Irish Defence Forces soldiers participated in the 2026 Massachusetts Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, April 15-17. During the three-day event, Irish Defence Forces (IDF) soldiers joined more than 40 soldiers, noncommissioned officers and airmen from the Massachusetts National Guard, testing themselves physically and mentally while building skills, relationships and professional knowledge.
The Irish contingent included two noncommissioned officers and two privates, representing a range of experience levels. IDF soldiers also competed in the event last year, returning home with training insights that helped this year’s participants prepare during a six-week lead-up to the competition.
“It’s my first time coming over here,” said Sgt. Ryan Kelly, an Irish Defence Forces soldier. “We were a bit nervous at the start, but they made us feel very at home. We were very well looked after, and everybody was very helpful. We knew it would be really tough, and we’ve learned so much. We’re going to bring it all home and tell them all about the experience.”
The competition began at the physical training field with the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment. Participants completed a 1-mile run, dead-stop pushups, a 100-meter sprint, sandbag lifts, a water jug farmer’s carry, high crawls and 3- to 5-second rushes, followed by another 1-mile run. Competitors wore duty uniforms with a vest and ballistic plates and were required to finish in less than 30 minutes.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the best soldier or not. Just help each other and get through it,” Kelly said. “They’ve been so good to us since we landed here. That’s what I took the most from it, taking care of each other.”
Following the fitness assessment, participants completed an M4 qualification and stress shoot. Competitors performed one minute of burpees before dragging a skid with a dummy to four covered positions and engaging targets at each station with an M4 rifle and M17 pistol. They then moved to a land navigation course, locating five grid coordinates across multiple lanes as daylight faded into night.
On the second day, competitors tackled warrior lanes, including grenade, call-for-fire and medical lanes, along with a mystery event. This year’s mystery event required assembly and function checks of an M4 rifle, M17 pistol and M249 squad automatic weapon. Participants later changed into dress uniforms for a written exam and appearance boards.
On the final day, competitors completed a 12-mile ruck march across Joint Base Cape Cod.
“Stay calm, cool and collected. Nothing is impossible,” Kelly said. “Help each other out, because everybody has been helping us. We’ve really appreciated being here and have really enjoyed it. We hope to come back next year stronger and better, and to meet new people.”