Madigan names NCO, Soldier of the Year

By Ms. Suzanne Ovel (Army Medicine)February 18, 2016

Madigan names NCO, Soldier of the Year
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

After a rigorous three-day competition, Sgt. Katie Whelan and Spc. Milos Drljic emerged as Madigan Army Medical Center's best Soldiers of 2015.

Whelan, the noncommissioned officer in charge of Madigan's Environmental Services Branch, and Drljic, a medical laboratory technician here, were named the NCO of the Year and the Soldier of the Year respectively.

The competition ranged from an 8-mile ruck march to day and night land navigation, and from a challenge in field life-saving skills to oral and written evaluations on Army knowledge. Soldier of the Year competitions build physical and mental stamina, esprit de corps, and competence as Soldiers, said Sgt. 1st Class Isaac Dyer, the NCOIC of the event.

"Sgt. Whelan and Spc. Drljic really started to separate themselves from the other competitors on the road march," said Dyer, whom Drljic praised for the high caliber of the competition planning.

Dyer said that he was impressed with all seven of the competitors, who all previously won a Soldier or NCO of the Quarter board.

"The effort that everybody put in was very surprising; it was a good competition," said Drljic, who called the competition fierce.

Although the event ran from Jan. 12 to 14, the competitors waited until the Madigan Winter Ball on Jan. 30 to find out who came out on top.

"(After) two weeks of suspense and then finding out, the feeling was amazing," said Drljic.

Both winners took preparation for the competition seriously, reviewing land navigation techniques, going through mock boards and training to keep in top physical shape.

"It feels like my hard work paid off," said Whelan. "I'm proud of my accomplishments; it's nice to be recognized."

Whelan hopes that her success inspires the Soldiers she supervises, especially since she earned the right to compete for the title of NCO of the Year after earning second place in one quarterly board and later winning the board after competing a second time.

"The fact that I lost the main board in July and went back, the main reason I did that was to show them if you fail just try again and you can be successful," said Whelan, who was the only female in the Soldier/NCO of the Year competitions. "That's probably the number one thing I got out of it, hopefully just teaching them that."

While Whelan and Drljic can now compete at the Regional Health Command-Pacific (Provisional) level, neither of them is stopping there with their goals. Whelan is starting the Advanced Leaders Course in March and plans to put in her commissioning packet this summer. Drljic took off less than a week after being named Soldier of the Year to take part in the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course.

"That was always my dream ever since I joined the Army. I really wanted to become a Green Beret, special forces, and I'm finally moving towards that dream," said Drljic. "That's a good feeling."

While he's reaching for his goals, he encourages other Soldiers to compete in future competitions.

"Doing something like … definitely helps you become a better Soldier," Drljic said.