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“Drink water!” is heard all across the finish line at the Fit to Win obstacle course here on Fort Jackson, Feb. 26, as Soldiers competing in South Carolina Army National Guard’s Best Warrior Competition rehydrate after completing the course.
Soldiers vying to become the Best Warrior, like U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Joel Hunter, with the Anderson-based 263rd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, South Carolina Army National Guard, had to compete for the best time as part of the event. The obstacle course involves jumping, climbing, crawling, balancing, and after all that, completing 20 burpees before a Soldier’s time stops.
“It’s a smoker,” said Hunter of the obstacle course. “They kind of lured us in on day one with a sense of security with the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge and the Army Combat Fitness Test, both are challenging events in their own right. Especially if you’re a little older. It’s a lot of fun though. And good training, both with our firearms and the foreign firearms.”
Along with the traditional mental and physical aspects of marksmanship, competitors were thrown for a spin when they were put into an unexpected environment, starting on day one of the competition. Instead of being housed in barracks, as most would assume, and as in previous competitions, Soldiers were transported to a forward operating base (training) after they were in-processed.
“This is my first time (at the competition), so I don’t know any better,” Hunter said. “Barracks are always nice, where you can shower and shave properly, instead of dragging a razor across your face at the wee hours of the morning when it’s frigid.”
This change was accepted by all and just taken as another challenge to overcome as part of the competition.
“It’s all here,” Hunter said. “Shooting, moving, communicating, doing all the fun stuff. I mean, when it comes down to it, a lot of this stuff is just basic Soldier tasks and skills, just ramped up to 10. Coming off of this obstacle course has been one of the biggest challenges so far. It’s fun doing this, but it’s something I’ve definitely let go of in my years, and definitely need to do better about. Physically, it’s not terrible. I think a lot of it is just mentally driving through it. The firearms aspect is unique, because you are manipulating weapons that you’ve never touched before.”
Throughout the five-day event, Soldiers from the South Carolina National Guard faced interview boards, completed multiple marksmanship challenges, trudged through a 12-mile ruck march, and pushed themselves to do their best at each obstacle. Right alongside them were competitors from the Colombian and German armies.
“Being able to interact with foreign counterparts has been one of the best aspects of this competition,” said Hunter. “Being able to experience what it is like being in the Army with them has been enlightening. The Army is the Army all over the world. Regardless of the language barrier, we all sit around, crack jokes, and have fun. We just embrace the suck together,” he said with a smile.
For Soldiers thinking about participating in the Best Warrior competition next year, Hunter has a little advice.
“You’ve got to study your basic Soldier tasks, you’ve got to be physically fit,” he said. “You just need to study, get out, go do something, put on a ruck if you don’t ruck, and learn how to be comfortable out in the woods.”
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.28.2025 20:07 |
| Story ID: | 491756 |
| Location: | EASTOVER , SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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