Photo By Staff Sgt. Rufus Stuckey | Competitors in the Deployment Support Command’s 2017 Best Warrior Competition held...... read more read more
By Staff Sgt. Rufus Stuckey
Fort Benning, Ga. -- Army Reserve Soldiers from the Deployment Support Command take on the Best Warrior challenge January 30, 2017.
The five-day competition is hosted by the Deployment Support Command's Command Sergeant Major John K. Zimmerman is just one step along the way to compete in the All Army Best Warrior Competition (BWC).
"The first official All Army BWC was in 2002 and it has been conducted every year since then," Zimmerman said. “Jack L. Tilley was the Sergeant Major of the Army at the time.”
Prior to 2002 there were similar competitions that were more localized at the unit and brigade level.
"The Best Warrior Competition was created as a mechanism of challenging soldiers in the Army to rise to the top for the title of being the best soldier and the best NCO in the entire US Army," Zimmerman said. "We've had two Army Reserve Soldiers who have gone all the way to the top and won - Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Moeller in 2016 and Staff Sgt. Andrew Fink in 2015."
This year's DSC competition had events spanning from road marches and weapons qualification to essays and soldier interview boards.
"The Best Warrior Competition is designed to challenge Soldiers both physically and mentally," Zimmerman said. "We are looking for the total package of warrior, athlete, scholar and intellect - soldiers who can accomplish anything that is thrown at them. I'm looking to drive the competition to find the soldier who has the most heart, the one who's never going to give up, the one who's never going to quit. I find that soldiers who have that kind of drive will perform outstanding at any level they compete at."
Zimmerman, a two time winner of similar competitions, knows firsthand of events like this and the benefits they have on the Army as a whole.
"When we challenge soldiers like this at the best warrior competition we are building readiness in those soldiers and in those units," he explained. "This is an NCO planned, NCO lead and NCO driven event. We are developing our NCO corps to lead, plan and execute. These soldier are getting warrior skills they wouldn't get otherwise. That's important for building readiness."
"We can never put ourselves in a microcosm to think that any of our soldier are going to stay in the DSC forever," he said. "Our soldiers need to be prepared for their future assignments."
Zimmerman wants to ensure his soldiers are prepared for anything that may come their way.
"We cannot take it for granted that the only thing our soldiers are going to do is their directed mission. Soldiers in the U.S. Army can find themselves in harm's way at anytime and being proficient at their soldier tasks and skills and conditioning themselves to endure stress both mentally and physically is something that will make them successful no matter what," he said.
Zimmerman has a vision for future competitions.
"Ultimately, I would like to see the best warrior competition shift to a best squad competition where we are developing leadership by having an NCO lead a team of soldiers through the competition," he said. "We build cohesion when we put soldiers under stress in a controlled environment. That would be the next level of building cohesion and team work - developing our leaders to a level they have not be challenged at to this point."
Eight soldiers began the completion this year:
• Spec. Christopher Childress from Gulf Shores, Alabama with the 1184th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion, Mobile, Alabama under the 1190th Transportation Brigade.
• Private 1st Class Marco Mata with the 639th Transportation Detachment/1397th Deployment and Support Battalion, Mare Island in Vallejo, California under the 1394th Transportation Brigade.
• Spec. John Moore of Corpus Christi, Texas with the 370th Transportation Detachment out of Sinton, Texas under the 1190thTransportaiton Brigade.
• Private 1st Class David Ortiz from Brooklyn, New York of the 652nd Transportation Detachment/1174th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion out of Fort Totten, New York under the 1179th Transportation Brigade. Ortiz has competed two years in a row.
• Sgt. Kevin Santiago a native of Porto Rico with the 757th Expeditionary Rail Center based in St. Louis, Missouri.
• Sgt. Ryan Sonntag from Sonoma, California with the 1397th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion, Mare Island in Vallejo, California under the 1394th Transportation Brigade. Sonntag is the last year's Best Soldier and has returned to complete for Best NCO.
• Spec. Robert Taveras with the 652nd Transportation Detachment/1174th Deployment and Distribution Support Battalion out of Fort Totten, New York under the 1179th Transportation Brigade.
• Spec. Joshua Thomas from Chicago, Illinois with the 757th Expeditionary Rail Center at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.
A winner from the lower enlisted ranks of private through specialist and a winner from the NCO ranks will be selected at the completion of the competition. For the winners, the next level is to compete at the 377th Theater Support Command's Best Warrior Competition beginning April 9 at Joint Base McGuire Dix Lakehurst, New Jersey.
Speaking about the competitors, Zimmerman has an inspiring message.
"There's a difference between a soldier and a warrior and they truly demonstrated they have the heart of a warrior. They are willing to go the distance and do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission and never give up, never quit, never fail no matter what.”
Zimmerman continued, “Every one of these soldiers, just by virtue of making it through this competition, have what it takes inside. They can complete any of the Army's most challenging schools - air assault, airborne, Special Forces, Ranger... These guys have that special stuff inside of them to go the distance and do anything they want in life whether it be their civilian career or their military career.”
For the two winners heading to the next level Zimmerman's message is simple.
"I expect you to win!"
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.18.2017 13:45 |
| Story ID: | 224053 |
| Location: | FORT BENNING, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 339 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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