FORT DRUM, N.Y. -- A noncommissioned officer from 91st Military Police Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, and a junior enlisted Soldier from 4th Brigade Combat Team won the 10th Mountain Division (LI) NCO and Soldier of the Year Competition at Fort Drum.
Before Staff Sgt. Jason Selvon and Spc. Derek J. Probizanski could compete at the division level, they had to be selected through company- and battalion-level boards. These boards tested the Soldiers' knowledge on troop leading procedures, basic soldiering skills, marksmanship, physical readiness and numerous other events.
Selvon first was named NCO of the Month and then NCO of the Quarter at local boards here. He then competed against NCOs from across the division. Probizanski competed against Soldiers from Fort Polk, La., for the Soldier of the Month, Soldier of the Quarter, and then against Soldiers at Fort Drum for 10th Mountain Division Soldier of the Year.
"We have just been competing all the way up to division," Selvon said. "I am very happy with how far I have gotten, and I think I will do really good at the corps level."
After winning NCO and Soldier of the Year for 10th Mountain Division (LI), Selvon and Probizanski traveled to Fort Bragg, N.C., to compete this week against other Soldiers from across XVIII Airborne Corps.
Selvon said at the different levels of competition, units switched up a lot of things so it made it harder on each Soldier who competed. Organizers at the company, battalion and brigade level included events designed to find the very best Soldier to represent them.
"There was a lot of competition thus far in all aspects of the different boards and events we had to do," Probizanski said. "I just want to make my unit proud so that when I return to Fort Polk they know that they have trained a good Soldier to represent them."
This year's competition at Fort Bragg tests competitors on various warrior tasks, weapons qualification, the Army Physical Fitness Test, day and night urban orienteering, uniform inspection, an essay test and a written examination testing their knowledge of military leadership and Army programs.
"I think this is a big accomplishment to achieve while also training for a deployment," Probizanski added. "When I get back to my unit, I will show my fellow Soldiers what I have learned so that they can gain something out of the training I have completed."
Selvon and Probizanski are very thankful for the chance to compete for the honor of XVIII Airborne Corps NCO and Soldier of the Year.
"This was a great opportunity given to me by my chain of command to represent all NCOs of the 10th Mountain Division," Selvon added.
"We are here to show the corps what the 10th Mountain Division has to offer, and I think they will be happy with what they see from this well-respected division.
Social Sharing