Starkville Native Competes in Mississippi National Guard Best Warrior Competition

CAMP MCCAIN, MS, UNITED STATES

03.02.2018

Story by 2nd Lt. Rachel Henson 

Joint Force Headquarters - Mississippi National Guard

JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi National Guard hosted its annual Best Warrior Competition this week at the Camp McCain Training Center near Elliott, Mississippi.
Eleven Soldiers and Airmen who mastered a series of benchmarks to qualify for the statewide competition competed for the prestigious titles of Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
The event was largely coordinated by cadre of the Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center’s 154th Regional Training Institute. 1st Sgt. David Brooks of the 154th RTI said the course was designed to push competitors to their limits.
“These next three or four days, they’re going to be mentally and physically drained,” said Brooks. “But you won’t see any of them holding their heads down.”
One of those competing for the title of Noncommissioned Officer of the Year is Starkville native Sgt. Ethan Scott of the 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi.
“Anybody who has the chance to do this competition should do it,” said Scott, who won the title of Soldier of the Year in 2015.
“You get to learn a lot about yourself and learn a lot about what you need to know, and also how to be a better noncommissioned officer or Soldier, and how to learn to give orders and how to take orders.”
Scott serves as a combat medic in the 155th ABCT and is currently mobilized at Camp Shelby with the brigade in preparation for an upcoming deployment to the Middle East.
During the four-day competition, Scott and the other 10 elite competitors tested their military aptitude by conquering urban warfare simulations, weapons qualifications, board interviews, physical fitness tests, written exams, and warrior tasks and battle drills.
The event concluded Thursday, March 1, 2018. The winners will be announced Saturday, March 3, 2018, at an awards banquet during the Mississippi National Guard’s annual Noncommissioned Officer’s conference at the Hilton in Jackson.
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• Date Taken: 03.02.2018
• Date Posted: 03.03.2018 10:43
• Story ID: 267994
• Location: CAMP MCCAIN, MS, US
• Hometown: STARKVILLE, MS, US