Troopers from the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, recently finished in first place in the Sullivan Cup, which was hosted at Fort Moore from April 29th to May 3rd. The "First Team" competitors faced off against teams from across the Army and our NATO allies to determine the overall best M2 Bradley IFV crew of the year.
The soldiers discussed their experiences and insights on training and competing in the Bradley crew competition, emphasizing the importance of dense training schedules, vehicle identifying, and medical training. The crew also detailed their preparation for the Sullivan Cup competition, highlighting their training exercises and pressure they faced during the event.
"I was incredibly excited when I first learned that we won. I think it felt surreal for all of us," said Spc. William Walker, the gunner for the crew’s Bradley. "We had reason to believe that we might not have won, even though we were pretty confident throughout the whole thing. It was just fascinating." Their resilience in the face of uncertainty is a testament to their strength and determination.
The crew from the "Black Knights" battalion demonstrated their unwavering dedication, spending two months, starting in February, honing their skills for the event. Already confident in their ability as a Bradley Crew, they focused their efforts on Physical Training, small arms and studying.
"We just came out of gunnery, so we already had a bunch of trigger time on the Bradleys here ready to go, and that definitely paid off," said Staff Sgt. James Brown, the crew section leader. "It's awesome, I couldn't ask for a better crew."
The Sullivan Cup began with the various gunnery tables and included challenges such as vehicle identification, simulator exercises, doctrine exam, maintenance lanes and a physical fitness test. The final obstacle was the “thunder run”, a two-mile run in combat uniform, completing various tactical and medical lanes.
Spc. Jeffrey Nickelson, the Bradley crew's driver, had only worked with the Bradley for two months before competing in the Sullivan Cup. His fellow crewmembers trained and mentored Nicholson on the vehicle's operation.
"I was nervous, especially being brand new to the Bradley," said Nickelson. "It was a lot of pressure to ensure I didn't disappoint them, so I went out there and did my best. Seeing that they were proud of me for making these improvements, I really felt good."
All three crewmembers are U.S. Army Cavalry Scouts, and have shared their inspiring goals for what they would like to do now that the Sullivan Cup is behind them. Walker has reclassed to the new MOS, 19C, Bradley Crewman, and is expecting to attend U.S. Army Master Gunner Course and become an NCO. Nicholson is interested in continuing to work with Bradley before considering whether he wants to make it his primary military focus. Finally, Brown is looking forward to promoting to Sergeant First Class and assuming more of a leadership and mentor role in his Army career. These aspirations are testaments to their ambition and potential.
"The best advice I can give to future competitors is to just keep working, keep studying; you can never study enough," said Nickelson. "Just keep putting your best foot forward, and then when you actually compete, try to get over your nerves and do your best. At the end of the day, all you can do is your best."
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