FORT BENNING, Ga. (May 8, 2013) -- The Fort Benning Office of the Staff Judge Advocate honored Capt. Evelyn Blanco and 1st Lt. John McGuire on May 6, presenting both with the inaugural Broady Cup, the award for the top performers in the OSJA's second Iron JAG competition.
Blanco and McGuire, both OSJA attorneys, received the highest scores in the officewide test of physical and mental prowess, conducted April 22-24.
Events in this year's Iron JAG included the Army Physical Fitness Test, a timed physical strength challenge, a written exam covering legal and historical topics and a 10K run, with points given to the top five male and female performers in each event. Blanco and McGuire were awarded the Broady Cup for earning the highest scores overall in the competition.
The Broady Cup is named in honor of retired Command Sgt. Maj. Mike Broady, who founded the Iron JAG competition and was also recognized at the ceremony.
Broady held the first official Iron JAG competition in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 1994, modeling the event after the Best Ranger Competition that is held annually at Fort Benning. By 2001, the Iron JAG had received support from the highest levels of Army leadership, and was featured in Stars and Stripes magazine. Numerous variations of the competition have been held in the intervening years, particularly in the 82nd Airborne Division and XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg.
The competition originally featured attorneys and paralegals competing in two-person teams, working together through events such as pull-ups, a bicycle race, a 12-mile ruck march, a modified APFT and a written legal skills test. Each team trained together, studied together and was required to finish each event together.
The intention behind the competition was to promote the importance of teamwork between attorney and paralegal, and to foster good order and discipline by demonstrating that success in their mission hinged on them working together. It also served as an interaction with the community at large, showcasing the ability and knowledge of the Soldiers working in the OSJA.
Iron JAG has since evolved into an individual competition, but many of the core principles remain the same. OSJA Soldiers participating in the legal stakes competition demonstrate their discipline and skill over the course of three days, showing their physical and mental preparedness to accomplish the OSJA mission.
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