![]() The military board was the event Shiner said might present a challenge to him. “The water assessment was definitely a challenge.” “I’ve always seen myself as a decent swimmer but my NCOs seem to think otherwise,” said Hicks. Hicks cited the water assessment as one of the more difficult events during the competition. “One step at a time, you just have to keep grinding,” said Shiner. Shiner was most prepared for the medical lanes on day one, but said all the events were challenging and he was looking forward to competing in all of them. “All the other Soldiers here have been great motivators for me to perform my very best.” “I am proud of myself and how I have performed the last two days,” said Hicks after placing first in the ruck march. One of his fellow competitors said he made the event look easy. The ruck march consisted of an approximately 35-pound ruck sack being carried along an 11 mile course. Hicks felt most prepared for the ruck march on day two of the competition due to his love of long-distance running and ruck marches. “I am grateful to be here and win or lose, I want to enjoy the journey,” said Shiner. Shiner, from Delta, Utah, and currently working for the Utah Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, said he was grateful he kept up on his physical fitness. Jesse Shiner was given just one week's notice for the competition. While Hicks had weeks to prepare, his counterpart Staff Sgt. “My unit has been a huge support, and I feel like I made them proud,” said Hicks Preparation for the events included mechanics, medical training, land navigation and marksmanship training. “A lot of the NCOs and officers from my unit gave up personal time to come and help me prepare,” said Hicks. His unit members put in the effort to help him represent them well. Hicks, a cook with Group Support Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne), was given lessons and homework on different Soldier skills that could possibly be used in competition. The competition began with the new Army Combat Fitness Test and was followed by a military board, medical lanes, water assessment, night-and-day-land navigation, rifle zeroing and qualifications, and ended with an 11-mile ruck march. Guardsmen from Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Hawaii competed for the chance to move on to the Army National Guard BWC later this year. The Region VII Best Warrior Competition took place July 27-28, 2020 at Camp Williams. Jesse Shiner, who competed for Region VII Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, was given only a week’s notice. Payton Hicks, who competed for Region VII Soldier of the Year, began his training several weeks in advance while his teammate, Staff Sgt. CAMP WILLIAMS, Utah - Best warrior competitions require a lot of preparation.
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