HRC names top noncommissioned officer, junior enlisted Soldier

By Master Sgt. Brian HamiltonMay 16, 2017

Rest
1 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, rests after completing the 2-mile run during the APFT portion of the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. Reyes ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Push-up
2 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, performs push-ups during the APFT portion of the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. Reyes along with Sgt. Kand... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
2-mile run
3 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, completes lap 6 of eight during the 2-mile run event in the APFT portion of the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Push-up
4 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Kandy Christian, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Soldier of the Year, performs push-ups during the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. Christian along with Sgt.1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Land Navigation
5 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, shoots an azimuth at the land navigation course during the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. Reyes along with... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Vehicle Search
6 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Steven Vaughn, U.S. Army Human Resources Command professional development NCO, performs a vehicle search during the situational training exercise at the Command's Best Warrior Competition held on Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. The top... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Qualification
7 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command qualify with the M4- 5.56 mm Semiautomatic Rifle during the command's Best Warrior Competition held on Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. The top Noncommissioned Officer and Junior Enlisted Soldier of ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Ruck March
8 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Kandy Christian, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Soldier of the Year, marches up Misery Hill during the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 10, 2017. Christian along with Sgt.1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Hu... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Ruck March
9 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, marches up Misery Hill during the HRC Best Warrior Competition held at Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. Reyes along with Sgt. Kandy Christian, 20... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Ruck March
10 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Soldiers with the U.S. Army Human Resources Command perform a 6-mile ruck march during the command's Best Warrior Competition held on Fort Knox, Ky., May 8-11, 2017. The top Noncommissioned Officer and Junior Enlisted Soldier of this competition will... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Security
11 / 11 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Noncommissioned Officer of the Year performs security during the situational training exercise at the Command's Best Warrior Competition held on Fort Knox, Ky., May 9, 201... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

The winners of the 2017 U.S. Army Human Resources Command Best Warrior competition were announced during a ceremony held at the Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude complex on Fort Knox, Kentucky, May 12.

Sgt. 1st Class Francis Reyes, an Active Guard and Reserve Soldier assigned to the Army Reserve Enlisted Division at HRC took the top honor as Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. Newly promoted, Sgt. Kandy Christian, assigned to the Personnel Information Systems Directorate at HRC, was named HRC Soldier of the Year.

For four days of competition, 67 support personnel challenged and evaluated six Soldiers on basic Army Warrior Tasks and drills including physical fitness, rifle marksmanship, and basic battle drills to see who would advance to the Fort Knox Installation competition held on Post 21-25 May.

Getting back to the basics was a key, motivating factor for Christian's participation in the competition.

"I wanted to get out of the office and re-learn some of what it takes to be a Soldier," she said. "I would definitely do this competition again and I would recommend it to any Soldier in my division."

Reyes agreed.

"This was a good experience. It takes a lot out of you but it takes you back to the basics of Soldier skills; all of those things we don't do on a daily basis here (at HRC)."

"This was something I can use when I get back out into the field. As an AGR in the Army Reserve we don't have the same opportunity to host a Soldier of the Quarter or Soldier of the Month competition the way we do here. I can take the experience that I just went through and try to implement it in other units so Soldiers can experience something similar," he said.

Reyes said separating himself from his peers was also a major motivating factor for him competing.

"When I retire, I don't want to look back on my career and have any regrets of not pushing myself. I want to say I took advantage of everything that the Army offered me."

Sgt. 1st Class Steven Vaughn, Professional Development NCO with HRC, was the first runner up for Noncommissioned Officer of the Year in the competition and will join Reyes at the Installation competition.

"This competition was me stepping outside of the box and not being just a cubicle NCO. This was me saying to this organization, hey I'm here and this is what I'm capable of," he said. "I would tell all Soldiers in this unit to keep challenging and pushing themselves. As a benefit of being here, you have more time accomplish goal-setting things for yourself and you need to take advantage of that."

Other competitors like Staff Sergeant Grace Altaya, also with the Army Reserve Enlisted Division at HRC, used the competition to prepare themselves for future assignments.

"This was a great opportunity to hone the 10 and 20 level skills that I need to know as an NCO, so that when I get back to operational Army I can be a better leader for the junior Soldiers," Altaya said. "I think it will also help me in the event I sponsor a Soldier who may be going through a competition similar to this in the future."

The Army's Best Warrior competition is now in its 16th year. In all, 20 Soldiers from across the Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard will compete for the title of Department of the Army Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year later this fall.