Best Warrior is an annual competition overseen by the
Department of the Army
The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...
as a means of identifying and recognizing soldiers in
active
Active may refer to:
Music
* ''Active'' (album), a 1992 album by Casiopea
* Active Records, a record label
Ships
* ''Active'' (ship), several commercial ships by that name
* HMS ''Active'', the name of various ships of the British Royal ...
,
Special Operations
Special operations (S.O.) are military activities conducted, according to NATO, by "specially designated, organized, selected, trained, and equipped forces using unconventional techniques and modes of employment". Special operations may include ...
,
National Guard
National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards.
Nat ...
and
reserve
Reserve or reserves may refer to:
Places
* Reserve, Kansas, a US city
* Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish
* Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County
* Reserve, New Mexico, a US ...
components of the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...
. Each year, each participating command sends their best
enlisted soldier and
non-commissioned officer
A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who has not pursued a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. (Non-officers, which includes most or all enli ...
to
Fort Lee to represent their unit.
During the competition, competitors are tested for their aptitude through board interviews, physical fitness tests, written exams, urban warfare simulations and other soldier tasks and drills relevant to the Army's operating environment.
In addition, Warriors will go before two selection boards composed of six senior sergeants major from across the Army. These boards, chaired by Sergeant Major of the Army Kenneth O. Preston, evaluate competitor appearance, military bearing and knowledge of critical Army topics.
The Soldier and Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year receive prestigious honors and cash awards in recognition of their achievements and represent the Army at special events throughout the year.
Competition winners
Soldier of the Year
* 2002 - Spc. Justin Brown
* 2003 - Spc.
Russell Adam Burnham
Russell Adam Burnham (born September 6, 1979), is an American business owner, Physician Assistant and U.S. Army veteran. Burnham was recognized as the 2003 U.S. Army Soldier of the Year, 2007 U.S. Army Medical Corps NCO of the Year, and is an ...
(
MEDCOM
The U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) is a direct reporting unit of the U.S. Army that formerly provided command and control of the Army's fixed-facility medical, dental, and veterinary treatment facilities, providing preventive care, medical re ...
)
* 2004 - Spc.
Wilfredo Mendez
* 2005 - Sgt.
Chad Steuck
* 2006 - Spc.
John Emmett
* 2007 - Cpl.
Heyz Seeker
* 2008 - Spc.
David R. Obray (
USARC
United States Army Reserve Command (USARC) commands all United States Army Reserve units and is responsible for overseeing unit staffing, training, management and deployment. Approximately 205,000 Army Reserve soldiers are assigned to USARC. Th ...
)
* 2009 - Spc.
Clancey Henderson
* 2010 - Sgt.
Sherri Gallagher
Sgt. Sherri Jo Gallagher is an American soldier who holds 22 United States national rifle records. In 2010, she was named the U.S. Army Soldier of the Year.
Early life and marksmanship training
Sherri Gallagher was born in 1984 in California USA. ...
* 2011 - Spc.
Thomas M. Hauser
* 2012 -
Spc. Saral Shrestha
* 2013 -
Spc. Adam Christensen
* 2014 - Spc. Thomas Boyd
* 2015 - Spc.
Jared R. Tansley (
USAREUR
United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...
)
* 2016 - Spc. Robert Miller
* 2017 - Spc. Hazen Ham
* 2018 - Cpl. Matthew Hagensick
* 2019 - Spc. David Chambers
* 2020 - Sgt. James Akinola
Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year
* 2002 - Sgt. 1st Class
Jeffery T. Stitzel
* 2003 - Staff Sgt.
James Luby
James is a common English language surname and given name:
*James (name), the typically masculine first name James
* James (surname), various people with the last name James
James or James City may also refer to:
People
* King James (disambiguati ...
* 2004 - Staff Sgt.
Andrew Bullock
Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
* 2005 - Sgt.
Jeremy Kamphuis
Jeremy may refer to:
* Jeremy (given name), a given name
* Jérémy, a French given name
* ''Jeremy'' (film), a 1973 film
* "Jeremy" (song), a song by Pearl Jam
* Jeremy (snail), a left-coiled garden snail that died in 2017
* ''Jeremy'', a 1919 ...
* 2006 - Sgt. 1st Class Jason Alexander
* 2007 - Staff Sgt.
Jason Seifert
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He wa ...
* 2008 - Staff Sgt.
Noyce Merino NGB
* 2009 - Sgt. 1st Class
Aaron Beckman
* 2010 - Staff Sgt. Christopher McDougall
* 2011 - Sgt.
Guy Mellow
* 2012 - Staff Sgt.
Matthew M. Senna
* 2013 - Sgt. 1st Class
Jason J. Manella
* 2014 - Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Carpenter
* 2015 - Staff Sgt. Andrew Fink
* 2016 - Sgt. 1st Class Joshua A. Moeller
* 2017 - Staff Sgt. Ryan C. McCarthy
* 2018 - Sgt. 1st Class Sean Acosta
* 2019 - Staff Sgt. Dakota Bowen
* 2020 - Sgt. 1st Class Alexander Berger
References
{{Reflist
United States Army organization