Photo By Staff Sgt. Jacob Leadingham | Army National Guard soldiers hustle to complete a seven-mile road march in the final...... read more read more
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Eighteen high-performing soldiers representing units across the Washington Army National Guard challenged themselves over a rainy weather weekend during the Best Warrior competition on March 4-5, 2023.
Private 1st Class Bjorn Rian, Washington Army National Guard Medical Detachment, took home the Soldier of the Year honor, while Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brown, Washington Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, claimed the title of Non- commissioned Officer of the Year after narrowly missing first place during the 2022 Best Warrior. The motivation to not settle for second place again is inherent in Brown’s ethos.
“I hate losing more than I like winning,” Brown said.
A major feature of the Best Warrior Competition is keeping the competitors in the dark on the event details such as category, the order, and an individual’s progress until the awards ceremony. This element of surprise and stress reflects what all soldiers undergo in those memorable early days of Basic Combat Training.
“We do try to keep the events kind of a secret to keep them guessing. These soldiers are going out and doing these events under stress,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Kelly Wickel, 81st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Senior Enlisted Leader. “Hopefully it’s kind of opening some eyes that we need to train like we fight and be able to do these type of events under stress successfully.”
A welcome change to the competition from last year saw a return to the two-day mission, with 10 scored events testing key soldier tasks and skills, beginning with the Army Combat Fitness Test before sunrise Saturday morning. Packed between the ACFT (with a surprise extra two-miles tacked on the end) and a final seven-mile road ruck march event Sunday morning were a rifle qualification, weapons assembly/stress shoot and casualty-collection, land navigation, a board interview, and a focused essay composition.
Master Sgt. Travis Bassett, Washington Army National Guard current operations sergeant, said planning for the annual challenge kicks off at the beginning of each fiscal year in October, when major subordinate commands are asked to start generating names of their most qualified soldiers. The choice to compete, however, is ultimately up to the soldier.
“Best Warrior competition, luckily, is a volunteer-only competition, which I think is one of the most important aspects,” Bassett said. “You’re going to get the most motivated and capable individuals.”
As the crowned winners of the state competition, Rian and Brown will look ahead to the National Guard’s regional event in May hosted by the Montana Army National Guard.
Story By Jacob Leadingham, 122nd Theater Public Affairs Support Element
| Date Taken: | 03.14.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.14.2023 16:33 |
| Story ID: | 440385 |
| Location: | CAMP MURRAY, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 704 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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