FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 17, 2015) -- The Maneuver Center of Excellence Soldiers competed here June 15 to determine the best Soldier, NCO, Advanced Individual Training Platoon Sergeant and Drill Sergeant of the Year.
Through a series of various events, the competition will identify the most tactically competent, physically and mentally tough warriors in their category who will be announced at 11 a.m. June 22 during the awards ceremony in Derby Auditorium.
"We're working on building more smart, fast, lethal and precise Soldiers in our Army," said Sgt. Maj. Mark Moore, MCoE G3 sergeant major. "This competition touches on all four assets. We're going to have a better product who leaves here after this competition when they get back to their units."
Fort Benning Soldiers were part of internal competitions within their units to determine who would go on to compete for the MCoE titles.
The winning Drill Sergeant and AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year will go to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, to compete for the Army's Drill Sergeant and AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year titles.
The winning NCO and Soldier will compete in the Army Training and Doctrine Command competition at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and then go on to the Army's NCO and Soldier of the Year competition.
The competition features four days of events, which began at 5 a.m. with an Army physical fitness test, simulations training, a live-fire range combat qualification, the Bolton Obstacle Course, warrior tasks, orienteering and combatives.
The following days consisted of call for fire, written essays, a three-gun shoot, combat qualification range, night and day land navigation, a medical simulation and a board appearance.
Moore said the Army Marksmanship Unit hosted the three-gun shoot on day two of the competition, with world champion shooters running the event.
For some Soldiers, having made it this far is an accomplishment already.
"If I win or lose, ... I won't be disappointed, because I've already made it this far," said Spc. Johann Baluyut, 198th Infantry Brigade.
The competition puts Soldiers in their respective category against one another to unveil the best, but morale remains high for the competitors, Baluyut said.
"They're all my comrades, I haven't met them previously, but they're all my brothers in arms here," Baluyut said.
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