Twenty Soldiers from Wisconsin Army National Guard Compete in 2021 State Best Warrior Competition

Wednesday, April 21st, 2021 -- 12:00 PM

A select group of 20 Soldiers in the Wisconsin Army National Guard competed in the 2021 State Best Warrior Competition April 16-18 at Fort McCoy.

Ten non-commissioned officers and 10 Soldiers of the Wisconsin Army National Guard contended in the three-day state-level event for the opportunity to represent Wisconsin in the upcoming regional Best Warrior Competition at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, next month.

Spc. Timothy Hicks with Company B, 173rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, will compete in the regional competition as Wisconsin’s Soldier of the Year, and Sgt. Savannah Lipinski with the Recruiting and Retention Battalion will compete as Wisconsin’s Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.

For three days competitors from all over Wisconsin faced off against one another in challenges that tested their mental and physical aptitudes. Events included the Army Physical Fitness Test, M4 carbine, M17 pistol and M249 machine gun qualifications, physical appearance board, essay, land navigation, call for fire, simulated medical range, written test, 12-mile ruck march, and hand grenade qualification.

The state Best Warrior competition is designed to test the fortitude of the competitors taking part in it. Soldiers and NCOs had hectic days, the events of the competition were kept a secret from them until they showed up at various courses.

In addition, competitors operated on very little sleep between the days of competition.  The Indiana National Guard will host the regional Best Warrior Competition May 13-16 at Camp Atterbury.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.