FORT RILEY, Kan. – Twenty-five U.S. Army Soldiers from across the nation represented U.S. Army Forces Command by participating in the FORSCOM level Best Warrior Competition August 1-5, 2021.
Soldiers participated for a chance to be FORSCOM’s Best Warrior and represent FORSCOM in the overall Army level Best Warrior Competition.
With this year’s competition marking its 20th anniversary, 12 Soldiers ranking from private first class to corporal competed for the title of Soldier of the Year, and 13 Soldiers ranking from sergeant to sergeant first class competed for the title of Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
The Best Warrior Competition was created to promote esprit de corps and recognize Soldiers who demonstrate the Army values, embody the Warrior ethos and represent the Force of the Future.
The five-day survival-of-the-fittest battle, pushed the Soldiers to their physical and mental limits. They completed events such as a physical fitness assessment, a foot march, a rifle qualification range, stress shoot, land navigation and a board.
“Fort Riley and the 1st Infantry Division were selected to host this year’s competition due to their ‘Duty First’ attitude and premier location for maneuver and combat training,” said Sgt. Maj. Antonio Leonvega, the FORSCOM operations and readiness directorate sergeant major. “The installation is located directly on the Flint Hills of Kansas, giving Fort Riley the terrain that requires Soldiers to stay in tune with their Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills.”
Upon their arrival, all competitors completed a height-and-weight, took an exam covering general military knowledge and wrote an essay on what ‘Soldier first’ means to them.
The first day of competition kicked off bright and early with a physical fitness assessment. Soldiers participated in an array of events that included 50 repetitions of deadlifts, burpees and overhead medicine ball lunges, as well as a 50-meter 90-pound sled drag and a 40-pound kettlebell carry while completing a 400-meter sprint in between events.
After the fitness assessment, Soldiers completed a foot march that led them to the next event, a half-mile-long obstacle course. The day continued with a M4 rifle qualification range and a stress shoot.
During the stress shoot, competitors were challenged with dragging a 90-pound Sked stretcher while reacting to simulated incoming fire and returning fire with a M4 rifle and a M17 pistol at designated checkpoints. The day wrapped up with patrol base operations that went well into nightfall.
“This competition has been physically challenging, but I’m out here with the best of the best in FORSCOM competing alongside great NCOs and Soldiers. So, it’s important to give 100 percent,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Brandon Cormier, a noncommissioned officer assigned to 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
Day two of the competition, all participants completed Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills. They showed their peak of individual readiness and lethality as they completed a variety of individual movement techniques, weapons and communications familiarity, tactical combat casualty care and reacted to a simulated chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives attacks.
Competitors then took advantage of what daylight they had left to kick off the land navigation course, which went into the night.
“Even though it’s an individual competition, myself and the other competitors have all been working so hard together,” said U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Olmeda, an Army band musician assigned to the XVIII Airborne Corps. “We’ve been very supportive of one another to be the best that we can be so the winner is the true best competitor.”
The final day of competition started with a mystery event, a bomb-suit run. Competitors raced against the clock as they completed a one-mile run wearing a nearly 100-pound Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) bomb-suit.
After the mystery event, competitors conducted a knowledge board interview held by a panel of FORSCOM sergeants major to test their overall Army knowledge and review their appearance when wearing the Army Service Uniform.
Once the board was over, competitors engaged in possibly the most challenging part of the entire week, waiting for the announcement of the winners.
“I learned a lot from you guys and I think each one of you will take something away from this competition,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Todd Sims, the FORSCOM command sergeant major, to the competitors before announcing the winners. “It’s awe inspiring to know that when I retire from the United States Army, that there’re Soldiers like you that will still be in to take it to new heights.”
The FORSCOM Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year were Spc. James Maynes, a Soldier assigned to I Corps, and Sgt. Hunter Wilson, a noncommissioned officer assigned to III Corps.
Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year runners-up for the 2021 FORSCOM Best Warrior Competition were Spc. Matthew Yates, a Soldier assigned to III Corps, and Sgt. Brandon Cormier, a noncommissioned officer assigned to 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command.
“We definitely built comradery,” said Maynes after the competition. “It’s funny because you’re competing, but half the time you don’t feel like you’re competing, you feel like your all working toward a common task. Which you are, we are Soldiers we’re all on the same team and we’re all training for the same thing.”
“This was the most professionally ran competition we could of asked for,” recounted Wilson. “All we had to do was perform because it was just set up and ran so excellently by Fort Riley.”
These Soldiers will move on to compete against Best Warrior Competition winners from other major commands for the chance to be deemed the Army’s Best Warriors.
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