Photo By Alexander Rector | Sgt. Nicole Scibelli, a cannon crewmember assigned to the New York Army National...... read more read more
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Syracuse, NY – After three days of intense challenges, two Army National Guard Soldiers from New York City won the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s Best Warrior Competition.
Spc. Troy Perez, an infantryman assigned to Alpha Company, 1-69th and Staff Sgt. Matthew Ortiz, an infantryman assigned to Headquarters Company 1st Battalion, 69th Infantry Regiment won the titles of Soldier and NCO of the year, respectively.
Ortiz and Perez were two of the many Soldiers sent from units across New York State to compete at the Brigade level.
For three days, they were tested on their proficiency with weapons, ability to complete grueling physical challenges, skills in land navigation, and knowledge of military regulations.
Preparing for the competition took months.
“You have to be mentally and physically ready,” said Perez. “You've got to put the work in. There's a lot of running and there's a lot of memorization.”
For Perez, a member of the New York City Fire Department, competition is part of his personal drive.
“I feel blessed,” said Perez. “I know a lot of people that are in the military and don't know what they want to do in life, but I wake up every morning feeling blessed for every day.”
New to this year’s competition was a change of location.
“We have always held it at Fort Drum and this year I wanted to change it up and try a different venue,” said Sgt. Maj. Richard Richardson, the 27th IBCT operations noncommissioned officer in charge.
The majority of the tests were held at or near the Brigade’s Syracuse headquarters, with a land navigation course at Green Lakes State Park in Fayetteville, and only the marksmanship portion of the competition at Fort Drum.
This was the first year Richardson took over responsibility for organizing the event. It took nearly five months to plan, and he’s already got his sights set on 2020.
“Next year, I plan to make it a little bit harder,” he said.
In the meantime, Ortiz and Perez are preparing to compete at the state level, and they’re not alone. In a change from prior years, New York Army National Guard leadership have asked for two NCOs and two Soldiers from the brigade to compete. Joining the winners will be Soldier runner-up Pv2. Alejandro Sanchez, an infantryman assigned to Charlie Company, 1-69th, and NCO runner-up Cpl. Paul Philbeck, an infantryman assigned to Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment.
Ortiz, Perez, Philbeck, and Sanchez will compete at the New York Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition in the spring of 2020 for a shot at advancing to the regional and national Best Warrior Competitions. It’s a chance to follow in the footsteps of their fellow 27th Brigade Soldiers who placed third and runner-up in the 2019 Army National Guard national Best Warrior Competition for the Soldier and NCO categories, respectively.
| Date Taken: | 10.27.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 11.04.2019 11:38 |
| Story ID: | 350368 |
| Location: | SYRACUSE , NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 429 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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