9th Signal Command selects the best of the best

By Mr. Gordon Vanvleet (NETCOM)June 25, 2010

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4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The 2010 9th Signal Command (Army) Soldier of the Year Spc. Brian Williams (left), 21st Signal Brigade, Fort Detrick, Md., and the Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, Staff Sgt. James Becker, 1st Signal Brigade, Camp Carroll, Korea, are recognized d... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Phillip Barker (left), 160th Signal Brigade, and Spc. Brittany Williams, 7th Signal Command, prepare to reassemble their rifles for the react to contact lane, during the Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year competition. The ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – U.S. Army Sgt. Le Marquis Jackson, 311th Signal Command, plots a point on a map during the nighttime urban orienteering portion of the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command (Army) Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and S... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. -- The U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command/9th Signal Command (Army) named its Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year for 2010 during a ceremony Friday, in Greely Hall auditorium.

Earning the title of 'NCO of the Year for 2010' was Staff Sgt. James Becker, representing the 1st Signal Brigade, Korea; and earning the title of 'Soldier of the Year for 2010' was Spc. Brian Williams, representing the 21st Signal Brigade, Fort Detrick, Md.

The runners up for this year's competition were Sgt. Phillip Barker and Spc. Sharlene Christensen, both representing the 335th Signal Command, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

The weeklong competition tested competitors' warrior skills, both mental and physical.

It consisted of a physical training test; a written examination and essay; several warrior tasks; combatives competition; daytime and night-time urban orientation; and an 18-event confidence course which was the competition's mystery task.

The other competitors were: Spc. Dustin Higgins, 311th Signal Command (Theater), Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Spc. Cesar Cobena, 5th Signal Command (Theater), Wiesbaden, Germany; Spc. Brittany Williams, 7th Signal Command (Theater), Fort Gordon, Ga. - assigned to the Continental U.S. Theater Network Operations and Security Center, Fort Huachuca; Staff Sgt. Lynna Revard, 7th Signal Command (Theater), Fort Gordon, Ga.; Sgt LeMarquis Jackson, 311th Signal Command (Theater), Fort Shafter, Hawaii; Sgt. Edwin Hunt, 5th Signal Command (Theater), Wiesbaden, Germany; Staff Sgt. Barrett George, 21st Signal Brigade, Fort Detrick, Md.; and Spc. Michael Clark, 1st Signal Brigade, Seoul, Korea.

"All of our competitors are an example of one of the most critical areas of our Army and that is its people," said Command Sgt. Maj. Gerald Williams, the command's senior enlisted advisor.

Stressing that every competitor was already a winner for having won at each of their respective organizations, Williams said it was not an easy task to select the top NCO and Soldier.

The winners will compete for top NCO and Soldier of the year for U.S. Forces Command, and if they win at that level, they will participate in the Army's NCO and Soldier of the Year competitions.