{"id":19441,"date":"2023-07-17T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=19441"},"modified":"2023-07-20T06:44:49","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T06:44:49","slug":"army-national-guard-determines-best-warriors-for-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=19441","title":{"rendered":"Army National Guard Determines Best Warriors for 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n U.S. Army Spc. Jackson Jacobs, an artillery forward observer assigned to the Tennessee Army National Guard, representing Region III, rucks Hippie Trail during the 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Black Rapids Training Area, Alaska on July 10, 2023. The Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tested the adaptiveness and lethality of our forces. National Guard Citizen-Soldiers remain ready and resilient to meet the nation\u2019s challenges.
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\n The 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition competitors pose for a group photo at Black Rapids Training Area, Alaska on July 10, 2023. The Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tested the adaptiveness and lethality of our forces. National Guard Citizen-Soldiers remain ready and resilient to meet the nation\u2019s challenges.
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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska \u2014 The 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition hosted by the Alaska National Guard saw 14 Soldiers compete for the titles of Army Guard Soldier and Army Guard Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. Spc. Luke Harrison, with the Wyoming Army National Guard, emerged as the Soldier of the Year and Sgt. Bailey Ruff, with the South Dakota Army National Guard, as the Army Guard\u2019s NCO of the Year.<\/p>\n

The Best Warrior Competition tests Soldiers\u2019 ability to complete military tasks in a competitive environment. In addition to the Soldier and NCO of the Year titles, three additional competitors were selected to join them and compete as a squad in the U.S. Army Best Squad Competition<\/a> this fall.<\/p>\n

During the seven-day Best Warrior Competition, which began July 7, competitors endured over 25 events designed to test their skills, resilience, stamina and teamwork. Events ranged from marksmanship and obstacle courses to physical fitness trials, medical evacuation simulations, a ruck march, interviews and written examinations.<\/p>\n

Before making it to the competition, each competitor had to win in similar competitions at their state and regional levels.<\/p>\n

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\n 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition Competitors receive instruction on tying a prussik knot during the competition at Black Rapids Training Area, Alaska on July 10, 2023. The Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tested the adaptiveness and lethality of our forces. National Guard Citizen-Soldiers remain ready and resilient to meet the nation\u2019s challenges.
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\u201cI want to remind you that you\u2019re not here by chance and that you worked very hard to get here,\u201d said Command Sgt. Maj. John Phlegar, Alaska National Guard state command sergeant major. \u201cYou\u2019re here because you demonstrated strong character, confidence and a commitment to excellence and you\u2019re the best warrior from your home state and from your region and you belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ruff has seven and half years of experience and has attended the Basic Leaders, Air Assault, Military Funeral Honors and Combat Lifesaver Courses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here with Spc. Luke Harrison from Wyoming and there are a few opportunities where we got to work together and I think that was awesome,\u201d said Ruff, a horizontal construction engineer.<\/p>\n

In some events, competitors worked as a team rather than as individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking as a member of a team was a little bit different than most of our competitions and those single events have me looking forward to the Best Squad Competition,\u201d said the Sturgis, South Dakota native. \u201cThe most rewarding part of the experience is you\u2019re not really able to break past your barriers without a team pushing you.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Sgt. Bailey Ruff, a horizontal construction engineer assigned to the South Dakota Army National Guard, representing Region VI, fires the M136E1 AT4-CS confined space light anti-armor weapon at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 12, 2023. The Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tested the adaptiveness and lethality of our forces. National Guard Citizen-Soldiers remain ready and resilient to meet the nation\u2019s challenges.
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With four and half years in the Army Guard, Harrison shared his mindset of the competition and reflected on his commitment to basic Soldier tasks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to approach this as any other training \u2014 just doing my best and not putting too much weight into it,\u201d said the field artillery fire finder radar operator. \u201cI think I perform my best when I just stay relaxed and try to stay focused on the tasks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Army\u2019s core values provides a common ground for Soldiers which serves to enhance morale, esprit de corps, pride and professionalism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never been with a more professional group of guys,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure throughout the entire competition who was ranked where because everyone showed up and they did tasks well and professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrison, whose hometown is Berrien Springs, Michigan, has attended the Air Assault Course and the basic mountain warfare course and noted that family support was important to his success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really thankful for my family \u2014 especially my wife taking care of my family while I am gone and just want to express gratitude to her and the people who support her,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The competition tied directly into what it means to be a Soldier.<\/p>\n

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\n 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition competitors file out of a UH-60 Black Hawk during the 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on July 12, 2023. The Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tested the adaptiveness and lethality of our forces. National Guard Citizen-Soldiers remain ready and resilient to meet the nation\u2019s challenges.
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\u201cIt is really the foundational building block of what we do as the Army, which is to close with and destroy the enemy,\u201d said Command Sgt. Maj. John Raines, the command sergeant major of the Army National Guard.<\/p>\n

In addition to the competition\u2019s physical challenges, it also served as a platform for fostering professional development and promoting teamwork.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re building that cohesiveness that is essential to winning and winning matters to the Army,\u201d said Raines. \u201cYou must be a cohesive team to win and be proficient in all your battle drills and individual Soldier tasks. All those things feed into the collective tasks and our mission essential tasks enable us to destroy the enemy, which is our piece of the joint fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also other tangible benefits to competing in the Best Warrior Competition, the Army Guard\u2019s top enlisted Soldier explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about talent management, we talk about how to stand out from your peers to get recognized,\u201d said Raines. \u201cYou can pat Soldiers on the back, give them awards and coins, but eventually, the best way to reward a Soldier is through promotion. Looking back through the course of Best Warrior Competitions and looking at the promotion rate of Soldiers that have made it to the regional level and beyond, it is much higher than their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n U.S. Army Spc. Luke Harrison, a field artillery radar operator assigned to the Wyoming Army National Guard, representing Region VI, stands at the position of attention while getting his uniform inspected at the 2023 National Guard Best Warrior Competition, Alaska, July 9, 2023. The Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tested the adaptiveness and lethality of our forces. National Guard Citizen-Soldiers remain ready and resilient to meet the nation\u2019s challenges.
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The Best Warrior Competition also brings energy to competitors and spectators alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being around these Soldiers motivates me and gets me fired up,\u201d said Raines. \u201cThat\u2019s why I tell everybody it\u2019s the best part of the year and the best Soldiers to hang out with just because of what they bring into the competitive space.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Harrison and Ruff, three additional competitors were selected to represent the Army Guard in the Army Best Squad Competition: Staff Sgt. Leo Kerfeld, an infantryman with the Minnesota Army National Guard; Spc. Bret Williams, a carpentry and masonry specialist with the West Virginia Army National Guard; and Spc. Hunter Gammon, a human resources specialist with the Missouri Army National Guard.<\/p>\n

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1 \/ 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption \u2013 U.S. Army Spc. Jackson Jacobs, an artillery forward observer assigned to the Tennessee Army National Guard, representing Region III, rucks Hippie Trail during the 2023 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Black Rapids Training Area, Alaska on July 10, 2023. The Army National Guard Best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19443,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19441"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19450,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19441\/revisions\/19450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}