Photo By Spc. Michael Kerr | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Stephen Mulholland, an infantryman assigned to Headquarters and...... read more read more
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CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. -- Two infantry Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment are the 2021 New York Army National Guard’s Best Warriors and will represent the state at the northeast region competition May 3-7 at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey.
Specialist Dakoatah Miller, a member of the Scout Platoon and a Cortland resident, was the winner in the junior enlisted Soldier category.
Staff Sgt. Stephen Mulholland, a member of Headquarters Company and an Auburn resident, won in the non-commissioned officer category.
Seven Soldiers competed in the event, which ran from April 19-22 at Camp Smith Training Site in Cortlandt Manor.
There are slots for ten participants but three Soldiers had to drop out because they were part of the current COVID-19 response mission, said Master Sgt. Michael Blass, who managed the competition for the state headquarters.
“The 108th Infantry prepared these competitors very well,” said Command Sgt. Major David Piwowarski, the New York Army National Guard’s top enlisted leader.
“They will get to compete as a team in New Jersey and I am confident that these fit and ready Soldiers will represent New York with excellence,” he said.
The Best Warrior Competition evaluates Soldiers physical fitness, military knowledge, marksmanship, endurance, and ability to think under pressure, Piwowarski said.
Soldiers compete at the company, battalion and brigade level before competing for the statewide competition.
“It’s a great competition,” said Master Sgt. Javier Santana, one of the evaluators. “The young enlisted and young NCOs, they come and compete and sharpen their expertise and knowledge too.”
The other competitors were:
• Staff Sgt. Nicholas Murphy, from Alpha Troop, 101st Cavalry Squadron;
• Staff Sgt. Daemon Walton, from the 222nd Chemical Company;
• Spec. Alejandro Sanchezmendez, from Charlie Company, 1st Battalion 69th Infantry Battalion;
• Spec.Kolton Trombly, from Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation;
And Pvt Tyler Tomplin from Headquarters Company of the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade.
In the marksmanship competition, Soldiers engaged targets with the standard issue M-4 carbine, the M-9 pistol and the M-500 shotgun in a “3-Gun Stress Shoot.”
Soldier fitness testing revolved around an event known as “the Murph” which included a 1 mile run, doing 100 pull-ups, 200 pushups, 300 squats and then another one-mile run.
The seven competitors engaged virtual targets with machine guns and rifles in a target simulator and tested their ability to emplace a Claymore mine, administer first aid, respond to a chemical attack, and take apart an M240B machine gun, and find their way with a map and compass.
The Soldiers were quizzed on military information by a board of senior non-commissioned officers who also inspected their uniforms to make sure they were being worn correctly.
Finally, the Soldiers’ stamina and fitness were challenged in a 12-mile forced ruck march across Camp Smith.
“It definitely tests your resilience,” Mulholland said.
The events also test “mental fortitude,” he added.
“In the Soldier tasks, not everybody utilizes every task on a daily basis, so you have to dig deep back into your formal military training,” he said.
“The experience overall was well put together,” Miller said.
“At any level it is something a Soldier should try to do,” he said. “At the end of the day it is a teacher it is going to tell you what you can improve on as an overall as a Soldier.”
“It gives you something you can bring back to your unit whether you are a leader or a future leader,” Miller added.
Command Sgt. Major Dan Markle, the senior enlisted leader in Mulholland’s and Miller’s battalion, said he wasn’t surprised that the two men did so well in the competition.
“Right from the beginning, they were focused,” Markle said. “They have been training hard. They had a really good PT regime. Overall they are extremely motivated.”
| Date Taken: | 04.28.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 04.28.2021 16:19 |
| Story ID: | 395054 |
| Location: | CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE , NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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