Photo By Staff Sgt. Michael A Parker | Staff Sgt. Christopher Upshaw receives the Division West Best Warrior trophy from...... read more read more
FORT HOOD, Tx. – First Army Division West named Staff Sgt. Christopher Upshaw as the Division West Best Warrior on February 28, 2020. This year’s Division Best Warrior Competition was held at Fort Hood, Texas from February 25-28. The competitors consisted of 9 non-commissioned officers from every brigade within Division West from all across the country. Staff Sgt. Upshaw is a Horizontal Construction Observer, Coach, and Trainer with the 181st Multifunctional Training Brigade based out of Fort McCoy, Wisc.
Staff Sgt. Jonathan Broome took home the prize of runner up in the competition. Staff Sgt. Broome is an Armored Reconnaissance Observer, Coach and Training with the 5th Armored Brigade at Fort Bliss, Tx.
The 120th Infantry Brigade planned and hosted this year’s competition. Master Sgt. Bradley Cloutier, the 120th Infantry Brigade’s S3 Senior Operations Sgt. said he designed the 4 day competition to be more physically and mentally demanding than any Best Warrior Competition the Division has conducted. “With guidance from the Division Command Sgt. Maj., I wanted this competition to be a great stepping point to give the winners of this year’s competition the best chance of winning at the First Army level and above,” said Master Sgt. Cloutier about the toughness of the competition.
All 9 Best Warrior Candidates were challenged with a total of 11 different event which were designed to challenge each competitor physically and mentally. The events ranged from a Stress Marksmanship Shooting Test to a written test and essay to a very demanding 12-Mile day and night Land Navigation Course.
The competitors began the competition with the new Army Combat Fitness Test, or ACFT. After the ACFT the Best Warrior Candidates completed a M4 Carbine and M9 Pistol weapons qualification event. With their weapons sighted in the competitors completed the stress shooting event. The shooting event forced the candidates to engage 25 meter targets with their M4 and M9 weapon systems after running half a mile, moving sandbags 50 meters and moving a 180 pound medical mannequin over 100 meters.
Division West Command Sgt. Maj. John McDwyer said he wanted a marksmanship test that would effectively test the Soldiers’ ability to engage targets in a physically stressful environment. Command Sgt. Maj. says “when Division West selects a best warrior, we want to make sure they accurately reflect the professionalism and experience First Army Division West has to offer. We are an organization that prides itself on realistic training. Especially since our main purpose in Division West is to train and validate National Guard and Reserve Units to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America.” Command Sgt. Maj. McDwyer went on to say, “when we hand out the title of First in the West, we want other Soldiers from across the Army to know they are actually the Best in the West.”
Most of the competitors said the day and night land navigation event was the hardest event out of the 11 total events. The Best Warrior Candidates said it was the hardest event because the land navigation course had difficult terrain, they were required to carry a 40 pound rucksack at least 12 miles and they had to complete 4 different Situational Training Exercise lanes, or STX lanes. The STX lanes were located at different points across the 12-mile course.
After being announced as the Division West Best Warrior, Staff Sgt. Upshaw said, “it was an honor and an experience competing against these extremely gifted and athletic [Soldiers] from across the division.” Upshaw says “winning this competition validates all the hard work and effort I have put into being physically fit.”
Both Staff Sgt. Broome and Upshaw will represent Division West in the First Army Best Warrior Competition at Fort McCoy, Wisc. this April. Both competitors believe the Division West competition has given them the tools, experience and confidence to win the next round of competitions.
| Date Taken: | 02.28.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.04.2020 11:48 |
| Story ID: | 364471 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TEXAS, US |
| Hometown: | OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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