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Best Warrior candidates work as a team to navigate a wall obstacle May 12 during the medical simulation portion of the 2015 Best Warrior Competition held May 10 through 14 at Camp Aachen. First-place warriors in junior officer, noncommissioned officer and junior Soldier categories will compete in the U.S. Army Europe BWC.
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — An enthusiastic gathering of leaders, fellow Soldiers and event cadre honored the 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s 2015 “Best Warriors” during a ceremony May 14 at the Grafenwoehr Physical Fitness Center.
Second Lt. Michael Kehoe of the 30th Medical Brigade, Staff Sgt. Matthew Collins of the 21st Special Troops Battalion and Pfc. Christian Schlegel of the 18th Military Police Brigade captured top honors in the officer, noncommissioned officer and junior Soldier categories during the 2015 21st TSC Best Warrior Competition.
First Lt. James Oglesby of the 18th MPs, fellow 18th MPs Staff Sgt. Leigh Joyce and Spc. Kyle Benjamin of the 30th Med. Bde., finished as runners-up.
Kehoe, Collins and Schlegel will represent the 21st TSC and their organizations during the U.S. Army Europe Best Warrior Competition slated for September.
Brig. Gen. Arlan DeBlieck, the 21st TSC deputy commanding general and commander of the 7th Civil Support Command, and Command Sgt. Maj. Rodney Rhoades, the 21st TSC senior enlisted leader, presided over the ceremony, honoring the winners and runners-up, and recognizing the contributions, dedication and sacrifices of all the competitors as well as event cadre.
“Every one of these competitors already won at brigade or battalion level,” DeBlieck said. “So this is the championship round— the best against the best. A competition being a competition, they can’t all be the TSC ‘Best Warrior,’ but I’d take any one of them in my formation, and I’ll tell you something else. I wouldn’t bet against them at USAREUR or even (Department of the Army) level.
“We couldn’t be more proud of you,” the general continued. “You’re ‘innovative leaders with the spirit to win’; you’re ‘first in support’ and you’re definitely ‘ready-strong.’ No matter how the numbers tally, you’re all winners.”
Rhoades directly addressed the event cadre he led throughout the competition during his remarks.
“I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you and your performance, not just over the last week, but over the half-year you spent making this such a great event,” he said. “You made up in ingenuity, commitment and heart what we lacked in resources. Your sacrifice and selfless service haven’t gone unnoticed.”
The ceremony followed a grueling weeklong competition conducted at Camp Aachen. The event tested competitors’ abilities in the full spectrum of Soldier skills. Activities put candidates’ marksmanship, land navigation and fieldcraft to the test as well as their ingenuity, physical fitness, familiarity with current Army programs and general military knowledge.
Soldiers employed a variety of weapons, navigated wooded and urban terrain as well as a challenging obstacle course, reacted to direct and indirect fire, and defended against chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive threats. They also penned essays, demonstrated proficiency in handling race and gender issues, and appeared before a military board.
Competitors slept little and ate rapidly, enjoying little if any respite from the furious pace of activities. Events followed one another relentlessly and rapidly, consuming their every waking moment. Training started as early as 3 a.m. and ended as late as 3 a.m.
Competitive events culminated in a grueling 12-mile road march and combatives matches completed prior to the ceremony.
Organizers endured a relentless daily “battle rhythm,” planning each activity in excruciating detail, minutely supervising every task and analyzing events in thorough after-action reviews.
“The support element was the backbone of the competition,” said Sgt. Maj. Kevin Harris, the event tactical operations center sergeant major. “They’ve been working at this for half a year — they planned it all and they provided it all. They really put their heart and soul into making this a world-class professional competition and a very special event for our competitors and subordinate units. I’m as proud of them as I am of our Warriors and the sponsors.”
The annual competition, conducted at different echelons across USAREUR from early spring to late summer, cultivates professional excellence, physical conditioning, stamina, esprit de corps and leader development. Competitors from the 21st STB, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 18th MPs, 30th Med. Bde., Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and NATO Brigade, all of whom took top honors in internal competitions, participated in this week’s event. The competition and supporting effort builds strong teams as well as strong soldiers.
“You build a winning team through tough challenges, shared sacrifice and shared commitment,” Rhoades said. “This competition produced not only three ‘Best Warriors,’ but 16 superb, tough, confident Soldiers, a dynamite team and a winning spirit that pervades this command. What we’ve created here will not die in Grafenwoehr. We’re taking the confidence, pride, dedication and esprit we’ve built during this event back to Kaiserslautern and wherever our country needs us.”
