{"id":9549,"date":"2023-05-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9549"},"modified":"2023-05-09T11:29:28","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T11:29:28","slug":"iowa-minnesota-guardsmen-win-regional-best-warrior-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=9549","title":{"rendered":"Iowa, Minnesota Guardsmen Win Regional Best Warrior Title"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Sgt. Taylor Reichow, multiple launch rocket system crewmember, Battery B, 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment, 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Wisconsin Army National Guard, keeps pace during the 12-mile ruck march event at the 2023 Region IV Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center in Newton Falls, Ohio, May 7, 2023.
(Photo Credit: Sgt. 1st Class Jennifer Reynolds)<\/span>
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NEWTON FALLS, OHIO \u2013 Soldiers from across the Midwest and from Hungary and the Republic of Serbia tested their mental and physical fortitude in the five-day regional Best Warrior Competition at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center May 3-7.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese types of events improve morale by building on friendships and camaraderie,\u201d said Command Sgt. Maj. Sheldon Chambliss, state command sergeant major, Ohio Army National Guard. \u201cThey met four days ago, and we know they are building lasting relationships. I have seen it through this spirited competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fourteen enlisted and noncommissioned officers from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin competed to be the Best Warrior Soldier and NCO of the Year, testing their mental and physical fortitude in rigorous training events.<\/p>\n

\u201cCompetition makes us better. Competition is what pushes us to find our human limits,\u201d said Maj. Gen. John C. Harris, Ohio adjutant general. \u201cOur nation needs us, and quite frankly, the world needs this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff Sgt. Leo Kerfeld, infantryman, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, Minnesota Army National Guard, took home the NCO title. Spc. John Shields, combat medic specialist, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Iowa Army National Guard, won the enlisted title.<\/p>\n

Kerfeld said his family was his motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have two little boys and it\u2019s important to me to be the best father I can be,\u201d said Kerfeld. \u201cThis just shows my boys that this is the norm. Hopefully, they see that and pick up on it, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each competitor worked through the Army Combat Fitness Test, water survival, a 12-mile ruck march, land navigation and other events. During the Expert Physical Fitness Assessment, Soldiers completed a 1-mile run, 30 dead-stop hand-release push-ups and a 100-meter sprint. They immediately lifted 16 sandbags onto a 66-inch-tall platform, carried two 40-pound water cans 50 meters, and completed a 25-meter-high crawl and another 1-mile run.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to come into this, even if it gets hard, with the mind to keep going,\u201d said Shields. \u201cIf that means losing a little bit of sleep to study, it will only help.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 19 competitors included two Best Warrior winners from each of the seven states and five competitors from Hungary and the Republic of Serbia \u2014 partners with the Ohio National Guard in the Department of Defense National Guard Bureau State Partnership Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the cooperation of Ohio state and Hungary,\u201d said Command Sgt. Maj. Zoltan Kaszab, command senior enlisted leader, Hungarian Defence Forces.<\/p>\n

Kaszab said he has enjoyed seeing the partnership evolve to a point where troops from both countries participate in each other\u2019s events.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe [in] interoperability,\u201d Kaszab said. \u201cIt means we can work along with other nations … but at least we can have a common ground, No. 1, the language, No. 2, knowing procedures. So if we can make the foundation here, we can work anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winners of the regional competitions will represent the Army National Guard in the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition in Anchorage, Alaska, later this year.<\/p>\n

For more National Guard news<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

National Guard Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sgt. Taylor Reichow, multiple launch rocket system crewmember, Battery B, 1st Battalion, 121st Field Artillery Regiment, 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Wisconsin Army National Guard, keeps pace during the 12-mile ruck march event at the 2023 Region IV Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Camp James A. Garfield Joint Military Training Center in Newton Falls, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9549","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\/9549","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=9549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9550,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9549\/revisions\/9550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}