CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq -- It started in the early morning hours. Soldiers cloaked in the pitch black perform last-minute mental evaluations to prepare themselves for their undertaking; the fall air is doing its part to provide a cool atmosphere, a change from the usual suffocating heat.
Despite being in the midst of Operation New Dawn’s final months, these few men and women were preparing to compete against one another in a Best Warrior and Non-commissioned Officer competition: They were contestants in the 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command’s Grey Ghost Stakes.
The 4th Sustainment Brigade, hailing from Fort Hood, Texas, hosted the competition Oct. 12 at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. 310th ESC subordinate units from across the country made their way to compete in the competition and to lend a hand.
The 21 Soldiers, divided between NCOs and junior-enlisted Soldiers, would first exercise their grit by combining search and detaining skills with modern Army combatives.
Immediately after that, a physical fitness test; minutes later, a five-mile foot march.
The demands didn't stop there. It continued into situational training exercise lanes featuring stations on land navigation, radio communications, first aid and even essay writing. Soldiers would then shuffle over to qualify on their assigned weapon. Not wasting any time, they were soon, one-by-one standing before a board to test their Army knowledge.
The end seemed to be a day that would never come.
“This event was actually more mentally demanding than it was physically for me,” said Sgt. Jose Villanueva, an ammunition NCO for the 4th Sust. Bde. and a Dallas, Texas, native who would place third in the competition.
After hours spent physically and mentally exerting themselves, the soldiers, accompanied by their sponsors and peers, gathered for a final ceremony. Command Sgt. Maj. Debbie Schroder, the 310th ESC senior-enlisted leader, gave out coins to those who helped support the day’s event and then to those who competed.
Then the quiet calm before the storm took over.
Sgt. Kellyn Furgiuele of the 372nd Inland Cargo Transportation Company, 275th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sust. Bde. took the crown for the NCOs; Pfc. Michael Doumas, Charlie Company, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 183rd Cavalry, 4th Sust. Bde, emerged the victor from the junior-enlisted ranks.
For Command Sgt. Maj. Erik Frey, the senior-enlisted leader for the 4th Sust. Bde., everyone was a winner.
“This competition covered many areas that soldiers should be proficient in: from the APFT, warrior tasks and battle drills to their writing ability,” Frey said. “All 21 competitors were well prepared and displayed a high level of warrior ethos and motivation.”
Ultimately, Frey said he believes the competition his unit hosted and competed in proved what Soldiers do every day they wear the uniform.
“All soldiers must always hone their craft of being a Soldier, and these competitions are designed to showcase all the hard work and preparation a Soldier does on a daily basis,” Frey said.