National Capital Region & Army Military District Washington Warriors Recognized

Four Soldiers from the Joint Forces Headquarters National Capital Region (JFHQ NCR) and the U.S. Army Military District Washington (MDW) were recognized for their participation in the 2010 Army Best Warrior Competition during a ceremony held Oct. 29 at the National Defense University's Lincoln Hall Auditorium on Fort McNair.

The JFHQ NCR Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year is Staff Sgt. Christopher McDougall, currently assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company, United States Army Garrison, Stuttgart, Germany. McDougall went on to win the overall Department of the Army NCO of the Year award, which was presented to him at the 2010 Association of the U.S. Army Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., Oct. 25 by the Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston, and Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the vice chief of staff of the Army.

Spec. Eric Bugarin, currently assigned to the 95th Military Police Company, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. is the JFHQ NCR Soldier of the Year.

The MDW NCO of the Year is Sgt. Enis Memic, currently assigned to Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 3d United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., and Spec. Drew Hilliard is the MDW Soldier of the Year and is currently stationed with Bravo Company, 3d, United States Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Va.

The U.S. Army Best Warrior Competition, which was held at Fort Lee, Va., Oct. 17-22, has evolved into an ultimate test of Soldiery since its inception nine years ago.

From hand-to-hand combat, urban orienteering, detainee operations, and evaluating casualties, to weapons familiarization and night firing, the 24 competitors in this year's competition have worked hard for a shot at earning the title of Soldier or Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.

"I want to show with this competition that you don't have to be a Special Forces Soldier, an armored crewman or infantry Soldier to be successful. It's basic, fundamental Soldier skills, that all of us, regardless of our occupational specialty, should be competent at," said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth Preston during a luncheon with participants during the competiton and quoted here from a recent Army News article.

Preston, who oversees the event, explained that the competition brings visibility to the Army and showcases some of its top Soldiers.

"You have 24 competitors here who are from 24 small towns and communities across America. We want to reach out to all those communities and show them who we are as Soldiers and what our roles and responsibilities are," Preston said. "Internally, it also sends a message across the force that these critical skills are very important to the Army."

Twenty-four of the Army's finest Warriors, representing 12 commands from across the Army participated in what is described by some as the "Super Bowl" of Army competitions.

JFHQ-NCR/MDW Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Williams presided over the Fort McNair awards presentation, and stressed the dedication and commitment of effort each of the Soldiers displayed by their achievements during the competition. "I want to relate to you all, how seriously our Soldiers take this competition. I have seen some amazing things," said Williams. He also presented all four Soldiers from the JFHQ NCR and the Army MDW the Army Commendation Medal during the ceremony as well as numerous gifts provided by the commercial sponsors who supported the event.

Warriors selected to compete for the prestigious titles have mastered a series of benchmarks throughout the year to qualify for the Army-wide, Best Warrior Competition. Warriors for Soldier of the Year include the ranks of private through specialist, and warriors for NCO of the Year include ranks corporal through sergeant first class. All Army active duty, National Guard and Reserve Component Soldiers are eligible to compete.

The Warriors represented in the competition compete on behalf of these Army Commands: U.S. Army Forces Command, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, U.S. Army Europe, U.S. Army Materiel Command, U.S. Army Forces Korea, U.S. Army Medical Command, U.S. Army Pacific Command, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, U.S. Army Reserve Command, U.S. Army National Guard, and the National Capitol Region, which includes several smaller commands.