Two Soldiers stationed at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall have won the Military District of Washington's Best Warrior Competition.
Staff Sgt. Kevin Simpson, a clarinetist with The U.S. Army Concert Band, earned the title of best NCO warrior and Pfc. David Saunders of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) Alpha Company earned the title of best junior enlisted warrior during the competition, which was held Aug. 24 to 28 at Fort A.P. Hill in Bowling Green, Va.
Simpson said a comment made by "Pershing's Own" Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel R. Smith spurred him on to take part in the competition.
"I thought it sounded new and different and a fun way to challenge myself," he said.
Simpson, 31, of Oakland, Calif., has been in the Army for nearly eight years. He said his unit was extremely helpful while he trained for the competition and set him up with fellow Soldiers who could help him in areas where he needed assistance.
"That was really helpful to me," he said. "We don't spend a lot of time in the environment as far as being in the field and doing training that is geared to Best Warrior."
Military police officers at the joint base and Soldiers at the armory assisted him in learning how to assemble and disassemble a variety of weapons and also helped him get comfortable with the different weapons used during the competition, Simpson said.
"How often does a clarinet player end up shooting a machine gun?" he said with a laugh.
Simpson said he began training for the competition about five months ago.
"A lot of the training was on my own, particularly studying for the board examination and the written exam," he said. There was a lot of Army regulation and Army Field Manual things to learn."
Simpson said his wife, Sgt. 1st Class Leigh Lafosse, who is also a clarinetist with the band, served as his training partner.
"She kept me company on a lot of my training road marches," he said. "You spend a lot of time roaming around in the woods on your own, so it was nice to have somebody to talk to."
The first day of the competition began with a standard Army Physical Fitness test. The Soldiers then faced the grenade range and a written test. Competitors completed a nighttime land navigation course, followed by a daytime land navigation course, on day two and were then sent to a village similar to what might be seen in Afghanistan.
They also had their proficiency in battle drills tested, had to perform tactical first aid and weapons maintenance during the competition's second day. The day ended with instructions on how to board a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter and a surprise event where they had to ask questions put to them by a reporter.
The final day of the event saw the competitors, who included Soldiers stationed in Korea and Germany; from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command, the U.S. Army Air Operations Group, the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) and The U.S. Army Band, "Pershing's Own", board a helicopter and flown to the starting point of a nine-mile march in full body armor.
Following the march, competitors then had to fire M-16/M-4 rifles; M9 pistols and M240B and M249 machine guns at paper targets, meeting a minimum score to continue the competition. They then faced one final written test and appeared before a board of sergeants major, which concluded the competition.
Editor's note: Look for a future Pentagram article on Pfc. David Saunders of The Old Guard's Alpha Company.
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