Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Charlotte Reavis | U.S. Army Spc. Brett Hawley, with the 98th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, waits to...... read more read more
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FORT MCCOY, Wis. – “My overarching plan was to join the Army Reserve out of high school to understand what it’s like to be an enlisted soldier, learn a soldier’s job and then from there I would come into the ROTC program as a cadet, eventually commissioning into the active Army,” said Spc. Brett Hawley. “So I felt the Army Reserve was a good basis to become a better leader.”
Hawley, a Loveland, Colo., native and member of the 98th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, has been in the Army Reserve for three years now and said he is still working toward this goal.
He is currently in the ROTC program at Colorado State University.
“I think the Army has, more than anything, given me a mental fortitude and this ability to achieve any task," Hawley said. “If I put my mind to do something, I will do it and I will do it well and that is something I didn’t have before joining the Army.”
Hawley said before joining and gaining more confidence, he felt like he didn’t have the “x-factor” needed, but now that he has been in the Army Reserve, he feels that he does not need that “x-factor,” and all it takes is hard work and determination.
“I think it’s an outstanding competition,” Hawley said of the 2013 Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition he is currently participating in. “You learn and hone your basic warrior tasks, not only in the competition, but in the preparation. You’re always focused on your warrior tasks, the key fundamentals of battle and that absolutely translates downrange.”
Hawley, a chemical operations specialist with the 98th ESB, said he is competing at Best Warrior to gain "mental toughness" and show himself that he can compete and be at the top tier level of the Army Reserve.
“(I want) to see how far I can push myself, to find out where that breaking point is, and so far I haven’t been able to run into it yet,” he said. “So as I keep going up, I just want to see how far I can take myself.”
Hawley said he was athletic throughout high school and he enjoys doing high-altitude running and ruck marches where he lives in Colorado.
Hawley also said being an ROTC cadet has kept him physically fit and taught him key leadership skills, which have helped him throughout the competition.
“I don’t think I understood quite what it meant to be here until I got here and saw who my fellow competitors were and just what a huge thing it was to be here,” he said. “I moved through each competition saying, 'OK, I’m a little higher, I’m a little further' and then all of a sudden, to be here was a surprise. It has definitely been an interesting experience.”
Outside of working towards a commission and competing in the "Best Warrior," Hawley enjoys being a musician and restoring old motorcycles.
“I get things done. That’s my purpose,” said Hawley. “I lead others when it is necessary and I can be led when needed. I am a very flexible soldier and can accommodate myself to any given task.”
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2013 15:53 |
| Story ID: | 109308 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Hometown: | LOVELAND, COLORADO, US |
| Web Views: | 253 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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