Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brent Powell | Army Reserve Sgt. Thomas Crump, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear...... read more read more
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FORT DEVENS, Massachusetts – It was a week filled with flash-flood warnings, snow, high-winds, cold-temperatures, early mornings, late nights, and numerous physical and mental warrior tasks and challenges designed to push Soldiers to their limits in an effort to find out, who amongst their ranks is the best.
It was part of the annual Best Warrior Competition held here April 16-20 as the 76th Operational Response Command, 412th Theater Engineer Command, 416th Theater Engineer Command and the 99th Division (Readiness) hosted a joint competition to seek out their very best Soldiers to compete in the U.S. Army Reserve Command’s Best Warrior Competition at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in June.
“We decided to have a joint command competition this year for a couple of reasons,” said Command Sgt. Major Jeffrey Darlington, command sergeant major, 76th ORC. “First of all pooling our resources makes the event much more cost effective, and secondly, it gives the competitors exposure to other units and other Soldiers who do different things, allowing them to possibly make some life long friends while they are here.”
The event organizers wasted no time in putting the 23 competitors to the test in a plethora of challenges over the course of the four day event. Those challenges included an oral exam board, a written exam, an Army Physical Fitness Test, medical evaluations, a 12-mile ruck march, M9 pistol and M16A2 service rifle qualifications and a stress shooting event, day and night land navigation courses, a written essay, a trip through the gas chamber and more.
“This year the level of motivation, professionalism and dedication the Soldiers brought with them to the competition has been the best I’ve seen,” said Darlington. “The entire group came in ready to prove their lethality, and showcase the skills and talents they bring to the the Army Reserve.”
The 76th ORC had four motivated Soldiers competing in this years competition, two noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and two junior enlisted Soldiers. One of those who did exceedingly well in the competition clenching the top spot for the command was Sgt. Thomas Crump, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) specialist and native of Rocksprings, Georgia, assigned to the 327th Chemical Company, 92nd Chemical Battalion, 415th Chemical Brigade, 76th ORC.
“I decided to compete this year after competing in and winning our local battalion and brigade level competitions,” said Crump. “It’s always been my personal belief to strive for success in everything I do and to take every opportunity I can to challenge myself.”
The competition certainly provided ample challenges to Crump both mentally and physically. “The 12-mile ruck march was an eye-opener for me,” he said, after finishing the event in an impressive 2 hours and 32 minutes. “I finished first out of the NCOs, but it’s still something I need to improve upon. I want to be able to complete the event in the future without my knees killing me.”
Crump wasn’t the only one challenged by the brutal ruck march. Spc. William Laws, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) specialist, assigned to the 318th Chemical Company, 490th Chemical Battalion, 415th Chemical Brigade, clinched the top spot for the junior enlisted Soldiers from the 76th ORC and he also found the ruck march difficult. “It has been more than two-years since I’ve had to ruck that far and it was definitely a physical and mental challenge,” he said, after finishing the event in 3 hours. “I had a battle buddy from another unit helping to motivate me through it, but it was tough.”
Despite the various challenges and long days, both Crump and Laws said they liked competing this year.
“I really enjoyed this competition for several reasons,” said Crump. “It definitely kept me on my toes and it allowed me insights to the USARC level competition from people who have competed at that level before. I also enjoyed shooting the M9 pistol because I had never shot one prior to coming here. Being able to shoot from the prone and kneeling position was pretty cool, and having clay targets to shoot at was a nice touch as well.”
For Soldiers thinking about competing in next year’s event, Darlington and Crump have some words of advice to help them succeed.
“If you are serious and want to compete next year, you need to start preparing now,” said Darlington. “I encourage all Soldiers to step up to the challenge, because competing sets you above your peers and it will expose you to some things you might not experience again in your career.”
“I would encourage anyone that can to get out there and compete,” said Crump. “Just do it. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, just go into it humbly, don’t boast about anything, just showcase your skills and abilities. Help your battle buddies when you can and just add to the growth and knowledge of your unit. Winning is the ultimate goal of course, but learning and bettering yourself in every way you can is just as important. I would also encourage you to share your experiences with your civilian counterparts and show them that the Army Reserve is truly a superior fighting force.”
The competition concluded on April 20 with an award ceremony where the winners of each command were announced and presented with a trophy, an Army Commendation Medal, and command coins.
“I couldn’t be more proud of these warriors and the efforts they put forth this week,” said Darlington. “I want to thank their employers and their families for their support of our Soldiers and for allowing them to come and compete. I recognize it takes a total team effort for this to be successful. I wish the competitors all the best in the future and I hope they take this experience back with them and help this competition be even more robust and healthy next year.”
| Date Taken: | 04.20.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 04.20.2018 20:41 |
| Story ID: | 273981 |
| Location: | FORT DEVENS, MA, US |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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