The MDARNG to Host Region II Best Warrior Competition for the First Time

Article by Sgt. Chazz Kibler, 29th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

The Maryland Army National Guard will host the Region II Best Warrior competition for the first time starting Tuesday, July 28, 2020.

The Best Warrior Competition recognizes Soldiers who demonstrate commitment to the Army values, embody the Warrior Ethos, and represent the Force of the Future. The four-day competition has events that were designed to test the physical abilities, leadership skills, teamwork and critical thinking of Soldiers. Events include a ruck march, weapons qualification, the Army combat fitness test, an obstacle course, land navigation, Combat Water Survival test, board interviews, test and essay completion, radio communications, grenade and claymore deployment, gas mask and personal decontamination operations, medical assessments and treatment.

The four-day event taking place throughout the state will feature eight competitors from Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. Each state will send the two winners from their own Best Warrior competition, a noncommissioned officer and a junior enlisted soldier. The District of Columbia and West Virginia National Guard were not able to send their personnel for this year’s competition.

(Photo by Armed Forces of Bosnia-Herzegovina Sgt. Vinko Brkić)

“The out-of-state competitors can expect the Maryland National Guard to showcase our history,” said Command Sgt. Maj. James Nugent, Maryland Army National Guard command sergeant major. “They can also expect a challenge. Our competition won’t be overly different than other competitions, but the competitors will be better.”

Putting together a tough challenge is not the only thing Maryland’s BWC organizers had to worry about; with the backdrop of an ongoing pandemic, competitor’s safety played a role in the planning process as well.

(U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Sarah M. McClanahan)

“We’re using the CDC guidelines,” said Nugent. “We’re keeping the number of spectators and support staff to a minimum to conduct the competition. On top of maintaining social distancing, we are going to conduct as much of this competition as possible outdoors to mitigate the spread of the virus.”

But this is not the first time the MDNG has made history when it comes to Best Warrior Competitions. Unique to Maryland’s competition on the state level is the inclusion of company-grade officers, the Air National Guard, and soldiers from the Estonian Defence Forces and the Armed Forces of Bosnia-Herzegovina, both state partner countries of the Maryland National Guard.

“This competition is important because it gives soldiers the opportunity to strive for excellence,” said Nugent. “We’re soldiers, we’re competitive by nature, we push each other and this type of competition brings out the best in all of us.”

The BWC event also gives soldiers the opportunity to meet, compete, and share their experiences with fellow soldiers across state lines.

“What I’m hoping to gain out of this competition is good experiences working with the soldiers that I haven’t had a chance to work with before,” said Sgt. Brian Murphy, a Satelite Communication Systems Operator-Maintainer in the Maryland Army National Guard 29th Combat Aviation Brigade and 2020 MDNG BWC NCO of the Year winner. ”We all have different experiences and different backgrounds and I’m really looking forward to meeting soldiers from different states and getting to know them.”

(U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Chazz Kibler)

Soldiers will also have to go through an obstacle course that will test their endurance, a combat survival water test in a sink or swim scenario and they will have to appear before a board where they will be judged on the appearance of their dress uniform, down to their knowledge on all things Army. The MDNG is no stranger when it comes to winning Region II Best Warrior Competitions. However, this will be there first time hosting one.

“For the last three years, Maryland soldiers have gone to the national competition,” said Nugent. “Using that experience, Maryland leadership thought, ‘Hey, you know what, if we can produce champions from Maryland, we can host a competition that will challenge Region II as well.'”