409th Contracting Support Brigade selects top Soldier NCO

GRAFENWÖHR, Germany — Staff Sgt. Booker Jordan, 903rd Contingency Contracting Battalion, was named the 409th Contracting Support Brigade NCO of the year for the second consecutive year.

The 409th CSB held its annual NCO of the Year competition here March 19 to 21.

Command Sgt. Maj. Bentura Fernandez, from the 409th CSB, this competition showcased the best of the best and prepared the top NCO to represent the 409th CSB at the Army Contracting Command level.

“The Soldiers in this competition represent what I believe the future of the contracting NCO corps should look like,” Fernandez said.

“Besides their physical ability and outstanding Soldier skills, these NCOs have the mental acumen to represent Army contracting and embody the complete package of an outstanding NCO.”

Competitors spent three days facing a variety of physical and mental challenges to test their skills, knowledge and endurance. They tested their Army aptitude, contracting knowledge, physical fitness, warrior tasks and battle drills relevant to today’s operating environment. They also faced board interviews and wrote essays.

For Jordan, going before the NCO board presented him with the greatest challenge.

“This year, I was the last competitor going in,” Jordan said. “As each person went into the board, I was left with my thoughts, which increased my nervousness.”

Competitors were also rated on their marksmanship and land navigation skills during day and night land navigation, proved their mettle in a grueling road march, and tested on contracting-specific tasks writing and processing multipurpose purchase orders.

“With the support from friends and family, there is no limit to how much one can accomplish,” Jordan said. “I had all the support in the world during this competition.”