101st Cavalry Soldiers Win NY Army Guard 2023 Best Warrior Competition

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, N.Y. – Two Soldiers assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment won the annual New York Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition held at Camp Smith Training Site near Peekskill from April l4 to 6.

Sgt. Adam Crist, an assistant personnel sergeant, won in the non-commissioned officer category, while Spc. Philip Stevenson, an information specialist, was tops in the enlisted category.

This year there were only six competitors because almost 2,800 New York Army National Guard Soldiers are deployed or preparing to deploy.

Stevenson said he was grateful to have won, because doing so honored his family history of military service.

“It feels amazing,” Stevenson said.

“I’ve been out of training for, it’ll be a year this month, so getting all this happening within a year of getting out of training, it’s a great opportunity,” he said.

It feels great, honoring my family’s heritage in the military, and I’m going to keep moving forward to the next level.

Crist said he enjoyed the sense of camaraderie during the competition.

“It feels pretty great,” Crist said. “It's nice to get out here and be with these guys, they’re all great competition.”

Both Soldiers will go onto the regional competition in Bangor Maine, from May 15-19. They will be competing against Soldiers from the New England states and New Jersey.

The winners of that regional competition go on to compete on the national level.

Maj. Doug Berinstein, the competitions’ Officer in Charge praised the two winners.

“These are our best in the state, and now we want to have them represent New York as best in the country,” he said.

The road to the regional level was no walk in the woods, though it did include a race through them, as the Soldiers conducted a 12-mile forced march with pack and weapons around Camp Smith.

The participants also competed for the best score in the Army Combat Fitness Test, demonstrated their proficiency in selected Soldier tasks, and appeared before senior enlisted leaders to answer questions in a formal board.

The Soldiers also tested their marksmanship skills with the M-17 pistol and the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

There was also a swimming event where the Soldiers had to jump into a pool in full uniform and were timed on their performance.

This event also allowed them to earn the German Armed Forces Badge for Military Proficiency at the same time they were competing for the Best Warrior title.

New York State Command Sgt. Maj. David Piwowarski said he encourages Soldiers to compete in the event because it is a way to test their skills.

“I would say come get some, because this competition is going to go on, it is the only competition the entire year that lets an individual soldier by themselves showcase their own professionalism,” Pirowarski said.

“This is a chance for an individual soldier to demonstrate I am the best or I can go with the best,” he said.