Photo By Tech. Sgt. Jordyn Fetter | Spc. Zachariah Macaulay, 949th Brigade Support Battalion radiology specialist,...... read more read more
Thousands of Texas Military Department personnel have been activated to support the COVID-19 pandemic response effort this year, but for four days this week, some of those same guardsmen came together to compete in this year’s Texas Military Department Best Warrior Competition, March 3 to 7.
“Since the pandemic began, our people have been selflessly supporting COVID-19 response efforts including testing, food distribution, and vaccinations,” said Command Chief Master Sgt. Michael E. Cornitius, Texas Military Department Command Senior Enlisted Leader. “This competition is an opportunity to both test, build and reward the mental and physical fortitude of our force as they continue serving their fellow Texans and remain ready for combat operations.”
The competition brought together 19 Soldiers and Airmen from brigades and wings across Texas to be evaluated on activities including water survival, an obstacle course run, water survival, road march and land navigation.
While many of these activities are centered around combat operations, they also focus on preparing the force for homeland response missions, as the past year has demonstrated.
More than 2500 TMD personnel have been activated across 235 Texas counties where they’ve conducted thousands of COVID tests, administered more than 35 thousand vaccinations and distributed 16.5 million meals to support their communities.
Spc. Zachariah Macaulay, 949th Brigade Support Battalion, Texas Army National Guard was on the front lines and is now competing in the event.
“As a participant in the Best Warrior Competition who’s also been supporting the COVID-19 response effort, it’s been extremely rewarding to support my fellow Texans during this time of need,” said Macaulay. “Being selected to represent my unit for this event means a lot to me and I intend to leverage this experience to sharpen my skills and become a greater asset to TMD and the Army as a whole.”
Cross-service collaborative events like these bring together Guardsmen from a variety of mission sets and units to foster camaraderie, readiness and excellence within the force, which enables rapid response and cohesion during disaster situations.
For Texans serving Texans, BWC is an opportunity to learn, grow, and further remain a mission-ready and relevant force through the 21st century.
| Date Taken: | 03.06.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.06.2021 16:43 |
| Story ID: | 390750 |
| Location: | CAMP SWIFT, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, TMD readiness strengthened by warrior competition, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
