Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Bryan Spreitzer | Spc. Troy Mairs of Ashton, Illinois, a Soldier with Company E, 1st Battalion, 106th...... read more read more
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MARSEILLES, Ill. – Marseilles Training Center in Marseilles, Illinois, hosted eight Soldiers from units across the state vying to be Illinois’ Soldier and Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year April 6 to 9.
Spc. Troy Mairs of Ashton, Illinois, a Soldier with Company E, 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment based in Peoria, Illinois, took top honors as the Soldier of the Year. Sgt. Robert Yeagle of Dekalb, Illinois, a Soldier with Company A, 405th Brigade Support Battalion based in Machesney Park, Illinois, took top honors as the Illinois Army National Guard's Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year.“The competition is pretty grueling,” said Mairs. “They put together a pretty good course and a lot of us have been beat up over the last four days.”
This year also saw two female Soldiers in the competition for the first time in more than five years.
Spc. Alexandria Adleman of Bloomington, Illinois, a Soldier with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 404th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade based in Normal, Illinois, finished third in the Soldier of the Year competition; and Sgt. Bethany Espinoza of Chicago, a Soldier with the 3625th Component Repair Company based in North Riverside, Illinois, finished fourth in the NCO of the Year competition.
“It’s been very competitive, everone here deserves to be here,” said Adleman. “The Soldeirs here really know their stuff, it’s [been] a real challenge keeping up with my fellow competitors, but I’m confident.”
The competition began April 6 with the Army physical fitness test, a three-event test consisting of two minutes of pushups followed by two minutes of sit-ups, and finished with a timed two-mile run. Over the next three days, the Soldiers competed at weapons qualification, warrior skill tasks, land navigation, a confidence course obstacle race, and a question and answer board. The competition capped off with a timed 10-mile road march with a 40-pound rucksack.
The eight competitors were selected from a pool of nearly 10,000 Soldiers in the Illinois Army National Guard through platoon, company, and battalion-level boards to compete as Illinois’ Best Warriors.
Command Sgt. Major Sean P. Carney of Oak Park, Illinois, the state Command Sergeant Major, Illinois Army National Guard, said the Soldiers competing are the best the state has to offer.
“I think this is a great thing we do in the state every year,” said Carney. “It gives us an opportunity to see the best within our ranks and the Soldiers get a lot out of competing.”
Carney said they also took a different approach to the essay questions to try to delve deeper into issues the Soldiers may see at the unit level.
Mairs and Yeagle were presented with a plaque, coins from the Commander of the Illinois Army National Guard and State Command Sergeant Major, and two tickets each to a baseball game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, donated by the National Guard Association of Illinois.
The competitors were the top representatives from their respective brigades. The Best Warrior Competition pits these Soldiers against each other in a multitude of events designed to test their physical fitness, mental toughness, and their competence at warrior skills. The winners of the competition become the state’s Soldier and NCO of the Year and go on to compete in the regional competition with hopes of reaching the national level to compete for the Army’s Soldier and NCO of the Year titles.
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 04.14.2017 14:17 |
| Story ID: | 230384 |
| Location: | MARSEILLES, IL, US |
| Hometown: | ASHTON, IL, US |
| Hometown: | CHICAGO, IL, US |
| Hometown: | DEKALB, IL, US |
| Hometown: | OAK PARK, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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