COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The average duty day usually does not consist of being pinned to a mat or put into a headlock. For the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command Noncommissioned officer and Soldier of the year, however, it does.
Spc. Brandon Kitchen, 53rd Signal Battalion, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Brown, 1st Space Battalion, started their training program to prepare for the upcoming Department of the Army Best Warrior competition in Washington, D.C., by spending eight days practicing Modern Army Combatives. The intense course aimed to further their hand-to-hand combat skills.
Their training program was designed with heavy input from past competitors, who stated they would like to have had more combatives training before facing off against the other Best Warrior candidates.
Staff Sgt. Justin Hamic, 53rd Signal Battalion, a combatives instructor, came in from Fort Detrick, Md., to run the eight-day Level 2 combatives class, instructing a group of six soldiers, including Brown, on some of the more advanced techniques of the program. Kitchen attended a Level 1 course on Fort Carson before joining the tail end of the Level 2 class.
"It's a lot to cram into only eight days, but I'm really proud of these guys. They worked hard," said Hamrick.
Hamrick certified five additional members of the command in their Level 2 training during his time in Colorado Springs.
"Our brigade commander is always saying that we're Soldiers and Warriors first, and I couldn't agree more. Combatives training is definitely right in there with the Warrior Tasks we need to be doing," said Lt. Col. Benjamin Jones, 53rd Signal Battalion commander, who presented the class with their Level 2 certificates.
Brown and Kitchen will continue to improve their performance on Army Warrior Tasks and drills until the competition in October.
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