The 24 participants of the 2024 Best Warrior Competition for the West Virginia National Guard, pose for a group photo at Camp Dawson. Soldiers and airmen from the West Virginia National Guard and District of Columbia National Guard competed.
West Virginia National Guard photo by Sgt. Davis Rohrer
KINGWOOD, W.Va. (WV News) — Twenty-five service members from the West Virginia and District of Columbia Army National Guard and West Virginia Air National Guard vied for top honors during the state’s Best Warrior Competition held over the weekend at Camp Dawson in Kingwood.
The 24 participants of the 2024 Best Warrior Competition for the West Virginia National Guard, pose for a group photo at Camp Dawson. Soldiers and airmen from the West Virginia National Guard and District of Columbia National Guard competed.
West Virginia National Guard photo by Sgt. Davis Rohrer
Sgt. James Castro, 1/150th Cavalry Regiment, earned the title of WVARNG Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
Spc. Jason Hall, 1528th Forward Support Company (Special Operations) (Airborne), was named the WVARNG Soldier of the Year.
The 167th Airlift Wing’s Staff Sgt. Kyle McKay earned Top Performing WVANG NCO, and Senior Airman Max Howard, 130th Airlift Wing, earned Top Performing Airman honors.
The DCNG named Sgt. Shaquille Bullock, Joint Forces Headquarters, and Pfc. Isaiah Castellanos, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, NCO and Soldier of the Year, respectively.
The runners-up for WVARNG were Sgt. Matthew Black, 753rd Ordinance Company, and Spc. Ethan Vance, 201st Field Artillery Regiment.
The Best Warrior Competition tests the service members’ physical and mental readiness, as well as their warrior skills, with the winners of the competition going to the Region II Best Warrior Competition, according to a National Guard news release.
This competition showcases the adaptiveness, resilience and lethality of National Guard forces, affirming the readiness of citizen-soldiers to meet the nation’s challenges both at home and abroad, the release said.
“You’re going to challenge yourself. That’s what we want you to do. You’re gonna figure something out about yourself,” said WVARNG Command Sgt. Maj. Chadwick L. Moneypenny.
“Stay on the offense. Keep a positive attitude about everything you’re doing and just get out there and have a good time,” he said.
The first competition of Day One was a 6-mile ruck march with a required carrying weight of 35 pounds.
Next, the competition cadre walked the competitors through a dry-run of the obstacle course and a familiarization of map reading and weapons assembly. After that, the first day ended with a swimming event.
“I’ve never swam in a combat uniform before, but I made it happen,” said Hall.
The second day of the Best Warrior Competition kicked off with a night-into-day land navigation event, where competitors had to navigate to points on a map using only a protractor and a compass.
The competitors then completed a three-gun stress shooting event in which their marksmanship was tested on the M4A1 carbine rifle, M26 modular accessory shotgun system and the M17 pistol.
The next event was the range run, where competitors were timed as they completed a 3-mile course, stopping at stations along the way that tested their warrior tasks, such as an obstacle course, a grenade range, tactical combat casualty care, radio operations and a nuclear biological chemical attack lane where they donned M95 gas masks.
Castro said the Best Warrior Competition is a great event for developing soldiers and leaders.
Competitors have the time and support to train up and learn the tasks, but, Castro said, they’re able to take back the training to their unit and help out the other soldiers.
After all of these physical tasks, the competitors were tested mentally with an essay and a written test, as well as their expertise in assembling, disassembling and checking the functions of weapons they used doing the three-gun stress shoot.
The competition ended with an Army combat fitness test, a six-part test that includes a three-repetition deadlift, a standing power throw, hand-release push-ups, a sprint drag carry, a plank and a 2-mile run.
The winners will go on to compete in the Region II Best Warrior Competition to be held in Maryland next month.
“At regionals, I hope to just compete, do the best I can and hopefully take it home,” Castro said.
Participants in the competition were:
West Virginia Army National Guard soldiers
Spc. Mackinzey Bates, Medical Detachment
Pfc. William Gay, Headquarters and Headquarters Co., 111th Engineer Bde.
Spc. Jason Hall, 1528th Forward Support Co., 2/19th Special Forces Battalion, 77th Brigade Troop Command
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