Photo By Spc. Catherine Gondeiro | Winners of the Maryland Army National Guard best warrior competition are recognized...... read more read more
EDGEWOOD Md. (March 17, 2019) – Best and warrior - two words that carry prestige on their own, but when combined, form a title that represents unparalleled achievement. To earn this title, 13 soldiers from across Maryland, along with service members from the Estonian Defence Forces and the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, compete in a grueling gauntlet of events. The Maryland Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition is designed to test the mental and physical resolve of some of the most elite service members over the course of four days.
“This is one of the best experiences in my life, also one of the toughest experiences in my life," said AF BiH Cpl. Jasmin Suljić, 6th Brigade, 2nd Battalion, Infantry. “I want to prove to my unit and to myself, that I can do one of the toughest warrior assignments that they can give me.”
The competition started Thursday morning as soldiers were tested on their ability to execute various warrior tasks. These tasks included assembly and disassembly of weapons; first aid; and reaction to a chemical biological radiological, and nuclear attack. The 13 competitors also tackled an obstacle course, stress shoot event, 12-mile ruck march, a written test, and various other demanding warrior tasks that tapped into every ounce of strength and skill the competitors had.
The physical demands this year were increased, said Command Sgt. Maj. James Nugent, the Command Sergeant Major of the MDARNG.
Starting at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday, the competitors had four hours to find as many of the 11 points during the night-to-day land navigation.
“The land navigation was very challenging this year,” said 1st Sgt. Jason Dayhoff, the non-commissioned officer in-charge of the land navigation event. “They had to choose which points to go to, to best maximize their time and distance to be able to get to those points as quickly as possible.”
Instead of taking the Army Physical Fitness Test, soldiers participated in a fitness event, which incorporated strength, as well as, critical thinking skills. Each competitor had seven minutes to complete five stations. At each station, there was an exercise with a minimum repetition requirement to advance to the next station. Exceeding the minimum repetition count was the only way to gain points during this event.
“That was an incredible event,” said Nugent. “I’m proud of each and every one of the soldiers, because they’re out there pushing themselves and pushing each other.”
On Sunday, the competitors had to appear before a board and answer questions about U.S. Army doctrine.
The title of Best Warrior is determined by a point system, competitors can either gain or lose points based on their performance with the maximum amount of points that could be earned at 1,000 points. Competitors were competing in three different categories based on their rank: soldier, NCO, or officer.
Spc. Hunter Olson, 1-175th Inf. Regiment, was the overall top performer during the competition, with 940 points, and was named the best soldier.
EDF Sgt. 1st Class Kalmer Antov, was named the best noncommissioned officer, and EDF 2nd Lt. Aleksandr Afanasjev was named the best officer.
“It’s just been a great experience,” said Capt. Raffaele Simpson, 1297th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. “There’s a lot of support on each event. We’re all embracing the moments and learning a lot from each other.”
Representing the MDARNG at the regional level competition in May, at Camp Dawson, West Virginia, will be Staff Sgt. Cassandra Black, a military police instructor with the 2nd Battalion, 70th Regt. (Leadership), and Olson.
“Now it’s go-time, to start preparing for regionals,” said Black. “I know it’s going to be tough. I just got to get better at what I do, and have more confidence in myself.
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 03.17.2019 18:21 |
| Story ID: | 314564 |
| Location: | MD, US |
| Web Views: | 343 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Soldiers compete for Best Warrior, by SGT Danyelle Lanford, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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