{"id":6536,"date":"2023-04-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=6536"},"modified":"2023-04-22T06:48:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-22T06:48:33","slug":"mirc-2023-soldier-and-nco-of-the-year-competition-hard-training-in-competition-leads-to-culture-of-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=6536","title":{"rendered":"MIRC 2023 Soldier and NCO of the Year Competition: Hard Training in Competition Leads to Culture of Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Sgt. Noah Quichocho with the 259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, checks his map while conducting dismounted land navigation at the Military Intelligence Readiness Command division-level Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year and Soldier of the Year Competition April 4, 2023, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The competition’s purpose is to reinforce fundamental Soldier skills, promote esprit de corps throughout the Army, and recognize Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Maj. Joshua Frye)
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The deep green colors of the evergreen forest framed the running figure headed towards the end point of the land navigation course. Located just beyond the fence line of Joint Base Lewis-McChord\u2019s (JBLM) North Fort, this iconic training area once hosted thousands of ROTC cadets each summer as they attended Advanced Camp.<\/p>\n

As he approached, Sgt. Adam Petralli handed over his scorecard and stripped off his helmet and body armor. He was one of seven soldiers that participated in the Military Intelligence Readiness Command\u2019s (MIRC) 2023 Soldier of the Year and Noncommissioned Officer of the Year competition.<\/p>\n

Petralli began to smile as he recounted his experience navigating from point to point using terrain association, eschewing a technique known as dead reckoning \u2013 using magnetic bearings of a compass to move around an area. As he gulped down mouthfuls of an orange-colored beverage, it was clear that he enjoyed the moment and was filled with a sense of accomplishment.<\/p>\n

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\n Sgt. Adam Patralli with the 345th Military Intelligence Battalion, 336th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, drinks from a bottle after finishing the land navigation course during the Military Intelligence Readiness Command’s Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year and Soldier of the Year Competition on April 5, 2023, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The competition’s purpose is to reinforce fundamental Soldier skills, promote esprit de corps throughout the Army, and recognize Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Maj. Joshua Frye)
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Learning and competing using these Soldier skills prepares troops for future training, and ultimately, the rigors of conflict.<\/p>\n

Petralli, representing the 336th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, emphasized this notion. \u201cWe fight wars, and we are expected to win wars. Teaching the younger Soldiers a winning mindset begins at these competitions. Winning or losing can have real consequences.\u201d Petralli would place runner up in the noncommissioned officer standings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know much about the competition coming into this. It\u2019s been a great experience to familiarize with those basic soldier tasks,\u201d said Spc. Christian Jaen Morales who was recognized as the command\u2019s 2023 Soldier of the year. \u201cThis competition reinforced the skills I\u2019d learned in basic training.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Sgt. Noah Quichocho (left) and Spc. Christian Jaen Morales (right) both with the 259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, prepares for a combat swim test, a part of the Military Intelligence Readiness Command division-level Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year and Soldier of the Year Competition on April 5, 2023, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The competition’s purpose is to reinforce fundamental Soldier skills, promote esprit de corps throughout the Army, and recognize Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Maj. Joshua Frye)
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Master Sgt. Donald Love worked hard behind the scenes to coordinate and orchestrate the competition. His unit, the 259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade located on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, assisted the MIRC staff to run the events.<\/p>\n

Love observed on several occasions, leaders took time out to train and teach in addition to testing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we ever got to the point where the competitors can\u2019t execute and they didn\u2019t know what they were doing, we backed up a bit and taught.\u201d<\/p>\n

The competition spanned seven days. It consisted of highly physical events like a 12-mile ruck march, the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT), and water survival training. Soldiers then faced skills-based events including weapons qualification, day and night land navigation, patrolling lanes, and medical tasks. Competitors also tested their knowledge by completing a written exam and answering questions in front of a board presided over by MIRC\u2019s senior enlisted leader, Command Sgt. Maj. Brian Bertazon.<\/p>\n

Sgt. Noah Quichocho, the 2023 Military Intelligence Readiness Command noncommissioned officer of the year, emphasized the importance of getting back to the basics. Despite his status as a graduate of the Army\u2019s Ranger School and deployment with a ranger battalion, he still relished the experience. \u201cIt\u2019s honestly a great opportunity. Relearning everything, it really puts you to the test in a non-combat environment. It\u2019s competitions like these that really show how much you know.\u201d Quichocho represents the 259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade.<\/p>\n

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\n Spc. Christian Jaen Morales with the 259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, navigates through dense foliage while conducting dismounted land navigation at the Military Intelligence Readiness Command division-level Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year and Soldier of the Year Competition on April 4, 2023, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The competition’s purpose is to reinforce fundamental Soldier skills, promote esprit de corps throughout the Army, and recognize Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to the Army Values and Warrior Ethos. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Maj. Joshua Frye)
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While the soldier and noncommissioned officer of the year will go on to compete at higher levels this year, soldiers can already begin preparing for next year\u2019s competitions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been very challenging, and it\u2019s also been really fun,\u201d said Pfc. Nathan Ramirez of the National Intelligence Support Group, the most junior soldier that participated. \u201cI highly recommend attending. You\u2019re bound to learn something new.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sgt. Noah Quichocho with the 259th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Brigade, checks his map while conducting dismounted land navigation at the Military Intelligence Readiness Command division-level Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year and Soldier of the Year Competition April 4, 2023, at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington. The competition’s purpose is to reinforce fundamental Soldier skills, promote esprit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6538,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6536","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\/6536","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=6536"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6543,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6536\/revisions\/6543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}