Photo By Staff Sgt. John Schoebel | U.S. Army Spc. Jantzen Weight, an intelligence analyst assigned to Delta Company,...... read more read more
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SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII - Top Intelligence is an annual competition that unites the best Soldiers from across the U.S. Army Military Intelligence community to achieve the title of "TOP INT" among their fellow peers.
Soldiers competing were tested physically and mentally through various challenges including expert physical fitness assessment, stress shoot, Soldier skill lanes, day and night land navigation, 14-kilometer ruck march, and Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) specific evaluations.
“I want to recognize excellence, recognize Soldiers from across our Army, represented by 17 different units that came across three divisions, and coming across the continental United States and throughout the Indo-Pacific theater,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division. “This was a tremendous event to pull from across the entire Army with over 100 competitors refining warfighting skills focused on the number one priority we have in our Army, and that is warfighting readiness.”
The competition includes both Army enlisted and officers across all three components who are experts within their field.
"The intent was to examine the other competitions throughout the U.S. Army and develop a competition for our intelligence professionals,” said U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Charles Dybo, command sergeant major of the 125th Intelligence Electronic Warfare (IEW) Battalion, Electronic Warfare Team, directly supporting the 25th Infantry Division. “This is a great opportunity for these Soldiers to test their metal and see what they're made of."
The TOPINT 2024 competition initially only included Soldiers assigned to the 25th Infantry Division but has since evolved to include Soldiers from the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves.
“The Top Intelligence Competition is a regional competition that just started up last year where they take the different aspects of the intelligence MOS areas of execution, different intelligence professions and compete in the various Soldier tasks and drills, physical competitions and specific intelligence profession events,” said U.S. Army Spc. Preston Moon, a human intelligence collector assigned to Delta Company, 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion (227 BEB), 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (29th IBCT), Hawaii Army National Guard (HIARNG).
U.S. Army competitors from all components were provided the opportunity to compete, but the HIARNG Soldiers were especially excited to showcase their operational capabilities and combat readiness.
“For me, this is a huge honor,” said U.S. Army Spc. Trevor Acord, a signals intelligence analyst assigned to D Co, 227th BEB, 29th IBCT, HIARNG. “This is the first year the HIARNG was invited to compete and display our ability to stand toe-to-toe with everyone, that we’re a serious organization and we can compete at the same level as our active duty brothers and sisters in arms.”
Competitive events present opportunities for Soldiers to test their combat capabilities as well as the skills of their military occupational specialty.
“It’s Soldiers from all around the continental United States competing in this competition,” said U.S. Army Maj. Dale Balsis, commander of the 227th BEB, 29th IBCT, HIARNG. “It’s a great experience within their job fields, it’s great for the Soldier, it’s great for the unit, and it’s great for the guard as they’ll be able to raise the level of excellence in the intelligence community.”
Competitions such as the TOPINT 2024 provide opportunities to increase interoperability and build Soldier cohesion between the active duty component and Soldiers of the National Guard and Army Reserves.
“Representing the Hawaii Army National Guard is the biggest and the most important thing for me as far as competing in this competition,” said U.S. Army Spc. Jantzen Weight, an intelligence analyst assigned to Delta Company, 227th BEB, 29th IBCT, HIARNG. “That's why I volunteered immediately because I wanted to represent Hawaii, in this competition full of competitors from all over the country, all across the Army, because I'm very proud to be a part of the Hawaii Army National Guard.”
TOPINT 2024 brought together the best of the best within the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps collectively to test themselves and their skill sets within their areas of expertise.
“It's great that they really get to test themselves and see where they compare against their peers," said Dybo. "The esprit de corps and the pride that it builds in military intelligence Soldiers, and the fact that they're able to do something that shows not only that they are good Soldiers physically, but can use all of their training and skills to showcase the capabilities at their jobs.”
The 25th Infantry Division Commanding General recognized the competitors' excellence during the closing awards ceremony.
“In addition to your skills and expertise within your fields, you are warfighters,” said Evans. “That is who you are, what you are, you’re tough and you are physically fit and every day you strive to build yourselves as experts in your field but also within your cohesive teams.”
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 01.26.2024 20:11 |
| Story ID: | 462563 |
| Location: | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 822 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Compete For Top Honors, by SSG Matthew Foster and SSG John Schoebel, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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