REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. – "I will always place the mission first, I will never accept defeat, I will never quit, and I will never leave a fallen comrade."
That’s the Army Warrior Ethos, established in 2003 as a subset of the Soldier’s Creed. The Warrior Ethos sets a foundation and principles that each Soldier is charged to live by and apply in their personal and professional lives.
Army Materiel Command’s Best Squad won the first-ever Army Best Squad Warrior Ethos Award in October 2023.
“It was an honor to be the first squad to earn the first-ever Warrior Ethos Award,” said Sgt. Carlos Cardona, military police, assigned to U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, Germany, and who served as AMC’s Best Squad team leader. “We started a legacy and I only hope the next Best Squad will earn this award and create a tradition for AMC.”
“It was my honor, pleasure, and challenge to compete as an AMC Best Squad Team,” said Sgt. 1st Class Sungkoo Jung, contracting specialist, assigned to Headquarters Contracting Battalion, Republic of South Korea, and the AMC squad leader for the competition. “It was like a once-in-your-life thing to represent the Four-Star Commanding, AMC. That was my motivation to do my best as a squad leader working together with my team members. Also, it was physically challenging because I am a little older than other competitors. I am glad that we completed the competition and received the award.”
Each member of the team found the competition difficult but kept the Warrior Ethos at the forefront of their minds.
“I remembered the Warrior Ethos,” said Jung. “One of my team members got injured during the competition, but we had to finish the given task and we did it. I reminded my team members of the Warrior Ethos when we faced the obstacle. I always place the mission first, I never accept defeat, I never quit, and I never leave a fallen comrade. And it worked by receiving the Warrior Ethos Award.”
The award was designed to acknowledge the squad who lived, worked, and placed the mission first according to the Warrior Ethos’.
Spc. Benjamin Heymach, military police, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach, Germany, stated that by being the first squad to receive the award, it paves the way for others to emulate.
“The Warriors Ethos Award to me means that as a team we showed the most heart, dedication, and resilience over all the other squads,” said Heymach. “As a squad everyone demonstrated every part of the Warrior Ethos several times over throughout the competition.”
Five Soldiers from across the AMC enterprise participated in the two-week long event and traveled worldwide to participate in the Best Squad Competition. Jung, Cardona, and the three squad members: Heymach; Spc. Samuel Thompson, military police, assigned to U.S. Military Academy Military Police Company, West Point, New York; and Spc. Jason Riley, biomedical equipment specialist, assigned to U.S. Army Medical Materiel Center-Europe, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
“This was a very difficult competition, but it taught me a lot,” said Heymach. “I would love to compete in one of the following years to come in the NCO category and see how far I can get there.”
Cardona noted that the Warrior Ethos Award meant that all the hard work over the two weeks were worth it.
“We conveyed to the cadre that we were true Soldiers who lived by the Soldier’s Creed,” said Cardona.
All members of the team expressed how happy they were to be the first recipient of the Army Best Squad Warrior Ethos Award.
“I am so happy that my team is the first recipient of the Army Best Squad Warrior Ethos Team and the feeling of accomplishment that we set a minimum standard for the following AMC team,” said Jung.
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