JERICHO, VERMONT-- New York Army National Guard Sgt. Peter Fillion, an Amherst resident, part-time architect, and graduate student, is now one of two Best Warriors in the 325,000- Soldier Army National Guard.
Fillion, an infantryman in the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry Regiment who was a specialist when he first competed, beat six competitors from across the country in the junior enlisted Soldier category.
Each of these Soldiers had previously won their unit, state, and regional Best Warrior events, before competing for the national award at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont from August 4 to 8.
Noncommissioned officers compete against other sergeants in their category.
Fillion will now compete alongside other Best Warrior finishers in the Army’s Best Squad Competition from Sept. 29 to October 10.
It’s the first time a New York Soldier has taken home this honor, according to Command Sgt. Major Edwin Garris, the New York Army National Guard’s top enlisted leader.
Being best in the entire Army Guard “is kind of surreal”, Fillion said.
“It’s an interesting feeling because you’ve had a major accomplishment in one area, but in your civilian life you just go back to who you were before,” he said. “They’re happy for you, but they don’t really understand what it took to get there.”
What it took “to get there”, Fillion said, was a lot of exercise and brainwork.
“These competitions are really good at testing you both physically and mentally,” Fillion said.
His strong Christian Faith was helpful in sustaining him through those tough parts, he said.
Best Warrior competitions include marksmanship, a physical fitness test, land navigation, military skills, boards where Soldiers are quizzed on their military knowledge, and several long distance “ruck march" events to test endurance.
“Ruck marching is the most difficult because you are carrying weight and walking for a long time and everything kind of hurts but you just keep going,” he recalled.
Fillion’s edge in the competition came in the areas involving military knowledge, Garris said
“That’s where he shines,” Garris said.
At that level of competition everybody is physically fit, or they wouldn’t have gotten that far, he explained.
“But the separation, is the mental aspect of it,” Garris said. “You may be able to move, shoot and communicate, but can you think on your feet?”
Fillion agreed.
“A lot of units send their top dog physically, but they often overlook how many points can be earned on intellectual tasks,” he said. “There are many times I wasn’t the strongest person, but I was the one that knew the most about unified land operations.”
His best event in the field was land navigation, Fillion said. The event started at 4:30 a.m. and he navigated through the darkness to find all the points he needed and return first, he said.
Getting ready for the Best Warrior was a balancing act, Fillion said.
He was working his job at Kideney Architects in Buffalo, and taking a full course load at the University of Buffalo while preparing for the competition.
His wife Samantha, an intensive care unit nurse in Buffalo, helped him immensely by acting as his study partner, Fillion said.
He had to identify his priorities and stick to them but be flexible, he said.
“Sometimes you should be studying but sometimes your family is more important, so you have to put that to the wayside,” he said.
His unit also helped him get ready by putting him on orders in the weeks prior to the national competition so he could focus on preparing, Fillion said.
“I made sure to spend a lot of time working on my physical ability, making sure my legs were super strong,” Fillion said. “That was my main focus, working out, because I had done a lot of the intellectual stuff.”
The other big challenge during the competition was the lack of sleep, Fillion said.
“Although the activities may not go into the late evening you are up late preparing for the event that is tomorrow. So, whether it be studying for a board or packing a ruck for the ruck march the next day you are always up a little bit later than you want to be,” he said.
While he and the six Soldiers he was competing against, started out wary of each other, but by the end they were great friends, he said.
As he moves onto the Best Squad event—competing with Soldiers he was competing against—he’s going to be working to improve his endurance and shooting skills, Fillion said.
He’s also thinking about where he’ll go with the Army National Guard.
He’s half-way through his initial six-year enlistment and looking at the
different paths he could take in the Guard.
“I have enjoyed my time in the Guard so I am not in a hurry to do get out. I’ve been giving it 110 percent and I will keep on giving it 110 percent, “he said.
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