Top NCO, Top Soldier selected to represent USASMDC/ARSTRAT at DA Best Warrior Competition

PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. - Overcast skies and muddy terrain could not stop four noncommissioned officers and four Soldiers from gutting it out during the 2009 U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year Competition.

The weeklong event, conducted June 1-4, was comprised of a standard Army Physical Fitness Test, a written exam, M-14 Weapons Qualification, Day and Night Urban Orienteering, a strenuous Situational Training Exercise and an Administrative Board.

The eight candidates competing for the title came from various USASMDC/ARTSRAT units around the globe representing the Western, Eastern, European and Pacific Regions. The demanding week culminated in the selection of Sgt. Sarah Haskins as the 2009 USASMDC/ARSTRAT Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, and Sgt. Travis Parsons as the 2009 USASMDC/ARSTRAT Soldier of the Year. (Parsons was promoted to the rank of sergeant after he started competing for the Soldier title.)

Haskins, a Signals Analyst with 4th Space Company, 1st Space Battalion out of Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., represented the Western Region, and Parsons, a Satellite Network Controller from Echo Company, 53rd Signal Battalion in Okinawa, Japan, represented the Pacific Region.

The other competitors were European Region NCO of the Year - Staff Sgt. Jonas Moody, 1st Space Company, 1st Space Battalion (first runner up); Pacific Region NCO of the Year - Staff Sgt. David Padilla, 1st Space Company, 1st Space Battalion (second runner up); Eastern Region NCO of the Year - Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Davidson, Bravo Company, 53rd Signal Battalion (third runner up); Western Region Soldier of the Year - Spc. Kyle Behrens, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 53rd Signal Battalion (first runner up); Eastern Region Soldier of the Year Spc. Roy E. Dilworth III, Bravo Company, 53rd Signal Battalion (second runner up): and European Region Soldier of the Year - Spc. Matthew Heard, Charlie Company, 53rd Signal Battalion (third runner up).