Ultimate accomplishment

Photo By John Wollaston | AFNORTH Battalion commander, Lt, Col. Donald Stoner, presents the Army Achievement Medal to Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Graham as the non-commissioned officer winner of the battalion’s Ultimate Warrior Competition at the Budel training area in the Netherlands. Graham will go on to represent the battalion at the brigade level event scheduled for June.  

BRUNSSUM, NETHERLANDS

05.08.2012

Story by Sgt. 1st Class John Wollaston 

U.S. Army NATO

BRUNSSUM, Netherlands – In 2004, then Army Chief of Staff General Peter J. Schoomaker said that “every soldier is a rifleman.” Since then the Army has focused intently on making sure every soldier is proficient in their warrior tasks and battle drills, the skills needed to keep them alive on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

To showcase the hard work and training that goes into maintaining those basic combat skills, the U.S. Army NATO Brigade’s AFNORTH Battalion held an Ultimate Warrior competition at the Dutch Army’s Budel Training area near Brunssum.

For two days, soldiers and non commissioned officers from the battalion demonstrated their knowledge and ability when it comes to soldiering and leading soldiers. The event began with an Army Physical Fitness Test, soldiers then transitioned from PT clothing to their Army Service Uniform for a soldier and non-commissioned officer of the month style board. From there it was off to the field for a 12 kilometer road march and a test of their skills in land navigation, basic first aid, conducting patrols and vehicle searches and reacting to improvised explosive devices.

“It’s a great opportunity to challenge myself,” said Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Graham of Alpha Company AFNORTH Battalion, the NCO winner of this year’s Ultimate Warrior Competition. “It also showed me where I need to work at and improve for the next level of competition”.

That next level of competition is the Brigade’s Ultimate Warrior Challenge at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, May 30 through June 10, which means there is no time for Graham to rest on his laurels.

“I’ve got the next competition coming up so time to rest,” Graham said. “I’ve got my eyes focused on the next one. I don’t feel any added pressure, I’m just gonna go out there and do the best I can.”

For the soldiers of AFNORTH to be successful at the Brigade level, everyone is pitching in to help the soldiers study and train, a fact that was reinforced by the Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Donald Stoner as he addressed his soldiers after the events.

“You need to take the lessons learned from this week and apply them,” Stoner said. “Ask for help and we will provide you with everything you need to prepare for this event."

Both Graham and the enlisted winner, Spc. Jacob Ruiz, also from Alpha Company were presented with the Army Achievement Award for winning their respective levels of the event.

• Date Taken: 05.08.2012
• Date Posted: 05.08.2012 09:25
• Story ID: 88084
• Location: BRUNSSUM, NL