Photo By Capt. Michael Merrill | Sgt. Jedediah Hewson, left, from Mesa, Ariz., a human intelligence collector with the...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. - For someone who carries the nickname “The Beast,” Sgt. Jedediah Hewson, a military intelligence collector with the 301st Military Intelligence Readiness Command, certainly has the credentials to validate the label.
The Mesa, Arizona, native is enduring the grueling course at the 2014 U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition, here, June 23-27.
Taking on the demanding events at each of the U.S. Army Reserve Best Warrior command qualifiers, he has dominated in combatives and has excelled at the other events.
His wife, Jaime, gave insight into the nickname as she recalled an experience during a Best Warrior qualifier in California.
“When he’s getting ready for a competition, he’ll go into what we call 'beast mode,'” she said. “During a land navigation course, it was raining heavily and the mud was so thick on his boots it was slowing him down. So he took off his boots and ran the rest of the course barefoot. He finished the tournament with his feet full of splinters, blisters, and bruised all over from the combatives tournament. It was the worst I had ever seen him.”
But “The Beast” came home from the competition with the victory. In fact, he tore through his first three rounds of the command qualifiers to land in the finals.
This is a far cry from the image Hewson presents to the world: an accountant, father of three, Boy Scout leader and church choir volunteer with a soft-spoken, easygoing demeanor (He even wears what’s proverbially known in the Army as “BCGs” or “Birth Control Glasses,” due to their nerdy style). In addition, he’s also fluent in Korean and Mandarin.
His mentor for the competitions, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Hazel of Phoenix, emphasizes his dual nature.
“He’s introverted by nature, but he’s like a lion, powerful and strong willed. And he’s also very intelligent.”
Hewson credits his life experiences for paving the foundation to his success, along with family support that goes far beyond cheerleading.
He identifies his experiences in the Boy Scouts, where he attained Eagle Scout, for helping him learn valuable lessons from hiking and field-craft to learning to work with different people and adjust to difficult situations.
“Dealing with adversity in Boy Scouts helps me to deal with whatever situations present themselves in the Army,” he said.
The experiences Hewson had during a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Korea would prove to be a major influence on his military career. The interpersonal skills he learned were a great fit for military intelligence. For his job as an intelligence collection specialist, the Army saw his knack for learning a difficult language, and selected him to learn Mandarin Chinese.
He attributes his experiences in Korea to increased maturity, time management skills, and resiliency. During an Iraq deployment, he developed the desire to learn conversational Arabic as well as the ability to connect with his Iraqi counterparts.
“I felt like when we were in Iraq we were serving the people there,” he said.
“It obviously wasn’t the same, but we helped train the Iraqi army and police, and helped Civil Affairs drop off goods, so it was nice to be over there and do some good.”
In addition to preparing for the Best Warrior competition he was also preparing for three major CPA certification exams when he returns home. With so much to juggle, he has often turned to his family to incorporate training into their schedule.
On a recent family trip to the Grand Canyon, he wore a weighted vest to train for the ruck march. They often go the YMCA together for physical fitness training. His brother, Jeremy, who has a background in Jiu Jitsu, has helped him train for the combatives tournaments. Jaime covers additional household duties to ensure he has enough time to train.
And yes, in addition to all of the real-life support, his family is in fact his biggest cheerleader.
“The kids are really big into superhero movies right now,” said Jaime. “So that’s what they think their dad is, too. A superhero.”
Whether his family sees him as “The Beast," or regular guy, you could say his “BCG” glasses are more akin to those worn by Clark Kent.
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2014 17:35 |
| Story ID: | 134569 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Hometown: | MESA, ARIZONA, US |
| Hometown: | PHOENIX, ARIZONA, US |
| Web Views: | 737 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
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