FORT BRAGG, N.C. –
U.S. Army Reserve Spc. John Mundey and U.S. Army Reserve Sgt. Chase Craig were named as winners of the 2018 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition Best Warrior and Best Noncommissioned Officer in a ceremony at the Crowne Plaza in Fayetteville, North Carolina, June 15, 2018.
Thirty-six U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers from U.S. Army Reserve commands throughout the world, with occupations from combat medic to musician, and civilian careers ranging from law enforcement to laboratory specialist fought for the Best Warrior title held at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, June 10-15, 2018.
The Soldiers were tested in different Warrior skills, such as rappelling from a helicopter and marksmanship in various weapons systems, to distinguish themselves as the most capable, combat-ready, and lethal competitor. Warriors had to complete these tasks with little sleep, in rainy weather, and with temperatures approaching 100 degrees.
“The hardest part of the competition was adjusting to sleep,” said U.S. Army Reserve Spc. John Mundey said. “You get in to gear and you get into the right mindset and things start to roll a little smooth.”
Mundey is a bridge crewmember from Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, 459th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge), 299th Combat Engineer Battalion, 412th Theater Engineer Command and Craig is an observer coach-trainer from Okarche, Oklahoma, with the 3rd Company, 290th Observation and Control Training Battalion, 1st Brigade, 91st Training Division, 84th Training Command (Unit Readiness).
At the awards banquet, guest speaker Joseph L. Galloway spoke of his admiration for enlisted Soldiers and told the warriors some advice he'd given to reporters embedded with Soldiers in a combat environment.
“If you find yourself flat on your belly, and a lot of lead is in the air, look for someone with stripes on their arm and do what he's doing,” the award-winning war correspondent and author said. “You might just live through this experience, and live to write about it or take some pictures. Follow the sergeants.” Galloway received the bronze star medal with valor for risking his own safety to assist wounded Soldiers during the Battle of Ia Drang in Vietnam in 1965 while he was a journalist.
America's Army Reserve Soldier Mundey and NCO of the Year Craig will compete against the respective winners of active Army and National Guards' contests in the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition in October at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia.