Air defender wins Fort Sill Platoon Sergeant of the Year

FORT SILL, Okla. July 2, 2015 -- After two and a half days of grueling competition, Staff Sgt. Claudia Collazo was named the Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill Advanced Individual Training Platoon Sergeant of the Year (PSoY).

"I'm very excited," said Collazo, of B Battery, 3rd Battalion, 6th Air Defense Artillery. "It took a lot of determination, and doing the best that I possibly could to win."

Collazo will move on to the Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) PSoY competition Sept. 7-11, at Fort Jackson, S.C.

Also competing here were Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Schrimsher, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery; Staff Sgt. Jandel Nelvis, C/1-78th FA; and Staff Sgt. Wesley Woolford, B/2-6th ADA. Competitors were selected by their battalions to compete at the post level.

All platoon sergeants were recognized during a ceremony June 29, at Kerwin Auditorium in front of their field and air defense artillery peers, family, friends and post leaders.

Fire Center of Excellence and Fort Sill Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Lindsey was the speaker at the ceremony. He said the competitors were a special group of noncommissioned officers.

"A lot of NCOs would not step up to the plate and do something like this, but this is the type caliber of NCOs that we have on this installation," Lindsey said. "One day they will stand here on this stage and do what I'm doing."

An AIT platoon sergeant serves as the class administrator for new Soldiers, who are learning their respective military occupational specialty, as well as a mentor to help the students continue to develop as Soldiers, especially in preparation for their first unit.

The 30th Air Defense Artillery and 428th Field Artillery brigades alternate running the competition each year. Master Sgt. Scott Askew, 30th ADA Brigade Operations noncommissioned officer in charge, designed this year's competition.

Askew said he wanted the events to mimic the TRADOC PSoY competition that Collazo will experience this fall. Instead of the usual four-day testing it was compressed into two days of events followed by a half day in front of a board.

"It's pretty much action-packed from 5 this morning until 2200 (hours)," said Askew on Day 1. "Then the same thing tomorrow."

The competitors were tested on 28 events ranging from the Army Physical Fitness Test to M-4 rifle marksmanship to module instruction to written tests. Some of the testing was conducted at Camp Eagle here, which is where they ate and slept.

"We wanted not only to test their physical and mental limits, but to stretch them, but not break them," Askew said. "And we're going to be smart about it to avoid injuries."

Many of the competitors agreed that the first half of Day 2 was the toughest. It included a 20K ruck march in full combat gear, followed by rifle qualifications while still in "battle rattle," and then completing an obstacle course during mid-day.

"It was a real smoker, it was extremely hot," said Schrimsher, who has been a Soldier for 13 years.

Each competitor had a unit sponsor who helped prepare them for the competition, as well as to encourage them during the testing.

Sgt. 1st Class Albert Levasseur, B/3-6th ADA, sponsored Collazo. Levasseur competed in the PSoY last year.

"It takes a lot of mental and physical toughness to win," Levasseur said. "It's hard work because you have to remember a lot of things that you might not use on a daily basis."

The competitors were not told the sequence of testing nor were they given feedback after competing an event, Nelvis said.

Dozens of Soldiers from the 30th ADA and 428th FA brigades; and other units and commands assisted running the competition, Askew said.

Staff Sgt. Billy Whiteplume, A/1-30th FA gunnery sergeant, served as an evaluator as the competitors taught Nuclear, Biological and Chemical reporting.

"All the performance steps they had to do are within a standard, and that's what the points they earned are based on," Whiteplume said.

Going into the final day, the competition was still very close, Askew said.

The competition culminated June 26, with a board appearance before six senior FCoE command sergeants major, or their representative. Lindsey headed the panel.

The CSMs shot out questions faster than the cyclic rate of an M-4. They ranged from defining character to drill and ceremonies to Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention to current events.

Collazo attributed her success to several Soldiers in her unit, and her family, including her husband, Jonathon, who was at the first event on Day 1 encouraging her.

"I'm very proud of her," said Jonathon, who also said he helped her study. "I can't take too much credit, I just tried to motivate her."

Woolford said he gained much from the competition, and that he is ready to assist Collazo for the TRADOC PSoY, since they are in the same brigade.

Schrimsher described the AIT PSoY competition as a great experience, and he recommended it to his peers.

"You've got to push yourself, test your limits every now and then, and find out what you're made of," he said.