Army Reserve Soldiers Win ‘Best Warrior’ Competition in Montana

photo credit: Department of Defense

For Army Reserve Sgt. Stephen Powell and Spc. Adam Job, nothing beats a home-field edge. In February, the Montana residents used their homegrown knowledge of the state to their advantage, both winning in the 2015 Army Reserve Medical Command Best Warrior Competition in the mountains near Fort Harrison, Montana.

The two beat out eight other competitors from around the country, battling harsh winter conditions and elevation changes in an event that tested endurance, agility and soldier skills among more than 20 graded elements.

Powell, a medical logistics specialist at the 4225th U.S. Army Hospital in Helena, Montana, won the command’s Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. Job, a medical lab specialist at the hospital, won Soldier of the Year.

The annual Best Warrior Competition is a contest that makes track and field’s grueling decathlon look like a morning jog. Job called it simply “the most competitive competition” he’s ever entered but admits that his knowledge of the conditions and environment, especially during the 10-kilometer ruck march, gave him an advantage over the other soldiers.

“The elevation change, the oxygen thickness, it gets people short of breath,” says Job, 22, who grew up in Missoula. “I didn’t have a problem with (the elevation change). It was mostly just the hike up (that was difficult).”

Powell, a native of Pinesdale, Montana, says finishing second in the competition last year motivated him to go for first place this year.

“The fact that I got to compete last year definitely helped me a lot,” says Powell, who qualified for the U.S. Army Reserve Command Best Warrior Competition the first week of May at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. “I resorted back to my previous experience in a lot of those situations. This year helped me push through and accomplish the goal. Winning this one was definitely a moment of redemption.”

At 107 years old, today’s Army Reserve is made up of more than 195,000 soldiers serving in many different specialties, including medical fields.

After the competition in May, Powell is set for his first mobilization in his four years with the Army Reserve. He will provide medical support at the hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Job is set for a blood donor mission in Germany in August, his first mobilization in his four years in the Army Reserve.

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Courtesy of USAA