REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala.-The Army Contracting Command's Best Warrior competition proved to be more of a marathon than a sprint as Staff Sgt. Eliud Temblador, bested 11 others to capture the title here.
Temblador, a 51C contracting non-commissioned officer from the 413th Contracting Support Brigade, Fort Shafter, Hawaii, topped the competition with a total score of 371 out of 500 possible points. Temblador was also named the Expeditionary Contracting Command Best Warrior. The runner-up and Mission and Installation Contracting Command Best Warrior, Staff Sgt. Ryan L. Cross, 419th CSB, finished nine points behind Temblador.
"I was training a lot back in Hawaii with my sponsor. We tried doing as much as we could such as preparing for the board and looking at it from a total Soldier concept," Temblador. "That's what we were pushing for. Trying to be good at everything, not just one thing. We just kept pushing to be prepared."
Temblador will represent the command at the Army Materiel Command competition July 27-31 at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois.
"I'm going to train harder and stronger. I'm going to fix the areas where I felt I wasn't as strong so that I can represent the command with everything I have," he said.
According to ACC's Command Sgt. Major David M. Puig, the competition was four competitions conducted at once. It was best warrior competitions for ACC, ECC, MICC and any other Redstone Arsenal organization that wanted to participate.
"Because of the caliber of the competition we provide, we were tasked by the AMC command sergeant major to provide a venue and validation for any NCOs here on Redstone who wanted to compete at AMC's competition at Rock Island," Puig said.
The event was hosted by ECC.
"It's important for NCOs to make the extra effort to stand out and lead from the front," said ECC Command Sgt Maj. Angel Clark. "Competing in these types of competitions helps Soldiers fine tune their military knowledge and skills while also increasing the esprit de corps within the non-commissioned officer corps."
This year's competitors were Staff Sgts. Cedric Belmont, 739th Contingency Contracting Team, Warren, Michigan; Kama J. Cilumba, 418th CSB, Fort Carson, Colorado; Ryan D. Johnson, 412th CSB, Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Maxim A. Pikulskiy, 920th Contingency Contracting Battalion, Fort Drum, New York; Christopher R. Sanchez, 727th Senior Contingency Contracting Team, Yongsan, Korea; Arter E. Sweatman, 926th CCBn, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; Jerri A. Taylor, 414th CSB, Vicenza, Italy; John R. Tigue, 410th CSB, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, and Mark C. Wirtz, 604th SCCT, Fort Lee, Virginia. Also participating was Sgt. Gunnar G. Kallstrom from the AMC Band here.
Participants endured four days of mental and physical challenges. Day one included the Army Physical Fitness Test, an appearance before a board of command sergeants major, a written test and writing an essay.
Day two saw the Soldiers conduct warrior tasks/battle drills and the mystery task--drill and ceremony--in the morning. In the afternoon the participants navigated the urban orienteering course as the Alabama skies provided an extra challenge -- rain.
"If it ain't raining, we ain't training," said Johnson's sponsor, Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Carter, 412th CSB.
Day three, the participants took off on an 8.2 mile road march followed by weapons qualification.
"Of all the events, the most challenging by far was the warrior tasks and battle drills," Puig said. "The road march required physical endurance but the warrior tasks required participants to be both mentally and physically tough. It required you to think on your feet when it came to first aid in the field and be strong enough to move that 180-pound victim as well."
According to MICC Command Sgt. Maj. Stephen E. Bowens, all participants can walk away feeling proud of their accomplishments.
"They worked hard to get here and are fine representatives of their units, the Army and America," he said.
"It was a tough competition. I applaud all the fine non-commissioned officers who stepped up to the plate and accepted the challenge," said Puig. "Staff Sgt. Temblador has the ability to represent not just ACC, but AMC at the Army level. I am very confident that he will make this command proud."
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