Commander's Cup competition personal for married unit commanders

By Capt. Rory MeleAugust 24, 2017

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1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Ann Meredith (left), battalion commander of 97th Military Police Battalion, watches combatives, the final Victory Week 2017 event, with her husband Lt. Col. Jon Meredith, battalion commander of 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armo... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lt. Col. Jon Meredith, battalion commander of 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, stands in his regimental office at Fort Riley, Kansas, Aug. 24. The 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., was neck and ne... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. Shane Houle, commander of the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment of the 97th Military Police Battalion, presents Lt. Col. Ann Meredith, commander of the 97th MP Bn., with the first-place trophy for bowling Aug. 22 during Victory Week at F... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

"Discretion is the better part of valor," responded Lt. Col. Jon Meredith, with a reserved smile, when asked Aug. 23 if he had any fighting words he wished to share publicly to his wife, Lt. Col. Ann Meredith.

The couple's respective units - Ann is the battalion commander of Fort Riley's 97th Military Police Battalion, and Jon commands the 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division - are both competing for the Victory Week 2017 Commander's Cup and were tied going into the final event on Aug. 24, the penultimate day of Victory Week 2017.

When later asked the same question, Ann wished only to express her gratitude.

"We are happy to be a part of 1st Infantry Division's Victory Week and if we happen to win it again, we will remain proud to keep that cup in our battalion," she said. "We are so happy to be a part of this division. We are proud of the relationship. We are very well supported, and we feel like we are a part of the division."

The 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., held the Commander's Cup for several years, up until it was taken by the 97th MP Bn., according to Ann.

"His battalion has won the cup numerous times before," Ann said. "They held it in 2015, and then we took it in 2016, and we will obviously win it this year," she said with confidence.

In an interview with Jon, he felt necessary to go on the record to say that while Ann holds the Commander's Cup that was taken from them in 2016, she cannot take credit for obtaining it at last year's competition as she was not in command. But that has not stopped her from focusing on keeping it this year.

Jon's battalion held the cup when he took command and Ann explained that "it is a big deal to the 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., to win it - they want it back."

Each year during Victory Week, the Commander's Cup goes to the team who wins the most points during sporting events, including flag football, water polo and combatives.

"I told my troops prior to the competition," Jon said, "you know who holds our cup, don't you? My wife holds our cup!"

It has been their focus to bring "our trophy back home."

Both commanders explained that strategy is key in this competition and this rivalry has been very fun for both.

"We talk about it at home a lot," Jon said, grinning. "She put up a score card at home to remind me who was winning."

The score card was taken down Wednesday morning and replaced with a grocery list.

"We are both very competitive," Jon said. "She will tell you that she is not, but she is, especially when it comes to organizational things, such as her unit, which is an important trait for any Army leader."

But Ann says she completely agrees with Jon stating that she is hyper-competitive and ready for a challenge.

When asked if their two young children had taken sides, both being too young to really know what is going on, Ann walked into the laundry room to discover her children had put on her and her husband's physical training shirts - the oldest put on her's, and the youngest had on dad's.

When hearing that, Jon responded, "of course she would say the more athletic of the two children would choose her side."

The children aren't the only ones who have gotten into the mix. The Soldiers are having a lot of fun with it as well and frequently talk about the rivalry and ask who is winning. Their excitement and determination has fueled the rivalry between Ann and Jon.

"It is fun to be the commander that currently has the cup," Ann said. "The junior officers, noncommissioned officers and enlisted helped coach and run teams. This has been a full team effort across the entire battalion which has been really cool."

Ann said she hopes the in-house rivalry has made the competition a little more fun and engaging for everybody.

Ann engaged in a lot of propaganda, beginning about two months prior to Victory Week. Wherever she went, the cup went with her. The cup went on two division runs, battalion runs, meetings at division headquarters, and even to a virtual teleconference with Maj. General Joseph Martin, 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley commanding general.

"Additionally," Ann laughed, "every time another brigade would conduct a brigade run, we would post the cup on the run route with guards on it. My guards would have to salute the brigade colors, so they would have to salute my Soldiers and the cup."

Both Ann and Jon felt that this year's competition has been fun and fair.

"There is a lot of rivalry, but there is a lot of working together and all of it is fun," Ann said. "He wants to see me succeed, and if I win this cup he'll be happy. And the same with me. If we are going to lose it I want to lose it to him, I don't want anyone else to take it. As long as it's a fair fight and it's close, then we can have fun with it."

This is Jon's last year in command and last opportunity to compete with Ann for the cup. Consequently, in the future he may be caught between a rock and a hard place on whether to support his wife or former unit.

"What do I do?" asked Jon. "I will obviously be cheering on my wife next year, but at the same time, I will also be providing 1st Bn., 16th Inf. Regt., with as many notes as I have to give them the advantage against her."

To add some stakes to the competition, the losing spouse has agreed to wear the winner's battalion PT shirt every morning for a full week during PT. Ann suggested that if she could up the stakes, it would be by raising it to 100 days in honor of the Big Red One's 100th anniversary.

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