Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar | U.S. Air Force Airman Phanuphong Phongprayoon, 173rd Logistics Readiness Squadron,,...... read more read more
Eight Team Kingsley Airmen showed up at the base gym, PT gear in hand, at 4 a.m. on a chilly Saturday morning ready to test their warrior skills and compete for one of the coveted spots in the Oregon National Guard Best Warrior Competition. A group of former competitors held the tryouts Oct. 19, 2024, for those Airmen interested in the unique challenge.
The Best Warrior Competition is an annual event that tests the skills of soldiers in a variety of skills including physical fitness, military knowledge, marksmanship, tactual proficiency, leadership abilities, and mental resilience. Though it is traditionally a U.S. Army event, Air National Guardsmen are allowed to compete at the state level.
“Oregon’s Best Warrior Competition validates our Airmen’s resiliency, multi-capable capacity, and the proving grounds for the effectiveness of our professional development methodologies,” said Capt. Jared Boyer, one of the event coordinators.
During the trials, Airmen competed in numerous physical and mental activities that mirrored the challenges they could face at the state-level competition. Boyer said they designed the timeline and directions with uncertainty and ambiguity to mimic the Oregon National Guard competition.
“For instance, they were informed to bring a PT uniform and meet at the gym…they never used their PT uniform,” noted Boyer. “Repetitions are not counted out loud; competitors were informed to load their ruck to at least 35 pounds, some kept going and loaded to 60 pounds plus. This is meant to add an element of stress, just like the Army event.”
The group of eight Airmen spent the day participating in multiple events such as ruck marches, M4 and M18 shooting, interview boards, written essays, Cross-Fit workouts, the Army Combat Fit Test, 9-Line Casualty Report, as well as tactical casualty rescue under fire.
As the day came to a close, the scores for every event were tallied and three Airmen were selected to represent Team Kingsley in the Oregon competition.
Master Sgt. Daniel Gardner from the 173rd Maintenance Group, Tech. Sgt. Cody Cox from the 270th Air Traffic Control Squadron, and Airman Phanuphong Phongprayoon from the 173rd Logistics Readiness Squadron were all selected to compete at the state level.
“These exceptional Airmen have demonstrated outstanding skills, dedication, and resilience throughout the competition,” said Boyer. “We are confident that they will represent our team with pride and honor at the upcoming Oregon National Guard Best Warrior Competition held at Camp Rilea on March 14-16.”
| Date Taken: | 11.03.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.03.2024 15:34 |
| Story ID: | 484551 |
| Location: | KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 42 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Team Kingsley selects three Airmen to represent at state-level Best Warrior Competition, by SMSgt Jennifer Shirar, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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