Photo By Staff Sgt. Tori Miller | U.S. Army Sgt. Ryan Maysonet, an infantryman representing the Macon-based 48th...... read more read more
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The 2024 Georgia Army National Guard State Best Warrior Competition began March 10, 2024 at Clay National Guard Center, Marietta, Georgia.
The 12 competitors representing the Georgia Army National Guard and the country of Georgia Defense Force are competing for State Best Warrior and NCO of the Year at Clay National Guard Center, Marietta, Georgia and Catoosa Volunteer Training Site, Ringgold, Georgia. This is the first time that the Georgia Defense Force has competed in this competition.
“The Georgia National Guard’s priority is to build cohesive teams not just within our state, but internationally as well,” said Command Sgt. Maj. John Ballenger, senior enlisted leader for the Georgia Army National Guard. “What we hope to see over the next few years is a formation of Soldiers and NCOs from several branches of service and countries that can take the lessons learned from one another back to their formations and put them into practice.”
The Georgia National Guard remains a steadfast partner with the Country of Georgia, continuing their nearly 30-year relationship through the State Partnership Program (SPP). Partnering with service members from different military branches and countries encourages knowledge transfer between forces. Equity is the goal, and inclusion is the way.
U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Abdoulaye Sidibe, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist representing the Marietta-based 201st Regional Support Group, Georgia Army National Guard, is looking forward to competing with his Georgian counterparts.
“It’s an opportunity that not a lot of Soldiers get to have,” said Sidibe. “It’ll be an experience seeing how our counterparts operate and adapt to our training.”
Events at the competition include the Army Combat Fitness Test, marksmanship qualification, 12-mile ruck march, simulated casualty response, essay writing, obstacle course, combat water survival test, land navigation, and an interview board. Maximizing readiness and lethality is the National Guard’s top priority.
U.S. Army Spc. Brandon Lu, a signals intelligence analyst representing the Marietta-based 78th Troop Command, Georgia Army National Guard, competed in last year’s competition and is hoping to show improvement this year.
“Last year, I came in completely blind,” said Lu. “I’ve taken the experience from last year, and have used it to train myself for this year’s competition.”
The 2024 Georgia Best Warrior Competition recognizes and celebrates the National Guard’s best Soldiers. Each Soldier will be evaluated on their military skills to determine who will represent the state of Georgia in the 2024 Region III Best Warrior Competition.
“Over the past several years, Georgia has set the standard throughout the nation,” said Ballenger. “It’s not just the competition, it’s Soldier’s honing their skillsets starting at skill level one that make them the best they can be at Soldiering tasks. This is what sets Soldiers up who perform really well in adverse conditions in a wartime environment.”
| Date Taken: | 03.10.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2024 20:13 |
| Story ID: | 465850 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 253 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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