PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. (Dec. 8, 2021) – Soldiers assigned to the 229th Military Intelligence Battalion enthusiastically focused on readiness during the battalion’s First Quarter Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills Competition here Dec. 4.
In teams of six divided by company, 36 Soldiers made their way through stations that tested their abilities to react to contact, react to indirect fire, provide tactical medical care and call in a 9-line medical evacuation. The final station included a written test. In the overall scenario, Soldiers protected PoM as personnel delivered humanitarian aid, and the winning company received a guidon streamer.
Most of the battalion’s Soldiers are students at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, and quarterly tactical training helps keep them sharp as Soldiers, said Staff Sgt. Julian Uribe, Company G drill sergeant and the event’s noncommissioned officer in charge.
“At the end of the day, we hope the Soldiers get a lot of motivation and a lot of love for the Army and what we do,” Uribe said. “That’s what we hope they get out of it—and good training.”
Lt. Col. Matthew Upperman, commander of the 229th MI Bn., and Command Sgt. Maj. Lourdes Barragan, the battalion’s senior enlisted advisor, spoke to the Soldiers before and after the competition, emphasizing the competition’s purpose. Upperman reminded the Soldiers they could have to call upon their knowledge of Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills at any time.
Within the battalion, a Soldier’s language of study determines company placement, and Company C, made up of Arabic students, won the competition and received the streamer. Co. D, made up of Chinese, Tagalog and Japanese students, came in second, and Co. B, made up of Russian students, came in third.
Upperman said the competition was close, with one point between the first and second place finishers, and everyone brought their “A” game. “The level of enthusiasm and focus that you brought in shows,” he said.
Soldiers who participated said they enjoyed the competition.
“It’s great to see Soldiers take some time away from the books and start doing Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills,” said Spc. Lucas Mullin, a member of the Co. B team. “It’s what it’s all about. This is our first job—Soldiers first.”
Likewise, Spc. Ryan Tiedke, also a member of the Co. B team, said he enjoyed the competition because it gave him a chance to participate in motivating activities with his team.
“To me, this means something,” Tiedke said. “I can show up at a unit and be competent at what we do—all of us can. And it’s a lot of fun.”
Uribe said companies could choose team members using their own criteria, but battalion officials asked that they only include one careerist Soldier per team so less experienced Soldiers would have a chance to learn.
The result was that several Soldiers had graduated from basic training within the last year, and they appreciated the opportunity to compete because it reinforced their skills.
Pfc. Margo Hinckley, for example, a member of the Co. F team, said she finished basic training about six months ago, and as the team’s squad leader during the event, she better understood the bigger picture of what she learned in basic.
“It was very educational to me in that sense, being able to hone in on leadership skills,” Hinckley said.
Pfc. Russell Algorri, also a Co. F team member and a recent basic training graduate, said he enjoyed practicing tactical movements and medical drills.
“I thought it was really fun, very interesting,” Algorri said. “We got to do a lot of things we usually don’t get to do as a linguist going through school.”
Participants also said they learned new skills while training for the competition.
Mullin, for example, said Co. B leadership taught team members new, advanced-level skills after they had completed their review for the competition.
“I thought that was a really great opportunity, not only to help with performance in the competition, but just to become a better Soldier,” Mullin said. “I think our company did a really good job.”
Pvt. Josiah Riojas, a member of the Co. B team, said he enjoyed the teamwork and learning new methods of running through an objective, as well as acquiring new medical equipment skills.
Pfc. Ryan Myrick, meanwhile, a member of the Co. C team, said his team approached the competition by training every day and brushing up on the books to make sure they knew all the procedures.
Barragan thanked the Soldiers for their enthusiasm, not only during the event but while training to get ready for it.
“You are the representation of what the best of each one of your companies has to offer, so thank you for putting in the time, the effort, and building the camaraderie amongst each and every one of your teams,” Barragan said.
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