By Sean CW Korsgaard
CP Reporter
It’s often said that the men of the U.S. military are the best of the best. For the past week, the soldiers at Fort A.P. Hill have been trying to find the best, of the best, OF the best.
The 2017 Best Warrior Competition started on September 30, and will run through October 6, with 22 competitors who have already excelled at various competitions held by the Army’s major commands. Held annually since 2002, Best Warrior dishes out a mix of grueling tasks that mentally and physically challenge competing soldiers, who represent various commands across the Army.
This year’s Best Warrior, which crowns the top Soldier and NCO in the Army, is no different. Organizers intentionally leave out specific details on events in the six-day competition, forcing Soldiers to figure them out on the spot. Those who finish above the rest at A.P. Hill will then be honored next month at the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.
Lead organizer for the competition, Sgt. 1st Class Jerod Burghardt, said getting the soldiers to think on their feet in uncomfortable situations is a goal of the event.
“I’m hoping to put them in very uncomfortable situations multiple times, We didn’t tell them what they were going to do, we didn’t tell them the tasks they were being graded on,” said Burghardt. “What I don’t want them to do is to worry about what we’re grading, rather than do what they think is right.”
Soldiers are tested for their aptitude through physical fitness assessments, written exams, urban warfare simulations and other warrior tasks and battle drills. Soldiers also face tough questions from selection boards in front of some of the Army’s most senior enlisted leaders, including Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey.
“Best Warrior Competition is about readiness,” said Burghardt. “These Soldiers are faced with dynamic tasks, which they must work through as leaders. It isn’t about book answers or board questions, because anyone can memorize those. It’s about leadership, knowledge, skills and abilities.”
Last year, Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Moeller, a cavalry scout serving as a senior drill sergeant with 2nd Battalion, 413th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 95th Division, 108th Training Command, captured the NCO award in Best Warrior. Like other competitors, Moeller had to first compete and win at his company before moving on all the way up to a command-level contest.
“As the level gets higher, the pressure mounts,” said Moeller. “There are more eyeballs on you, but I tried to shut that out as much as possible and just focus on the next task.”
He also says one of the biggest challenges of the competition is acclimating to Fort A.P. Hill itself, specifically calling the land navigation course over the post’s hilly terrain “a monster”, one that only got worse at night.
“All of the movements were super long through swamps and up steep hills,” said Moeller. “It’s called A.P. Hill because it’s named after somebody, but ‘hill’ is definitely the operative word when it comes to the Department of the Army competition there.”
After he won, Moeller found himself representing the entire Army at various events, an experience he says has been humbling. He also accepted an active-duty position to work as a travel coordinator for Dailey, which gives him rare access to the Army’s top senior-enlisted leader, as well as a role in planning and executing this year’s Best Warrior competition.
For his part, Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey says the competition lives up to its name, putting the Army’s best and brightest through the gauntlet to find who is the best of America’s finest.
“When we put you up there on a stage and we tell everybody that this is the non-commissioned officer of the year for the United States Army,” said Dailey. “Soldiers need to be able to believe it.”
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