ARMY MOUNTAIN WARFARE SCHOOL, Vt. —The Wisconsin Army National Guard’s Spc. Tevin Kenton, a member of Troop C, 1st Squadron, 105th Cavalry Regiment, was among 14 Soldiers representing the best of the National Guard at the national Best Warrior Competition Aug. 4-8 at Ethan Allen Firing Range in Jericho, Vermont. The Best Warrior Competition is a grueling event that tests a Soldier’s professionalism under challenging conditions and proficiency in Soldier tasks. It measures a Soldier’s physical and mental ability and resilience. Kenton, from Wausau, Wisconsin, finished fourth among enlisted competitors from New York, Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Montana and Hawaii, and will not advance to the Department of the Army Best Squad Competition. Even so, Command Sgt. Maj. Duane Weyer, the state command sergeant major for the Wisconsin Army National Guard, was pleased. “Fourth in the nation is pretty good,” Weyer said. “The level of competition was pretty good, as you’d expect at a national level — everyone there was a state and regional winner.” Staff Sgt. Kirtley Finnell of the Alabama Army National Guard was named Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, and Sgt. Peter Fillion of the New York Army National Guard was named Best Warrior of the Year. To illustrate the caliber of the individual competitors, Weyer pointed to the 12-mile ruck march over mountainous terrain. Ruck marches for Best Warrior Competitions are typically conducted on level terrain. “The slow time was around three hours,” Weyer said, “which is what we normally see for 12 miles on the flat.” Kenton said he had been preparing for the national competition for about one and a half months, following the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team’s rotation at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Johnson, Louisiana. He said he is currently training for Special Forces, and was able to transition from that training to the Best Warrior Competition. “The [task] I enjoyed most was the M-4 function check, disassemble and assemble,” Kenton said. Kenton said he serves in the National Guard because he wants to be part of something bigger than himself. “This organization is just different as a whole,” Kenton explained. “It allows people to really become friends as well as serve together. I continue to serve because I enjoy spending time out in the field and doing the tasks required of us, and being around like-minded people.” Kenton did not have much time to reminisce about the Best Warrior Competition — he joined his unit at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin for a three-day drill as the brigade recovered its vehicles which had been shipped back from JRTC.
