on a map during the...... read more read more
BAUMHOLDER, Germany – On a sun-drenched morning in early April at the starting position of the land navigation course, Soldiers sprawled out on the ground, focused on plotting coordinates before they set out to find their scattered points.
These 16th Sustainment Brigade Soldiers have been battling head-to-head during a five-day competition to bring out the best in themselves, vying for the unit’s “Best Warrior.”
“The competition really was challenging not only physically but mentally as well,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brian Perales, a native of Castroville, Texas, and the force protection noncommissioned officer with the 16th Sustainment Brigade.
Responsible for planning and supervising the competition, Perales said, “I see excellent Soldiers out here, and I’m proud of how hard they have worked this week to make this contest competitive and successful.”
The annual Best Warrior competition promotes esprit de corps and recognizes Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to the Army values, embody the Warrior Ethos and represent the “force of the future.”
“I’m the oldest competitor here at 36 years old, so being in the competition means a lot to me because they say that I am too old and I want to show them it doesn’t matter -- height, race, female or age -- I am here to win,” said Spc. Eliana Tate, an information technology specialist from Las Vegas, Nevada. “Just go and do it, no matter what people say.”
The competition consisted of eight events over four days, beginning with a traditional fitness test and urban orientation course. The next two days were comprised of rifle qualification and night land navigation. Added to these busy days, competitors faced challenges on the digital simulator range, which provided realistic marksmanship and combat scenario lanes. The final day consisted of a 12-mile road march quickly followed by a formal board chaired by 16th Sustainment Brigade Sergeant Major Command Sgt. Maj. Maveric Ledbetter.
“It’s been a challenge, but it has been fun because it’s a new experience for me being in a competition like this,” said 1st Lt. Jeffrey Lewis, a maintenance control officer with 317th Maintenance Company and a native of Easthampton, Massachusetts. “It gives me an idea of what the Soldiers go through on day-to-day basis working on their warrior tasks and helps me as leader to better understand what they do.”
The winners of 16th Sustainment Brigade’s competition will continue to train and move on to compete against the winners from other commands in the 21st Theater Sustainment Command Best Warrior Competition.
Tate summed up the attitude of the competitors, “I am a part of something big, being in the Army. I want to do everything that I can while having fun, but if I win, it will be icing on the cake.”
Winners of the 2015 16th Sustainment Brigade Best Warrior Competition:
* 1st Lt. Jeffrey Lewis, 317th Maintenance Company (Best Warrior Junior Officer)
* Sgt. Noel Phelps, 5th Quartermaster Company (Best Noncommissioned Officer)
* Pfc. Christelle Ajifackbasso, 106th Financial Management Support Unit (Best Soldier)
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.23.2015 10:14 |
| Story ID: | 160966 |
| Location: | BAUMHOLDER, RP, DE |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Knight’s Brigade Soldiers vie for best warrior, by SFC Daniel Wyatt, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT