Visual information professionals from across the Department of War gathered at Fort McCoy in May 2026 to compete in the annual Spc. Hilda I. Clayton Best Combat Camera Competition — a demanding event that tested participants' physical fitness, tactical proficiency, and visual storytelling skills.
Hosted by the 55th Public Affairs Company (Combat Camera), the competition honors the legacy of Spc. Hilda I. Clayton, an Army combat photographer who was killed while documenting military training in Afghanistan in 2013. The annual event challenges competitors to demonstrate the capabilities required of military visual communicators operating in austere and operational environments.
The competition also celebrates a military profession with roots stretching back more than 80 years, history shows. During World War II, Army photographers and motion-picture crews accompanied Soldiers into combat across Europe, North Africa, and the Pacific, documenting some of the most significant battles in U.S. military history. Their imagery informed military leaders, provided information to the American public, preserved historical records, and created an enduring visual archive of the Army’s wartime service.
The combat documentation mission continued through the Korean and Vietnam wars and later evolved into dedicated combat camera organizations that deployed alongside military forces around the world. During operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, combat camera Soldiers routinely accompanied combat patrols, airborne operations, humanitarian missions, and special operations forces, capturing imagery and video from the front lines while often operating under the same conditions and risks as the units they supported.
Today, combat camera professionals are trained as both communicators and Soldiers. They provide commanders with visual documentation of operations while producing photographs, video, graphics, and multimedia products that support historical preservation, strategic communication, training, and public information efforts.
According to organizers, the annual Best Combat Camera Competition is designed to test those capabilities in realistic scenarios that mirror operational requirements.
Throughout the multiday competition at Fort McCoy in May 2026, participants completed a variety of events designed to evaluate both Soldier and communicator skills. Challenges included tactical lanes, marksmanship events, physical fitness assessments, reconnaissance activities, land navigation, and visual information production requirements that mirrored real-world combat documentation missions.
According to a June 2 post by the Army Public Affairs Association, Staff Sgt. Carter Acton and Sgt. Cody Williams of the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) earned top honors in the 2026 competition. Competing as a team, the Soldiers distinguished themselves through a week of demanding physical, tactical, technical, and storytelling challenges that tested the full spectrum of combat camera skills.
In recognition of their performance, both Soldiers were awarded the Meritorious Service Medal by the Army Communication and Outreach Office during the Army Public Affairs Forum. The association noted that Acton and Williams' teamwork, professionalism, and ability to tell the Army story under pressure represented the very best of the military visual information profession.
Fort McCoy’s expansive training areas, maneuver space, ranges, and field environments provided an ideal setting for the competition, Fort McCoy Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security (DPTMS) officials said. It allowed participants to operate in realistic conditions while producing photography, video, and multimedia products under pressure.
The event also highlighted Fort McCoy’s reputation as one of the Army’s premier training installations, supporting readiness for Army Reserve, National Guard, active-duty, and joint-service forces from across the United States, DPTMS officials said.
The competition concluded following several days of rigorous training and evaluation, reports by Sgt. Christian Aquino and Cpl. Jaimee Perez show. The competition showcased the technical expertise, adaptability, and warfighting mindset required of today’s military visual information professionals.
As the next generation of combat camera Soldiers continues to document military operations around the world, they carry forward a tradition that has preserved the Army’s history and told the Soldier story for more than eight decades.
(Article prepared by the Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office and Exercise News Day coverage by Sgt. Christian Aquino and Cpl. Jaimee Perez at https://www.dvidshub.net/unit/USAREND.)