STUTTGART, Germany -- The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command held its 2011 European Region Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year competition May 3-5 here.
Sgt. Seamus Lynch, B Detachment, 1st Space Company, 1st Space Battalion, Qatar, was named NCO of the Year, and Spc. Jeffrey Powell, A Det., 1st Space Co., 1st Space Bn., Stuttgart, Germany, was named Soldier of the Year.
Day one began with competing Soldiers taking an Army Physical Fitness Test consisting of situps, pushups and a two-mile run, followed by a written exam and essay.
"My biggest challenge was definitely the physical fitness test," said Powell. "I wasn't fully prepared for that. If I could fix one thing, it would be my score on that."
The next day, competitors faced a board led by Command Sgt. Maj. William Baker, 1st Space Bn., USASMDC/ARSTRAT. During this event, the Soldiers must have command of their appearance and demonstrate knowledge of the Army. Each competitor faced the board individually and was required to answer a variety of questions related to the Army on topics such as drill and ceremonies, current events, military leadership, Warrior Ethos, Code of Conduct, military justice, knowledge of Army field manuals and regulations, and basic leadership skills.
Other aspects of the competition included Army warrior tasks and drills and a warrior lane in which the Soldiers dealt with emergency trauma, hostage rescue, ambush, uniform inspection and weapons maintenance.
Powell and Lynch will go on to compete for the command-wide NCO and Soldier of the Year titles in Colorado Springs, Colo., in June. The winners of that competition will go to the Department of Army Best Warrior Competition in Fort Lee, Va., in October.
Lynch said the competitors were awesome and that he is going to push himself much harder at the next level.
"I know it is going to be a lot more challenging," he said. "I'm going to keep pushing myself to improve in the areas I need to work on."
"The competitors were top notch," said Powell. "I didn't feel like I pulled away in any single event. It was neck and neck to the end."
Baker said he was impressed with all of the competitors' performances.
"I think we have probably had some of the better Soldiers and NCOs I've ever seen compete at this level," Baker said. "The talent that we have here represents not only SMDC/ARSTRAT but each of the battalions and company organizations in all aspects. They have stood up and performed in a manner that is absolutely commendable.
"I know that whoever walks out of here on top not only has the ability to win the SMDC competition but has the ability to go to the DA competition and win as well," he said.
All of the competitors said they were grateful for the hard work A Det. put into this event.
"I would like to thank not only the board members themselves but also the participants who helped us get where we are and all my leadership who brought me to this point," Powell said.
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