Meet the Competitors: 2016 Best Warrior Competition

March 13, 2016

By Maryland National Guard Public Affairs Office—

Five Maryland National Guard and three Bosnia and Herzegovina brigades sent their best soldiers to represent them in the 2016 Best Warrior Competition. Behind the units they represent, these soldiers strive for excellence because of their own personal reasons.

Soldier Competition:

Spc. Christopher Hoffman
Unit: C Co., 1st General Support Aviation Battalion, 169th Aviation Regiment
Military Occupation: UH-60 Helicopter Repairer (15T)
Hometown: Havre De Grace, MD
Civilian Job: Blackhawk Mechanic/Crew Chief
Time in Military Service: 3 years

“I was one point away from winning the regional competition last year and I met a ton of people throughout this competition. None of this is MOS related for me. I work on helicopters and fly in helicopters as a door gunner, so this competition involved my basic soldiering skills.”

“As much as some people want to say that this stuff doesn’t matter, it really does. You need this discipline and you never know what situation you’re going to be put in.”

Spc. Grant Smith
Unit: 29th Military Police Company
Military Occupation: Military police (31B)
Hometown: Williamsport, MD
Civilian Job: Police Officer
Time in Military: 2.5 years

“This competition describes the kind of person that I am. It shows that I want to do better for myself and not settle.”

Spc. Russell Lecates
Unit: 290th Military Police Company
Military Occupation: Cavalry Scout (19D)
Hometown: Delmar, MD
Civilian Job: Full-time member of the Maryland Honor Guard
Time in Military Service: 5 years

“We workout at work in our down time, so we prepped for physical training and had time to ruck at the park near our armory. My favorite event is land navigation. When I was with the scouts that’s what we did, so it’s really comfortable for me.”

Sgt. Stephen Rzemyk
Unit: 58th Expeditionary Military Intelligence Battalion
Military Occupation: Human Intelligence Collector (35M)
Hometown: Galloway, NJ
Civilian Job: Construction worker & student
Time in Military Service: 4 years

“The ruck [march], it tests you in all ways and on the same aspect you’re still rooting on each other while you’re going against each other. It’s the most demanding, but also involves companionship.”

“It definitely shows respect for our unit and myself as a soldier to know that physically and mentally I’m competent in doing my job.”

Noncommissioned Officer Competition:

Sgt. Charles Contic
Unit: C Company, 1st Battalion, 175th Infantry Regiment
Military Occupation: Infantryman (11B)
Hometown: Laurel, MD
Civilian Job: Student
Time in Military Service: 8 years

“The good experience for decent training. I think as a fire team leader, I should set an example of what they should strive for.”

Sgt. ***
Unit: B Co., I&S, 29th Infantry Division
Military Occupation: ***
Hometown: Chicago, IL
Civilian Job: Threat Mitigation Officer
Time in Military Service: 6 years

“My motivations for competing in the competition were that it would be a challenge for me to better myself and that its an opportunity to not only network with other soldiers, but to represent my unit.”

***Information withheld at the request of individual.

Staff Sgt. Margaret Taylor
Unit: 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
Military Occupation: Public Affairs Specialist (46Q)
Hometown: Tusla, OK
Civilian Job: Journalism Instructor at the Defense Information School
Time in Military Service: 5.5 years

“When I started competing it was partly for me because I’m very competitive, but then there’s also the part that my unit hasn’t done this before, ever. I was hoping that I could start a trend in this small unit.”

“I don’t always get to be a soldier. So it’s nice to put the camera down and just be a soldier. That’s important to me. Land navigation was definitely my favorite. I love running around in the woods and it also comes easy to me.”

Staff Sgt. Andrew Cullum
Unit: Recruiting Retention Battalion
Military Occupation: Intelligence Analyst (35F)
Hometown: Edgewood, MD
Civilian Job: (Active Guard Reserve)
Time in Military Service: 11 years

“Last year I lost by 4 points and I was hungry to win. I’m just trying to help put the Recruiting Battalion on the map a little bit more.”

“It’s a good networking process. I get to meet a lot of up and coming soldiers who are doing a lot of good things. Hopefully, if I didn’t know them now, I’ll have a relationship with them in the future.”

Officer Competition:

2nd Lt. John Baldwin
Unit: 290th Military Police Company
Military Occupation: Military Police Officer (31A)
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Civilian Job: Pepsi Sales Representative
Time in Military Service: 2 years

“I went to armystudyguide.com, I looked at YouTube videos, I got plenty of rest, and exercised. The ruck march was a blast though; it was fantastic. I’m learning a lot about stuff and I’m going to bring that back to the unit.”

Capt. Alexi Franklin
Unit: 32nd Civil Support Team
Military Occupation: Survey team leader (AGR)
Hometown: New York, NY
Civilian Job: (Active Guard Reserve)
Time in Military Service: 14 years

“Last year I was a company commander so I couldn’t compete, but this year I don’t supervise any officers so I figured I’d give it a shot. I like seeking out challenges. I like checking out new opportunities, new things and giving everything a chance.”

“I got to meet a lot of interesting people from all over the guard and from Bosnia as well. It’s always neat to meet people in the organization that you wouldn’t meet otherwise, to network, and make friendships.”

Capt. Michael Walker
Unit: 110th Information Operations Battalion
Military Occupation: Cyber Red Team Lead
Hometown: Reston, VA
Civilian Job: Business Owner
Time in Military Service: 11 years

“I wanted to test my abilities compared to the rest of the Guard. It seemed like it would be an interesting competition in the skill sets that I knew how to do. The ruck is definitely the most challenging, it’s my favorite for that reason. It’s sheer willpower to get through the whole thing. The people that beat me, they just wanted it more and it was very impressive.”

“One of the biggest takeaways is the board and what boards are interested in. It’s my first experience with a board and at brigade I wasn’t prepared. So its given me the opportunity to manage my career and prepare for other boards.”

BiH Soldier Competition: