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NEW YORK, New York--The northeast region Best Warrior Competition, being hosted by the New York Army National Guard from May 13 to May 17, will be held at locations across the state.
The 16 Soldiers from New York, New Jersey, and New England competing to go to the National Army National Guard Best Warrior competition in August, will be taking part in events in the Hudson Valley, the brink of Niagara Falls, Fort Drum, and finally on Manhattan.
The competition will also be supported by everyone of the New York National Guard’s major commands, said Sgt. 1st Class James Montesano, the New York Army Guard’s assistant state training NCO, who is coordinating the event.
The idea, he said, came from New York Army National Guard State Command Sgt. Major Edwin Garris.
“What the state command sergeant major wanted to do was to show them New York, and the Army facilities in it,” Montesano explained.
The competition will kick off on Monday, May 13, at Camp Smith Training Site located in the Hudson Valley near Peekskill, New York.
The Soldiers will spend two days at Camp Smith, a 1, 582 acre site that has a variety of ranges, space for tactical training, simulators and barracks, and dining facilities to accommodate up to 700 people.
At Camp Smith, the soldiers will take tests on military knowledge, compete in land navigation and military skills, test their marksmanship with the M-4A1 rifle, and undergo a demanding stress shoot event.
At the end of the competition on May 14, the Soldiers will climb on board a CH-47F Chinook helicopter flown by B Company of the 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation, and travel across the state to Western New York.
The 16 Best Warrior competitors will touch down at the Youngstown Training Area, a New York National Guard local training area in the Town of Youngstown, which fronts on the Niagara River and the state’s western border with Canada.
They will bivouac for the night and be up early on Wednesday morning, May 15, to take a bus to Niagara Falls State Park. Located on Goat Island, between the American Falls and the Canadian Falls, the park is the oldest State Park in the United States.
At 0630 they will take off on a five-mile run around on the tourist path which follows the perimeter of the island, according to Sgt. 1st Class Erin Manhart, the assistant operations NCO of the 153rd Troop Command, who is overseeing the race.
Following that they will be bused back to the Youngstown Training Area to compete in an M-17 pistol shoot and take a test on medical evacuation procedures.
After that, they will be airborne again, and head to Fort Drum, the home of the 10th Mountain Division located in New York’s North Country.
The CH-47 will land near Fort Drums OP5A, and the Soldiers will be tasked with handling a call for fire support.
Mortarmen assigned to the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will be firing live 120mm mortar rounds, and the Best Warrior competitors will be scored on how quickly they get rounds on target.
Following the Fort Drum event, the Soldiers will fly back to Camp Smith.
On Thursday, the Soldiers will be back on board the helicopter, flying down the Hudson River, over the George Washington Bridge, and loop past the Statue of Liberty, and then land at the Battery Park helipad at the tip of Manhattan.
At 0830, the Soldiers will conduct a 12-mile time ruck march heading north up the Hudson River on the Empire State Trail, which runs along the river. When they reach the U.S.S. Intrepid Museum, which is docked near the neighborhood known as Hells Kitchen, they will turn around and head back.
They will not be carrying weapons, because they will be running in New York City, according to Captain Joseph Alleva, the training officer for the 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry, who is organizing this event.
The Soldiers will be carrying their packs with helmets attached and wearing soft caps, he said.
Once they have finished the 12-mile route, the Soldiers will be bused to the 9/11 Memorial for some concluding remarks before heading back to the helicopter and flying back to Camp Smith.
Thursday, May 17, will close out with a formal dinner for the competitors and state sergeants’ majors and others at the Thayer Hotel on the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point. The hotel was built in 1926 at the direction of General Douglas MacArthur, who was then the superintendent of the military academy.
By holding events across the state, the other Region 1 Soldiers and leaders will get a chance to experience a mid-size post, i.e. Camp Smith, a small training area, a massive Army base, and the military academy, Montesano explained.
The other goal, he said, was to have each of New York’s major general officer and colonel commands participate in planning and executing the event.
| Date Taken: | 05.09.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.09.2024 15:43 |
| Story ID: | 470846 |
| Location: | NEW YORK, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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