CAMP SHELBY, Miss. -- After putting six Best Warrior candidates through 12 grueling events in three sweat-soaked summer days, First Army named its top noncommissioned officer and Soldier of 2015.
Sgt. 1st Class Waylon Wren, an observer coach/trainer with 1-345th Engineer Battalion, 157th Infantry Brigade, Division East at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and Spc. Allante Gay, a movement specialist with Company C, Continental United States Replacement Center Battalion, 5th Armored Brigade, Division West at Fort Bliss, Texas, are First Army's top NCO and Soldier of the year. Wren will represent First Army in the U.S. Forces Command Best Warrior Competition at Fort Bragg, N.C., later this month.
"I think we've got a real chance this year to win at FORSCOM and go on to Department of the Army. But, even if we don't, I'm extremely proud of all the competitors," said Command Sgt. Maj. Sam Young, First Army command sergeant major. "[The candidates have] gotten all the way to the corps level, so they are the cream of the crop. They were the best from their divisions, and now they're going back to their battalion or brigade. They should be very, very proud of themselves."
The First Army Best Warrior candidates tackled events ranging from the usual -- the Army Physical Fitness Test, weapons qualification, land navigation and a formal board -- to the unexpected -- a Leadership Reaction Course and calling for fire in a virtual simulated combat environment.
"We threw them some curve balls in there, not to mess the Soldiers up, but … to get them thinking," Young said.
The Leadership Reaction Course, which challenges Soldiers to manage a team and solve logistical problems with a minimum of equipment, is more mentally than physically demanding, he added. "We get their brains moving and thinking about different things."
Candidates may have expected to do an 8-mile foot march carrying a 35-pound rucksack, but they probably weren't also expecting to have to stop every few miles to disassemble and assemble M240B and M249 machine guns and M4 carbines. "Every one of them," Young said, "has told me it was grueling, not to mention the Camp Shelby, Miss., heat."
For at least one of the candidates, completing that grueling foot march will make him a better OC/T.
"We don't always get to go out and do the 'Soldiering' stuff. We observe, coach and train," said Wren. "When you're on the OC/T mission, you have to know what these Soldiers are going through. I know what it's like to go out and ruck 8 miles in 90-degree weather. You can train people better if you've been through it."
The Best Warrior Competition also tests one's ability to do things, both mentally and physically, said Staff Sgt. Brandon Sewell, an OC/T with 1-393rd Infantry Regiment, 120th Infantry Brigade, Division West at Fort Hood, Texas. "It'll test patience, too. But, overall, I don't mind it. It kind of brings to light where you lack in certain areas and subjects."
Competing for Best Warrior refreshes basic Soldier skills, said Sgt. 1st Class Mark Polt, an OC/T with 1-409th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Cavalry Brigade, Division East at Fort Knox, Ky.
"This is a definite eye-opener for me on just the little things that I've kind of overlooked, whether it's weapons disassembling and forget this one part, or forget to say this. It's all the little nitpicky stuff that makes it a competition," Polt said. "Who's really put forth the most effort, I think, is what it comes down to."
One candidate's efforts are an example for his two sons, who told their dad he couldn't take on challenges like the athletes on "American Ninja Warrior," one of their favorite TV shows.
"I told them, 'Yeah, I can,'" said Sgt. 1st Class Rocky Duran, an OC/T with 1-345th Engineer Battalion, 157th Infantry Brigade, Division East at Camp Atterbury. "It's kind of my proof to them, like, 'Look, I'm out there doing it, just like they're doing it.' They like it. They're proud of me."
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