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GRAFTON TRAINING CENTER, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The North Dakota Army National Guard’s top Soldiers forged through an exhausting four days of military challenges to test their Army skills and aptitudes, spirit and durability. Seventeen Guardsmen from across the state fought through adversity to try to outscore their fellow competitors during this year’s Best Warrior Competition Aug. 17-20 at Camp Grafton Training Center, near Devils Lake, North Dakota.

When the winners were announced during the final day’s awards ceremony, two Army Guardsmen earned the opportunity to advance and represent North Dakota in future competitions. Sgt. Timothy Sybrant, of Lincoln, North Dakota, a member of the Jamestown-based 817th Engineer Company (Sapper), was the winner of the Best Warrior Competition in the noncommissioned officer category. In the enlisted-level competition, Spc. Brandon Wendland, of Fargo, North Dakota, a member of the Bismarck-based 957th Engineer Company (Multi-Role Bridge), took top honors.

“You all have exhibited strong leadership skills just by volunteering to participate in this competition. You are all winners,” Brig. Gen. Robert Fode, North Dakota National Guard Army Component commander, said to the competitors during the awards ceremony. “You are the future of this organization. You are the next leaders; you are the ones to set the standard for those who are next to come into the North Dakota National Guard. Remember to continue to do the best you can, every time you go out and do it, no matter what it is.”

The Best Warrior Competition this year began by having the Soldiers test their endurance during an Army Physical Fitness test, or APFT. From there, they donned their Army Service Uniforms to be inspected while answering a series of military-related questions posed by a board of sergeants major. The Guardsmen’s first day of competition culminated by locating positions using a compass on a land navigation course at night.

The following days continued to be filled with difficult events and challenges. Competitors fired weapons for qualification scores at Camp Grafton’s southern training area, near McHenry, North Dakota. They also completed another land navigation course, this time being inserted into the training area by UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The remainder of the weekend tested the Soldiers’ physical and mental toughness with road marches, a confidence course and rappel tower, a written exam and evaluations on a number of Warrior Tasks (general military tasks all Soldiers must know).

“The Best Warrior Competition is an event we, as senior enlisted leaders, look forward to every year. We had 17 highly qualified and strong competitors who represented their units this year. They performed well and stayed motivated through some very tough events,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Brad Heim, state command sergeant major. “In the past, our winners were afforded the opportunity to be coached by a sponsor, or a former ‘Best Warrior’ winner, during regional and national competitions. Those rules have changed, so our winners now have to rely upon their fellow state competitors for mentorship and advice. That hasn’t been a problem, and it’s been great to see our Soldiers come together as a team to encourage one another throughout these competitions.”

Soldiers representing their units must first win in their respective major commands in order to vie for the
“Best Warrior” title during the state-level competition. That preparation can include months of physical training and poring over various military manuals and study guides.

“We typically do a company-level competition and send those winners to the battalion board. We’ve been prepping for quite a while. My unit is really good about sending their best (to the state-level competition),” Sybrant said. “I think the entire event this year was all challenging. They (the sergeants major) amped it up compared to last year. It was phenomenal.”

For participating in the event, each Best Warrior Competitor was awarded the State Commendation Medal as the weekend came to a close. The winners were presented the State Meritorious Service Medal.

The winners now will prepare for the regional competition, which will be held at Fort Richardson, Alaska, in May 2018. While there, they will compete against Guardsmen from seven other states: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington and Wyoming. Regional winners advance to compete in the All-Guard Competition and, if they win there, have the opportunity to compete in the All-Army Competition.

Should the winners not be able to compete, they will be replaced by the runners-up from the state competition. This year, Spc. Cody Miller, of West Fargo, North Dakota, a member of the Fargo-based 141st Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, was the runner-up in the enlisted category. Sgt. Sumner Boschert, of Fargo, a member of the Fargo-based 426th Signal Company, took the runner-up position at the noncommissioned officer level.