Photo By Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jones | U.S. Army Sgt. Emil Neitzke, a medic assigned to the 4005th U.S. Army Hospital, poses...... read more read more
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Sgt. Emil Neitzke, a combat medic from 4005th U.S. Army Hospital, Detachment 1, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, is competing in the Army Reserve Medical Command’s prestigious Best Warrior Competition here and Camp Blanding, Fla., March 22-30, 2013. He is one of only 10 soldiers of the 9,500-strong AR-MEDCOM warriors to be selected to compete for this honor.
Neitzke, 24, is representing Central Medical Area Readiness Group from Fort Sheridan, Ill., besting more than a thousand soldiers in that command to advance to the next level.
“I chose to compete to better myself, and gain the experience to bring back to the unit to inform my soldiers,” said Neitzke, a native of Alma, Mich., and lives in South Texas working in the oil fields as a field technician for Stage 3 Separation.
He explained that being a "citizen-soldier" means being able to live by the noncommissioned officers' creed and the Army values all the time.
“I am able to serve my country and advance in my civilian career,” stated Neitzke, who has been in the military five years.
“The Best Warrior Competition was developed by retired Sgt. Maj. of the Army Jack Tilley in 2002 as a test of a soldier’s physical endurance, military knowledge, current events and mental perseverance. The competition is an opportunity for warriors to highlight their military skills in a competitive environment and measures how well they perform under stress.
The grueling five-day competition taxes each soldier mentally and physically. It includes a timed written exam, physical fitness test, and a number of mentally and physically challenging exercises including a 10 km road march, M4 rifle qualification, urban warfare orienteering, an Army combatives tournament and a mystery event.
Neitzke began the competition at unit level, rising to command level and continuing on to higher command intended to select the noncommissioned officer and junior enlisted Soldier of the Year for AR-MEDCOM. The winner advances to train and prepare through U.S. Army Reserve Command, and upon winning will go on to represent the Army Reserve Command and the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition to be held later in the year.
The Army Reserve Medical Command has been represented at the top Army event in 2009 by Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, a medical logistics noncommissioned officer from Three Forks, Mont., at the Department of the Army-level competition.
| Date Taken: | 03.26.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 03.26.2013 03:55 |
| Story ID: | 104095 |
| Location: | PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | ALMA, MICHIGAN, US |
| Web Views: | 219 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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