Photo By Pfc. Elisha Hall | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Alex Fishbaugher, assigned to 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored...... read more read more
Subscribe
FORT STEWART, Ga – Fort Stewart set the stage for a display of skill, endurance and teamwork as Soldiers representing various brigades within the 3rd Infantry Division competed in the Best of the Best competition. The event, spanning from Aug. 27 to Aug. 28, saw teams of Dogface Soldiers push themselves to their limits as they were tested not only in their physical prowess, but also their mental resilience and tactical acumen as a team. The event is held annually and is meant to identify the Soldiers for next year’s competitions, including Best Ranger, Best Sapper, Best Sniper, Best Mortar, Best Squad and Gainey Cup.
“The teams have moved about fifty miles over the course of these two days,” said Sgt. Maj. Ezekiel Adame, the 3rd ID G3 Operations Sergeant Major. “This event took place in the Georgia heat, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees including the humidity. Some of the Soldiers just got back from NTC (National Training Center), or finishing up the Europe rotation, which is a shock to the system overall. But this does give them a base so we can start training for fiscal year 2025 competitions as they start coming up.”
On the first day, Soldiers were split into two groups, with group one completing a ruck, followed by a stress shoot and another ruck until they reached an obstacle course. Meanwhile, group two ran 3 miles before tackling the urban land navigation portion of the event, completing their day with an intense workout at the final location and a layout of their equipment. On the second day, groups switched events in order to give every competitor a chance to prove themselves in all challenges available.
“It’s going to be highly physically intense,” said Sgt. David Hosea, assigned to 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd ID, at the start of the competition. “We got this 10 mile ruck that we’re gonna kick off with and there’s gonna be a stress shoot with burpees. But it’s really gonna challenge our ability to effectively take down our targets. Then there’s a 3 mile run tomorrow with equipment… a lot of it is really going back to being physically and mentally tough. It’s gonna be a really good challenge. I’m looking forward to it.”
Six stations were set up across the installation to test essential skills in urban land navigation, with each station presenting unique challenges for teams to complete within a four-hour time limit. The tasks ranged from physically demanding to written testing, each designed to evaluate a Soldiers’ capabilities under high stress situations.
“Essentially we’re seeing the survival of the fittest out here,” said Staff Sgt. Brent Kennedy, a Soldier assigned to 3rd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, who also competed. “Last year we competed and there’s a handful of our teams that took heat casualties and so on. As long as we can all embrace the situation and do our part for our teams, we’ll all be fine. But this year, it’s a little harder for us since we just got back from NTC three weeks ago. This kind of stuff is a lot of fun though. You come out and compete and even if you don’t win it, at least you had a good time and got to learn some things. Really it helps to learn how tough you are and to see how you can improve yourself later on in your physical fitness.”
Soldiers who volunteered to represent their brigades were tested in advance on their strengths, allowing teams to choose those individuals among them who would perform best in each part of the competition. This ensured that only the best would advance from this competition and potentially represent the division in the future.
“This competition selects the best teams to go on to represent next year’s teams,” said Adame. “From here there is Best Squad that will represent 3ID, in particular, and represent us eventually in FORSCOM (United States Army Forces Command) for the Army Best Squad Competition.”
“A well-rounded Soldier is what makes a good competitor," said Hosea. “And this competition is going to really find out who they are.”
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 09.04.2024 11:47 |
| Story ID: | 479793 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Fort Stewart Soldiers compete in annual “Best of the Best” Competition, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
