Photo By Capt. Natasha Price | Cpl. Gerardo Navarro low crawls under the barb wire during the timed obstacle course...... read more read more
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At 5pm every afternoon, you can catch Cpl. Gerardo Navarro outside in over 100 degree heat performing physical fitness with his peers. He not only stands out for his physical abilities, but also because of his work ethic.
“He’s probably one of the best soldiers I’ve seen in a long time,” said 1st Sgt. Jason Webb, first sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 194th Engineer Brigade. “He’s the living embodiment of what you think a solider should be.”
Navarro, who began his deployment with the 194th Engineer Brigade to the Middle East, had a main goal of completing RTAC which is the Ranger Training Assessment Course to prepare for the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. He also wanted to continue his degree and the Best Warrior Competition was not in his plans. However, at the end of January he was surprised to be nominated and selected to represent the 194th in the Task Force Spartan Best Warrior Competition.
“He’s a humble guy who is well thought of by his peers who also wanted him to compete,” stated Webb, explaining why he nominated Navarro to compete in the TF Spartan Best Warrior Competition. “He’s somebody that isn’t self-centered and concerns himself with helping out other soldiers. That’s what you look for to represent your unit.”
The Army Best Warrior Competition is an annual competition overseen by the Department of the Army in order to identify and recognize the best Soldiers in the United States Army. In the National Guard, each state holds a Best Warrior Competition. The winners from each state continue to a regional competition and then compete nationally to represent the National Guard. The winner of the National Guard competition competes with other Army commands at the Army Best Warrior Competition.
The Task Force Spartan Best Warrior Competition brought together 39 Soldiers from units deployed to Kuwait and was held February 25-28, 2020. Competitors were challenged in ten different events: written essay, obstacle course, Army warrior tasks, land navigation, written test, Army Physical Fitness Test, Engagement Skills Trainer or EST (an electronic simulated weapons qualification range), a mystery event (which ended up being the Army Combat Fitness Test), a road march and appearance boards. Deployed Soldiers who compete and win at the Task Force Spartan Best Warrior Competition go directly to the Army Best Warrior Competition.
Navarro placed third in the TF Spartan Best Warrior and due to the top two winners of that competition being unable to compete in the ARCENT Best Warrior, Navarro was nominated last minute. He then began to juggle his responsibilities and dedicate as much time as he could to training and studying. Within a few days Navarro completed a physical fitness test (which he scored a 300, and a 312 on the extended scale), then completed the 12 mile road march the following day wearing a ruck sack weighing around 62 pounds.
“I really didn’t have the chance to prepare ahead of time but I was rucking all the time and even did the Norwegian Ruck March previously which helped,” said Navarro. “I also studied constantly for the board because that is most stressful.”
Due to COVID-19, the ARCENT Best Warrior Competition was done virtually which made things a little more difficult to achieve logistically. Some of the events were drawn out over several weeks when normally the event is typically done in 3-4 days.
“It was a little stressful honestly,” stated Navarro as he reflected upon both experiences. “I felt there was a lot of pressure on me to win, but I love competition and I have a good support system. I always try to remain humble and professional while doing my best.”
Although Navarro did not win the ARCENT Best Warrior Competition, he still did an amazing job and represented not only the 194th EN BDE well, but also TF Spartan.
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 06.18.2020 08:42 |
| Story ID: | 372359 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Web Views: | 114 |
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