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35th ADA holds NCO, KATUSA, Soldier of the Year competition

  • Published
  • By Pfc. Gretchen N. Goodrich
  • 35th ADA HHB Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Winners of the 35th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Non-Commissioned Officer, Korean Augmentee to U.S. Army and Soldier of the Year competitions were announced during an awards ceremony here May 11. 

Following a three-day competition, Army Sgts. Nicholas J. Johnson and Luis R. Ortiz and Republic of Korea Sgt. Ahn, Yong-Jae, all with 2nd Battalion, 1st Air Defense Artillery, 35th ADA BDE, were selected as Soldier, NCO and KATUSA of the year for 35th ADA BDE. 

The winners were selected based on various tested activities from an Army physical fitness test, M-16A2 rifle qualification, day and night land navigation, hands-on warrior tasks, written exams, a rucksack march and an administrative board appearance. 

"It's a hard competition because in order to make it here, they must be soldier of the quarter for their battery and in essence, must have been through three boards already," said Sgt. 1st Class John R. Stevens, operations NCO with Headquarters and Headquarters Battery 35th ADA. 

One of the toughest challenges for the five competitors was the day and night land navigation course that took the group on a chase through a grueling mountain range to find various marked points. Using a compass and a map, the competitors raced to each point given only five hours. 

"The terrain features were rough and you needed a lot of knowledge on the subject to find the points," said Sergeant Ortiz. 

Not only was the knowledge an important aspect of the challenge, but having experience with compass and map reading also came in handy. In an age of technology, land navigation is a diminished task that soldiers no longer use, which made the challenge even harder, said Sergeant Stevens. 

The competitors also found the rucksack march around the nine-mile loop to be a challenge as well. Having spent the entire day and night before tackling the vigorous navigation course, a few started the trek already in pain and muscle failure. Two of the five competitors fell out due to injuries, leaving the remaining three to finish the three hour hike. 

"The rucksack march was hard because my feet weren't trained," said Pfc. Angel J. Garcia, a competitor representing HHB 35th ADA. "I didn't train at all." 

Despite those two obstacles, the competitors still faced the administrative board where they were asked a series of questions ranging from military history and current events to first aid and leadership. They also had to recite either the NCO Creed or the Soldier's Creed, depending on their rank, and pass a Class A uniform inspection. 

"It's all how they present themselves," said Sgt. 1st Class Luis E. Cruz, the fire direction center NCO with HHB 35th ADA. 

"You sit in front of six NCOs from master sergeants to the sergeant major and you're there representing your unit," said Sergeant Stevens. 

The competition ended at the HHB 35th ADA Organizational Day, which featured the awards ceremony for the winners. 

"The competition was really fun," said Private First Class Garcia. "I did a lot of things that I haven't done since basic (training) and I learned a lot of new things." 

Both Sergeants Johnson and Ahn will go on to represent the 35th ADA BDE at the 8th Army Solider, NCO and KATUSA of the Year competition in June. Winners from there will head to Washington, D.C., to compete for the overall NCO and Soldier of the Year for the entire Army.