Photo By Staff Sgt. Tori Miller | Georgia National Guardsmen, Sgt. Trae Green, representing the Columbus-based 648th...... read more read more
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The Georgia National Guard attended the Region III Best Warrior Competition at Camp Butner, North Carolina between May 13-18, 2019.
Sergeant Trae Green, representing the Columbus-based 648th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, competed with the noncommissioned officers, and Spc. Lucas Johnson, representing the 201st Regional Support Group, competed with the enlisted personnel.
“It was a great challenge, competing against the other states and territories in our region,” said Green. “All of the competitors were the best of the best and they really pushed me to lay it all out on the line.”
Region III is comprised of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Every state and territory were represented during the competition.
Guardsmen competed in physically and mentally strenuous events that pushed the enlisted and noncommissioned officers to demonstrate all aspects of there Army knowledge and training. The competitors remained highly motivated throughout the competition. Although tiring, the competitors would cheer on one another during each event.
“Everyone competing comes out to the Region III Best Warrior Competition as the best from their states and that’s what makes this competition so challenging,” said Johnson. “This competition encourages camaraderie because we don’t get together too often, unless it’s a natural disaster. It’s awesome to be able to come out here and be around something as wholesome as a competition.”
The competition started out at a steady pace with the M4 rifle and M9 pistol qualifications, Army Physical Fitness Test, land navigation and the obstacle course as well as other events. The events were physically and mentally challenging, but Johnson and Green were motivated and even finished first in select events, such as night land navigation.
“The competition did start out slow and gradually got more challenging,” said Johnson. “The first few days of competition were tough because you really had to take the time to get to know the competitors, what their strengths were.”
At the peak of the competition, the 12-mile ruck march pushed most of the competitors to their limits.
“The ruck march was difficult, but I made it,” said Green. “12 miles are not easy for everybody and the last couple days of competition have required me to give a really big push to gain a top spot.”
As the competition ended, the competitors had a board appearance in front of the states’ senior enlisted leadership. Competitors were given a large study guide and encouraged to read and study each detail of the packet, any topic in the packet was fair game for the board to ask.
“The board appearance was much better than any board I have been to,” said Johnson. “It gets easier every time you do it; this is my fourth board and it’s four times easier than the first.”
Both Green and Johnson were grateful for the opportunity to compete at the regional level and represent their state. They advised future competitors to give it their all, when preparing for competition be prepared to lay it all on the line during competition.
For Johnson, the payoff was all too real, placing 2nd overall for the enlisted personnel in the Region III Best Warrior Competition.
“It feels amazing to win,” said Johnson. “For those that want to compete, it’s lots of long nights and early mornings, but it pays dividends for putting in the time.”
| Date Taken: | 05.18.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 06.04.2019 22:23 |
| Story ID: | 322947 |
| Location: | ATLANTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 32 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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