409th CSB’s top NCOs battle in competition

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Staff Sgt. Booker Jordan competed with other noncommissioned officers and was selected as the 409th Contracting Support Brigade’s NCO of the Year during an intense three-day competition here March 28 to 30.

Jordan, a contracting NCO assigned to the 903rd Contingency Contracting Battalion, based in Kaiserslautern, Germany, will go forward and compete at the Army Contracting Command NCO of the Year competition May 21 to 23 at Camp Bullis, Texas. “The 409th CSB’s Non-commissioned Officer of the Year competition was an outstanding event. It allowed me to get out of the office and literally, shoot, move and communicate, like we’re trained to do. It felt great to compete against other outstanding and knowledgeable Soldiers,” said Jordan. Soldiers contended in events that included urban orienteering, a formal board and essay, rifle marksmanship, land navigation and the Army Physical Fitness test. The final event was a 12-mile road march carrying a 40-pound rucksack. “All the hard work really paid off. The competitors did a bang up job,” said Master Sgt. Gary Weir, the 409th CSB noncommissioned officer in charge of mission operations.

The competitors were evaluated on their knowledge of several subject areas as well as proper wear of the uniforms and drill and ceremony. “The most difficult part of the whole competition was the formal board. You have your senior NCOs scrutinizing you and asking you anything and everything from the NCO study guide,” Jordan said. “After the board, the panel met with me immediately and gave me verbal feedback. The members were supportive enough to mentor on my shortcomings and I’ve been working on them every night since.” This is the second year the 409th has conducted its NCO of the Year competition.

“The 409th CSB is the only brigade within the Expeditionary Contracting Command that puts on an NCO competition of this magnitude. I want our Soldiers to represent the best that we have to offer,” said Command Sgt. Major Bentura Fernandez, the 409th CSB command sergeant major.