Photo By Spc. Koltyn Omarah | 1st Infantry Division Soldiers participate in the Army level Best Medic Competition,...... read more read more
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SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS- Winter set in on South Texas, turning its typically scorched
sands to thick, churning mud. Even these conditions couldn’t stop the 64 Soldiers gathered at the
start line for the U.S. Army Best Medic Competition, Feb. 11, 2025.
Amongst the competitors were Staff Sgt. Nicholas Rodriguez Jr., 2nd Brigade healthcare
sergeant, and Sgt. Logan Joseph Pettit, an infantry medic with 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry
Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. These two warriors represented The Big Red One in this year’s
competition.
Day one kicked off at 3:30 a.m. with an Expert Physical Fitness Assessment, the first of
many miles had been run. Immediately following, Soldiers were transported from Fort Bullis,
Texas to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas for their next challenge, the Combat Water Survival
Test. Soldiers must swim multiple laps, then tread water for ten minutes, finished off by
retrieving their gear from the bottom of the pool.
Immediately following the swim, competitors headed back to Fort Bullis for the first of
many ruck marches and the obstacle course. Beginning with the rappel tower, the ‘O’course is
a series of unique obstacles designed specifically to test the strength, endurance, and mental
toughness of its runners. Undeterred by the deteriorating weather conditions, the competitors
pushed forward rucking through mud that sucked at their boots and morale, arriving at the
‘O’course ready to go. As the pressure mounted, the medic teams drew on their considerable
knowledge and physical reserves, finding the strength to take care of their team and their
patients.
“What does it mean to be strong? It’s not a one-time struggle, it's something you kind
of have to ask yourself every day. You have to be strong enough to put your foot down,
strong enough to do the things you don’t want to do,” said Rodriguez.
On day two, given no opportunity to rest, the competitors headed off to the next
challenge, an unknown distance ruck in frigid weather and pouring rain. An incredibly taxing
challenge that cut the competition field from 64 to 22 competitors.
Next, they were put onto the firing line for a stress shoot, requiring them to accurately
engage multiple targets in a physically and mentally challenging environment. They followed
this with the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Lane, where competitors had to push forward
through the brush whilst taking enemy fire to aid several casualties.
Combat medicine is about efficiency, and the continued honing of ability and
knowledge; how quickly can they accomplish what needs to get done, the right way, with no
compromises to the safety of the patient, or themselves.
“We as medics don’t have the option to fail, we can’t, we have people's lives in our
hands. With this competition, it’s pushing us further to prove not only to ourselves, but to the
guys we’re entrusted to care for, that we’ve got it and that they can push even harder,” said Pettit.
Working swiftly, Rodriguez and Pettit rendered first aid and called up their nine-line
medical evacuation, finishing their lane, or so they thought. Enemy fire was deemed too heavy,
and air support wouldn’t be able to get to them in time. Acting quickly, they pulled their
casualties into a nearby town and set up for the long haul.
Locked away and safe with their casualty, they got to work on post combat care. Three
hours in a location with no light, no additional resources, and a patient in incredibly unstable
condition, a grueling test of their knowledge. In the end they accomplished their mission,
rucked back to base, and were allowed their first bit of rest in 48 hours.
“We came here to find out what it takes to be the best medic, by the end of this
competition we’ll know,” said Rodriguez.
Land navigation kicked off day three’s events at 3 a.m., followed immediately by
another ruck march to the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear challenge, but it was
nothing the competitors hadn’t seen before, things finally seemed to be winding down.
However, there was one more challenge on their horizon. The mystery event would
prove to be a truly excellent capstone to an incredibly difficult competition, kicking off with the
competitors scaling the face of a cliff. Bit by bit they had to climb, every ounce of energy
already drained by all that came before, but still they climbed, and this was only the beginning.
They then had to load mortars and trek to another casualty, luckily an on-ground medic
had already rendered first aid, so they called up their nine line. The clock was ticking, the UH-
60 Blackhawk was on its way, and the MEDEVAC point was far. They had to move the
casualty over walls, through trenches, and under barbed wire, to the pick-up zone. Through
grueling effort they made it in time, the Blackhawk swooping in to receive the casualty. As it
flew off to take the patient to a care facility, the competitors could finally rest knowing the Best
Medic Competition had ended, and they had given their all.
Webster defines strength as the quality of being strong or having the capacity to endure
or exert force. It can also refer to the power to resist attack, or the power of a person or thing to
withstand pressure or strain, Rodriguez had a slightly different take.
“Strength, it’s accepting the deficiencies in your life and just working on them; a lot of
the time there’s no appearance to being strong,” said Rodriguez.
Every person's life has its hardships and while not every person's life will be equally
difficult, Pettit challenges his fellow Soldiers to face those problems head on.
“Life is not gonna give you what you want. It’s going to fight you, it’s going to be
nasty, it’s going to be dirty, but your resolve and your willingness to push forward every single
day and striving to be the best every day is vital not for yourself, but for those who depend on
you,” said Pettit.
| Date Taken: | 02.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.02.2025 11:51 |
| Story ID: | 494368 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 22 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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