Photo By Staff Sgt. Kati Volkman | Nine competitors from across the 1-128 Infantry Regiment contended against one another...... read more read more
FORT MCCOY, Wis. — Two Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, emerged as the battalion’s Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year after a grueling two-day competition at Fort McCoy April 1-2.
Competitors from across the 1-128 Infantry Regiment contended against one another in the 2022 Battalion Best Warrior Competition, which included a series of mentally and physically challenging tasks including the Army Combat Fitness Test, day and night land navigation, army warrior tasks, a 12-mile road march, call for fire exercise, and an appearance board.
Spc. Caleb Butler, an infantryman with Company C, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, earned the title of the 1-128 Infantry Regiment’s Soldier of the Year, and Sgt. Josiah Bell, an infantryman with Company B, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, earned the title of the 1-128 Infantry Regiment’s Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. They will both advance on to the State Best Warrior Competition in April where they will represent the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team against other Soldiers within the state.
“I think competitions like this bring out the best in everyone, and I think in this profession that’s what you want,” explained Butler, when asked about the importance of this weekend’s event.
Sgt. Bell echoed this sentiment in his reflection on the weekend’s events and moving forward to the state-level competition.
“I think competitions like these are very important because it allows people to improve themselves and to look forward to building upon those skills while competing against other Soldiers,” elaborated Bell.
Command Sgt. Maj. Eric David, the 1-128 Infantry Regiment’s senior enlisted leader finds that esprit de corps is important and is found at the heart of competitions like this.
“If we can keep these Soldiers competing against each other in a good-natured fashion, everybody is going to be better for it,” stated David. “It’s a tough world that we’re in right now, and keeping our mind on our battle buddies and supporting each other is something we are looking to do through this competition.”
Battalion Best Warrior competitors included:
Company B: Pfc. Blake Gubrud and Sgt. Josiah Bell
Company C: Spc. Caleb Butler, Sgt. David Greer, and Sgt. Tanner Schultz
Company D: Spc. Daniel Winfree and Sgt. Drew Mendez
Headquarters Company: Pfc. Dane Tollefson
Company H, 132nd Brigade Support Battalion: Cpl. Damon Weix
| Date Taken: | 04.03.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2022 12:36 |
| Story ID: | 422731 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 265 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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