Photo By John Hughel | Oregon Army National Guard Soldiers take part in weapons qualifications and...... read more read more
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WARRENTON, Ore. – The sun was beginning its descent over the Pacific Ocean as a freezing rainstorm greeted the 12 participants starting the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), the first event to open the 2021 Oregon Best Warrior Competition here at Camp Rilea Armed Forces Training Center on Feb. 25.
The three days of grueling events are designed to test each Soldier on a variety of technical and tactical skills, physical stamina and readiness. The weather decided to dare the contenders early too, testing their resolve right out of the gate with frigid strong winds and a barrage of hail.
On top of all of these challenges were the yearlong safety parameters of facial covers and social distancing provoked by the Novel Coronavirus; the taunts for the contestants taking on Best Warrior 2021 were already being called out. A condensed one-day version of the Oregon Best Warrior Competition was held in June of 2020 due to the pandemic restrictions, but for this year’s event facial coverings and other safety considerations were part of the protocol.
Competing in two categories (enlisted Soldiers and noncommissioned officers) the 12 members competing first had to better their peers at the unit level before advancing to the state-level. Yet competing at this next level would include more events and unanticipated demands to overcome.
“We don’t want them to know what they're going to be doing at any moment, we don’t want them to know how long they’re going to sleep at night...it’s all a surprise as we go along,” said 1st Sgt. Carver, OTC Operations NCO and Camp Rilea First Sergeant describing the structure of the three days of competition.
During their initial brief before the first event, the ‘unknown nature’ of the competition was established to emulate conditions of an ever changing real-world battlefield. The first day ended late after two fitness tests, a 50 question exam and individual Soldier Boards.
“Day two began as we stepped out of the barracks at 0300, marched out to the night land navigation course that took almost four hours before getting a chance to get some hot chow,” said Carver. “It was pretty cold out there so they needed to eat and refuel.”
Though the pace varied at times, the intensity was constant. Each participant had areas that they excelled in and others that found uncovered vulnerabilities. A large part of day two involved a variety of weapons from the pistol to the shotgun after qualifying with their own weapons.
“One of the shooting competitions had a target array from 500 to 100 meters, each target was worth a different amount of points for that target,” said Carver. “The Soldiers were given 60 rounds and three magazines, and based on their confidence and shooting ability, they chose which targets to engage and were scored accordingly.”
The entire competition is designed with different areas; where a Soldier will thrive -- then struggle at the next event. It allows each participant to try new ways to solve problems and push beyond their fixed boundaries.
“To be able to get out here and do these things that we join [the military] to do…it pushes them beyond the ranges and ruck marches; it allows the Soldiers to use their intellect and ability to think outside the box,” said Carver.
After three days of events, that include the obstacle course, medical response, call for fire and others, the final challenge has the Soldiers go through one of the toughest events at the MOUNT training village at Camp Rilea. From low crawling under razor wire, to gas and concussion explosives, the Soldiers battle fatigue and station after station confrontations, ending in nearly a two-mile run with their weapons.
“The ultimate goal is to find who is the most resilient soldier, who's the most physically fit...who is the soldier that has the most heart because those are the things that it takes to win this competition.”
As the competition concluded, the winners in the two categories were recognized in front of family and peers at a ceremony held at the Warrior Hall. Winning the Enlisted Category was Specialist Trevor Foster, assigned to Bravo Co., 1-186th Infantry Regiment, 41st IBCT and the noncommissioned officer (NCO) was Sgt John Mayer, assigned to Bravo Co., 2nd Battalion, 2-162nd Infantry Regiment, 41st IBCT.
Foster said he enlisted as a Junior in High School with the split training option in 2018 and that “most of the time I’ve been in the Army, I’ve been in High School so I’ve only been with my unit for two drills.”
When his recruiter recommended Foster for the Best Warrior competition this year to the Battalion Readiness NCO, he was up for the challenge.
“Two weeks before the event I found out I was competing and just days before the competition I got a sponsor,” he said, explaining how quickly he met the test. “Even though I’ve only been in a short time, I had a lot of fun trying on new things...like learning how to load a shotgun -- on the spot!”
In the NCO category, Sgt. Mayer said the layered challenges from event to event presented the greatest overall test. “For sure, it was physically demanding and the sleep depredation stressed everything else.”
Much like Spc. Foster, there was a short suspense in preparation time from notification to the day of the event.
“I had a great sponsor who helped me prepare,” said Mayer. “I really enjoyed the Land Navigation part but I was also prepared for the physical aspects too.”
The success of the Oregon Best Warrior competition each year is to push the Soldiers and test their resiliency, said Carver at the event's conclusion on Feb. 27. “The way this has been designed by our predecessors for the two-decades, is to prepare these soldiers for the next level and it’s why [Oregon] we’ve been able to win regional competitions year after year.”
“Soldiers who have won this before stay connected to the competition for years to come. They will be sponsors and cadre but mostly they go back to their unit motivated, with new ideas and as proven leaders.”
| Date Taken: | 03.08.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.08.2021 22:49 |
| Story ID: | 390882 |
| Location: | WARRENTON, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 379 |
| Downloads: | 4 |
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