Ohio National Guard News

 

Ohio's Best NCOs and Soldiers
tested during Best Warrior Competition

Story and photos by Staff Sgt. Kimberly S. Hill 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Video by Spc. Maria Pelino, 196th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

Soldiers from across the state gathered at Camp Ravenna to test their skills
in a new variation of the Ohio Army National Guard's Best Warrior Competition.
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Sgt. Brian J. Brewster applies cleaning, lubricant and protectant fluid to the M4 carbine of Spc. Quinn M. Izar, a Chardon Soldiers take a written exam
Sgt. Brian J. Brewster (right), a Pickerington, Ohio native and a range safety noncommissioned officer, applies cleaning, lubricant and protectant fluid to the M4 carbine of Spc. Quinn M. Izar, a Chardon, Ohio native with Company D, 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, before the stress shoot portion of the competition. Soldiers take a written exam during the Ohio Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition on March 27, 2015, at Camp Ravenna, near Newton Falls, Ohio. Soldiers and noncommissioned officers from among six brigades were selected to compete.
Sgt. Benjamin F. Smith, a Bellbrook performs pull-ups Spc. Austin Skipper (right) fires a M9 pistol during the stress shoot event while Staff Sgt. Brian J. Brewster supervises.
Sgt. Benjamin F. Smith, a Bellbrook, Ohio native with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, performs pull-ups during the competition. Spc. Austin Skipper (right), a Lagrange, Ohio native with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Armored Regiment and a finalist in the Ohio Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition, fires a M9 pistol during the stress shoot event while Staff Sgt. Brian J. Brewster, a Pickerington, Ohio native and a range safety, supervises.
Spc. Quinn M. Izar, a Chardon plots his grid coordinates. Staff Sgt. Nicole K. Wright performs preventative maintenance checks and services on a M240B machine gun
Spc. Quinn M. Izar, a Chardon, Ohio native with Company D, 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment and a finalist in the Ohio Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition, plots his grid coordinates during the land navigation skills test.
Sgt. Benjamin F. Smith, a Bellbrook rucks the 5.2-mile course.

Sgt. Benjamin F. Smith, a Bellbrook, Ohio native with Headquarters and Headquarters Company,1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment and a finalist in the Best Warrior Competition, rucks the 5.2-mile course during the competition.

Staff Sgt. Nicole K. Wright, a Columbus, Ohio native with Company A, Recruit Sustainment Program and a finalist in the Ohio Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition, performs preventative maintenance checks and services on a M240B machine gun during the individual testing portion of the competition

CAMP RAVENNA JOINT MILITARY TRAINING CENTER, Ohio (03/27-28/15) — Ohio National Guard Soldiers competed for the title of Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year March 27-28 during the state Best Warrior Competition.

“It’s a very tough competition, extremely tough and these are some of the best Soldiers we have in the Guard,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Rodger Jones, the command sergeant major of the Ohio Army National Guard.

Staff Sgt. Matthew Shafer, a Milford, Ohio native with Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 107th Calvary Regiment, won the NCO of the Year competition while Pfc. Mark A. Horton II, a Cleveland native with the 945th Engineering Company, earned Soldier of the Year honors.

Soldiers who previously had won the Soldier and NCO of the Year boards within their respective brigades competed for the coveted state title during the two-day event, which was judged by Jones and the command sergeants major of the six Ohio Army National Guard brigades.

The competition among 10 Soldiers included a 5.2-mile ruck march, stress shoot, land navigation course, individual weapons testing, 4.2-mile run, pull-up event, personal appearance board, essay and written examination. To compete in the event, the Soldiers had to be physically and mentally fit, exemplify the Army Values and be experts in Soldiering skills, Jones said.

“Training starts with getting in the books and studying,” said Staff Sgt. Nicole K. Wright, a Columbus, Ohio native with Company A, Recruit Sustainment Program and a competitor in the Best Warrior Competition.

Soldiers participating in the event also received additional support from their sponsors —
Soldiers within the their chain of command who not only helped the finalists study and prepare for the competition, but also provided moral support and guidance.

“My sponsor, really helped me study and get mentally ready for the competition,” Horton said.

The winners then competed in the Region IV competition in May at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, which was won by Indiana Army National Guard members. Those two Soldiers will attend the national Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition June 21-25 at Camp Williams, Utah, according to Master Sgt. Michael A. Burkholder, noncommissioned officer-in-charge of the competition.

“Every Soldier who competes in this competition walks away knowing what right looks like and they can take those skills they learned and the training that they learned back to their unit,” Jones said.