Ohio National Guard News

Army Commendation MedalOhio Army National Guard announces winners
of annual Noncommissioned Officer and
Soldier of the Year— Best Warrior Competition

Story and photos by Sgt. Michael Carden
196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, Ohio Army National Guard

Sgt 1st Class Todd Everett
Best Warrior Competition Winners OHARNG Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Staff Sgt. Heath Robinson (left), and Soldier of the Year, Spc. Jeremy Stotz.
Sgt 1st Class Todd Everett, with Company E, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Ohio Army National Guard and a Hartville, Ohio, native, takes aim down the barrel of his M-4 rifle during a stress fire March 10, 2012, at Camp Sherman Joint Training Center in Chillicothe, Ohio. The stress fire was just one of many events that pitted the finest noncommissioned officers and enlisted Soldiers in the Ohio Army National Guard against one another in a three-day Best Warrior Competition covering all facets of professional Soldiering skills.

Spc. Matt Younker

Spc. Matt Younker, a member of the 324th Military Police Company and a Blanchester, Ohio, native, maintains focus during the push-up event as part of the Army Physical Fitness Test.

Sgt. 1st Class Todd Everett

Sgt. 1st Class Todd Everett, a recruiter with Company E, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Ohio Army National Guard and a Hartville, Ohio, native, celebrates finishing a six-mile ruck march.

OHARNG Noncommissioned Officer of the Year,Staff Sgt. Keith Robinson

Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Whatmough (left), Ohio Army
National Guard state command sergeant major and an Akron, Ohio, native, pins an Army Commendation Medal March 11, 2012, on Staff Sgt. Heath Robinson, a medic with the 285th
Area Support Medical Company and a Columbus, Ohio, native.

land navigation

A Soldier in the Ohio Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition plots his points during the land navigation event.

Soldier of the Year

Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Whatmough (left), congratulates Spc. Jeremy Stotz, a cavalry scout with Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment and a Toledo, Ohio, native, after pinning him with an Army Commendation Medal.

stress fire
Sgt 1st Class Todd Everett, with Company E, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Ohio Army National Guard and a Hartville, Ohio, native, takes aim down the barrel of his M-4 rifle during a stress fire.

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Physical fitness, marksmanship, land navigation, military bearing, Army Warrior Task proficiency and overall Soldiering knowledge are all essential components of what it takes to be the best in the Army.

At the Ohio Army National Guard Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year — Best Warrior Competition, March 9-11 at Camp Sherman Joint Training Center, Soldiers and noncommissioned officers from across the state competed to find out who the best warrior indeed was.

“Being competitive in nature is what we do in the military,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Albert Whatmough, Ohio Army National Guard state command sergeant major and an Akron, Ohio, native. “Every Soldier and NCO came out and represented their organization with pride. They certainly exemplified the Warrior Ethos.

“The National Guard has come a long way, in this fight in the War on Terrorism, and our role and the relevancy we play at the national level,” Whatmough said. “For the last three years in a row, the Best Warrior for the United States Army has been a selectee from the National Guard. It’s events like this one that springboard your career as an enlisted Soldier."

The competition started with the Army Physical Fitness Test, where Soldiers tested their physical strength and endurance with two-minute timed events in push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. From there, competitors transitioned into a live-fire range testing their rifle and pistol marksmanship proficiency.

The competitors, in helmet, body armor and full personal protective gear, had to fire their weapon and, then placing it safely down, run 50 yards with a sandbag, drop to the ground and do push-ups, then carry their sandbag back to the firing line and fire again. Being graded on both time and accuracy, competitors had to balance shooting fundamentals, including regulating their breathing with an increased heart rate, with their haste to complete the task.

Soldiers and NCOs were then tested on their land navigation skills, having to plot and successfully travel to five points in succession. Once all competitors returned, they were quickly thrust into a battery of Army Warrior Tasks testing them on first aid, detainee operations, improvised explosive device identification and radio procedures. The day was capped off with a written 50-question general military knowledge test and then an appearance board where each Soldier and NCO went in front of a review board of sergeants major who questioned them on military bearing, appearance and general military knowledge.

Day two of the competition started at dawn with the last event, the ruck march, which saw competitors travel six miles on foot with a 35-pound rucksack and rifle as they attempted to finish as fast as possible, knowing that the scoring could come down to who had the best time in the final event.

At an award ceremony presided over by Whatmough, Staff Sgt. Heath Robinson, a medic with the 285th Area Support Medical Company and a Columbus, Ohio, native, was named OHARNG Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, and Spc. Jeremy Stotz, a cavalry scout with Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 107th Cavalry Regiment and a Toledo, Ohio, native, was named OHARNG Soldier of the Year.

Both said they were excited about representing Ohio against other Midwestern state winners at the Army National Guard Region 4 Soldier and NCO of the Year competition in May at Camp Grayling, Mich. They also said they appreciated the opportunity to compete against the best.

“People don’t look at medics as someone who can go out and hump it.” Robinson said. “I wanted to represent my unit and show we could go out and do it.”

Both winners said they had trained extensively leading up to the competition. Stotz was training a minimum of five times a week to get in the necessary physical shape for the grueling competition as well as reviewing as much of his Soldier skills as he could. Robinson’s unit leadership conducted mock boards for him, which he attributed to helping prepare himself mentally for the competition.

“It’s hard to get back in the mindset of the military sometimes from a civilian life,” Robinson said. “If you want to succeed in this career, you have to be able to do that.”

Several sergeants major who were there to observe and cheer on their Soldiers and NCOs in the competition said they noticed the effort and the professional pride exhibited by all the competitors involved.

“It’s about the Soldiers’ individual excellence,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Steve Shepherd, command sergeant major of the 16th Engineer Brigade and a Gahanna, Ohio, native. “There are over 11,000 Army National Guard Soldiers in the state of Ohio. To be out here competing with 12 or 15 of your peers, to get to this level, and then to be No. 1 in the state, not too many people get the opportunity to do that.”

While the statewide Best Warrior Competition is the culminating event of this year's NCO/Soldier of the Year competitions that began at the unit and batallion levels, it is really just a continuation of a cycle, Shepherd added, one that continues to foster professionalism and excellence across the Ohio National Guard.

“The takeaway is for the Soldiers who have competed, to take it back to their units, share it with young Soldiers, young NCOs and give them the tools to come out here and compete next year and take it to a whole different level,” Shepherd said.

youtube — Ohio National Guard | 2012 Best Warrior Competition: Story by SSG Jacob Fadley, Ohio National Guard
Physical fitness, marksmanship, and military bearing are just some of the tools needed to earn the title of "Soldier of the Year" in the Ohio National Guard. This year top Army Soldiers and noncommisoned officers converge on Camp Sherman Joint Training Center to see who would earn the prestigious title.