At one point, I had to wait 10 minutes, and they said: ‘Here’s your stopwatch.’ So I sat there for 10 minutes in all that hot gear. Army Space and Missile Defense Command NCO of the Year."Part of it was properly decontaminating and testing the air you had to go by the book. It was just uncomfortable," Munoz added.Part of the scenario the competitors faced included evaluating, treating, evacuating and decontaminating a casualty found in a contaminated environment that was made realistic using the "gas chamber" with CS (tear) gas on the range."Being in MOPP Level 4 gear and pouring out sweat wasn’t the most fun I’ve had here," said Staff Sgt. Then you have to drag the stretcher, and it’s not like you can try to catch your breath, because your breathing is restricted.
Army Medical Command NCO of the Year."You just start to sweat, and it’s so hot.
Army Combined Arms Support Command and Fort Lee.The competition continued throughout the day with the competitors covering a 12-mile course to locate and complete eight stations with a variety of Warrior Tasks and Battle Drills.The course stations, located predominately across Fort Lee’s ranges, included the M-9 pistol and the M-203 grenade launcher marksmanship close quarters marksmanship medical evaluation, treatment and evacuation skills combative hand-to-hand fighting in a real-world scenario chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) skills and a 45-question multiple-choice exam.Placing added emphasis on CBRN skills that have atrophied over the past 13 years, the competitors found these tasks tough, especially when operating in Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) Level 4, the highest protective level."I never like having to put that mask on and that suit," said Staff Sgt. Parham Sr., the command sergeant major of the U.S. "The competition was difficult and the other competitors were tough."On the first day, competitors eased into the competition by getting to know each other while setting up their equipment in preparation for the next three days of events.They also wrote essays expressing their views of the Army addressing a specific question they were asked.The competitors started in high gear early in the morning on the second day with the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT)."The weather was perfect for an APFT, not too cold, not too hot, and the soldiers did very well," said Command Sgt. 9 at the completion of the four-day competition.Carpenter said, "I’ve done three competitions to get to this one, and now that the final one is over, and to realize I’ve won, it’s pretty amazing.""It’s a great relief to win, but it wasn’t easy," Boyd said. Army Pacific Command.Both winners were announced at an awards banquet on Oct. Thomas Boyd, a 35P cryptologic linguist with Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 500th Military Intelligence Brigade, at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, representing U.S. Army Special Operations Command.The 2014 Department of the Army Soldier of the Year is Spc. 1st Class Matthew Carpenter, an 18C Special Forces engineer with the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Colo., representing U.S. 6.All the NCOs and soldiers represented their commands very well.As I told the group of NCOs and soldiers: A company, troop or battery commander and their first sergeant would give up body parts to have a handful of professionals of their caliber in their unit.Their performance throughout all the events was nothing short of amazing.The 2014 Department of the Army Noncommissioned Officer of the Year is Sgt. 6 to 9.Historically, this competition has served to showcase the Army’s best noncommissioned officers and soldiers, and this year was no exception.I had the honor of watching all the competitors – 14 NCOs and 14 soldiers – arrive at Fort Lee and begin the competition on Oct.
Greetings to all of you from the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), our Army’s and our soldiers’ professional organization.The AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition in October provided the Army leadership and our attendees with an opportunity to recognize and honor the Army’s 2014 Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year.This year the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition was held at Fort Lee, Va., from Oct.
AUSA Volunteer Family of the Year Award.Letters to Congress & the Administration.