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MDARNG 2015 Best Warrior Competition

By Staff Sgt. Michael Davis Jr., Photos by Maj. Rick E. Breitenfeldt & Staff Sgt. Thaddeus Harrington, Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office

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The Maryland Army National Guard completed its 2015 Best Warrior Competition at the Lauderick Creek Training Site in the Edgewood area of Md., and at Gunpowder Military Reservation, located in Glen Arm, Md., March 13-16, 2015.

This year, at the request of Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh, the adjutant general of Maryland, company grade officers got a chance to compete with the Soldiers and noncommissioned officers, making a third category for the competition.

1st Lt. John D. Villanueva from B Company, 1-175th Infantry Regiment was named Officer of the Year, Staff Sgt. Brandon J. Kennedy, from the 253rd Engineer Company, was named NCO of the Year, and Spc. Christopher M. Hoffman, from C Company, 1-169th Aviation Regiment, was named Soldier of the Year.

The competition consisted of a written test, an Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), an M16/M4 rifle qualification, a day/night land navigation course, a seven-mile road march, Warrior Skills Tasks including a mystery Warrior Skills Task, and a board appearance.