Photo By Staff Sgt. Ruth McClary | RALEIGH, N.C. – Sgt. 1st Class Aldon Williams (center), the assistant human...... read more read more
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Raleigh, NC – Braving frigid weather, four North Carolina National Guard Soldiers compete for the best warrior title, bragging rights and an opportunity to be ranked amongst the Army's best Soldiers at the Claude T. Bowers Military Center, Feb. 3-4, 2023.
Due to limited participants and area restrictions, a condensed version of the competition was hosted by Headquarters, Headquarters and Company, 60th Troop Command.
“I’m proud of the competitors that decided to participate,” said Sgt. Maj. Michael Shipley, operations non-commissioned officer in charge assigned to 60th TC. “It takes a lot to put yourself out there into a best warrior, to get out of your comfort zone of just sitting back and going through the motions of an average drill.”
Although the condensed competition did not include weapons qualification or a ruck march, it did test strength and endurance with the Army Combat Fitness Test, writing skills - a requirement moving forward for all enlisted Soldiers and warrior tasks stations that were most relevant to Soldiers at the battalion level. Each event was timed and Soldiers were questioned intensely to test their knowledge.
During the medical evaluation portion of the warrior tasks, Spc. Christian York, of Headquarters, Headquarters and Battery, 5th Battalion, 113th Field Artillery, took the lead by telling the evaluator what to do in several different situations instead of just giving the main answer that was sought.
“I only had two weeks from the battalion level to prepare for this competition and about a week to prepare on the battalion level”, said York. “They add new stuff at each level, extra knowledge about tasks and drills so it gets a little more complicated as you move up.”
On the second day, the Soldiers looking sharp in their dress blue uniforms, were questioned by a panel of Senior Enlisted leaders on Army regulations, skills, mottos and values. Appearance, attitude, confidence and demeanor were all a part of the equation as the panel assessed the soldiers to choose the best candidates to represent the state.
Although the Soldiers were very competitive, they displayed and maintained comradery throughout the competition. The decision was close but in the end two winners were announced for each category. York won in the enlisted category and Sgt. 1st Class Aldon Williams, the assistant human resources non-commissioned officer in charge assigned to HHC, 60th TC, won in the non-commissioned officer category. Sgt. Levi Wiles, assigned to the 42nd Civil Support Team, is the alternate in the NCO category.
“This was a great experience, I’m 39 so now I’m competing against all these young bucks and I feel like I got at least 10 years on everybody” said Williams. “It was good to see if I still got it.”
“Senior leaders said they would make sure I have time to prep,” he continued. “It's good to know that leadership will allow me time to focus on prepping for the state competition.”
| Date Taken: | 02.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2023 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 437965 |
| Location: | RALEIGH, NC, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, 60th Troop Command Hosts Best Warrior Competition, by SSG Ruth McClary, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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