Photo By Staff Sgt. Eric W. Jones | U.S. Army Spc. James Freitas, a health care specialist assigned to the 5010th U.S....... read more read more
PINELLAS PARK, Fla. – Spc. James Freitas, a healthcare specialist from 5010th U.S. Army Hospital, Fort Gordon, Ga., 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.
Freitas, 23, a North Augusta native, is representing Southeast Medical Area Readiness Support Group, besting more than a thousand soldiers of that command to advance to the next level.
“I wanted to do something that my family and I can be proud of,” said Freitas, who followed traditions of joining the military as his grandfathers’, father and brother’s did. “I have a competitive spirit and this competition is a way to be recognized and … to represent myself, my family, and my unit.”
Freitas, graduated from North Augusta High School, S.C., and works in his civilian job as a licensed practical nurse at Georgia Health Sciences University.
He explained that being a "citizen-soldier" is about providing for something or someone bigger than yourself and giving an opportunity to advance in life and give back to others.
“Being a soldier is more than just a job,” said Freitas, who has served four years in the military. “It’s a way of life I chose to better my life, serve my country and make a difference in people’s lives.”
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 event 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.
Freitas 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 to the Army wide 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 04:34 |
| Story ID: | 104096 |
| Location: | PINELLAS PARK, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | NORTH AUGUSTA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 201 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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