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 Arkansas, Florida Army Guard members win Army Guard Best Warrior Competition By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy
                National Guard Bureau
 CAMP JOSEPH T. ROBINSON, Ark. - A combat medic from the Arkansas Army National Guard and an infantryman from the Florida Army National Guard have been named the Army National Guard's Soldier and Noncomissioned Officer of the Year. Sgt. Piero Lopez, assigned to the Arkansas Army Guard's Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment, was named Soldier of the Year and Sgt. Anthony Calvi, from the Florida Army Guard's Company A, 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, was named NCO of the Year in an awards ceremony following the 2013 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition, at Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Ark. The winners now move on to represent the Army National Guard in the Department of the Army Best Warrior Competition, to be held at Fort Lee, Va., later in the year. For the winners, the competition was a grueling one. The physical and mental stamina of the competitors was tested in a variety of subjects to include weapons knowledge, casualty care, marksmanship and general Army doctrine. Additionally, competitors had to negotiate various tactical scenarios that involved engaging multiple targets, transporting a casualty and responding to a number of different challenges and surprises along the way. For Calvi, the ruck march was among the more difficult events faced. "Not knowing the distance (was tough)," he said. "Depending on the distance, depends how you pace yourself. Not knowing if it was going to be seven miles, eight, 10, 12, (was tough). You have to pace yourself but you can't fall too far behind." Calvi said he just kept pushing himself to the limit. "Those two hills that were here (on the ruck march course), I underestimated them," he said. "I can't train for hills in Florida. I just kept pushing it. You never stop moving your feet. I just kept driving on and I knew the end of the hill was going to come sooner or later. Though, it came later rather than sooner." But getting through the competition-and winning-wasn't something Lopez and Calvi did on their own. Both said they couldn't have done it without support from others. "There was a lot of support from my coach and from my unit as well," said Lopez. "I definitely couldn't have done it without them. They provided so much for me, especially when I was emotionally unstable or when I was down from some event. They always told me to focus on the next event and it's key because it's how you do on your next event that matters." And the competitors themselves also supported each other as they went through the non-stop, three-day competition. "They may have been in competition with each other, but they were still comrades," said Command Sgt. Maj. Brunk W. Conley, the sergeant major of the Army National Guard. "They were pulling for each other and helping each other and rooting each other on. They didn't want to lose-they wanted to win-but, it wasn't at the expense of somebody getting hurt or somebody's pride or not being supportive of the others." And that, said Conley, ties into the Army's Warrior Ethos, which says to never leave a fallen comrade. Following the Warrior Ethos - placing the mission first, never quitting, never accepting defeat and never leaving a fallen comrade-was key to not only being able to win the competition, but also to simply compete in it as well. "It's just never quitting," said Calvi. "I take the Warrior Ethos part of it and apply it to my performances. As long as you do your best, it will demonstrate out as seen here." And each of the competitors embodied that same spirit, said Conley. "It was a tough competition," he said. "It was tight. Any one of those 14 Soldiers (that competed) could have won Soldier or NCO of the Year and we would have been pleased." For Calvi, the competition provided him with a chance to learn from those he was competing against. "We all have our strong points and our weaknesses here," he said. "Not every competitor here is going to get first place in every single event. It shifts around and you learn from the other competitors and their strengths. So that was really good training for me." And Calvi said those things he learned will benefit other Soldiers in his unit. "I explain to them everything I do, how I do it and what I've learned," he said. "I'm just going to pass on all that I can to them." That makes for stronger Soldiers throughout the Army Guard, said Conley. "They are the best of the best," he said, of the competitors. "They're amazing. They live the Warrior Ethos every day. (This competition) gives them more tools to infect others with that attitude, that way of doing business and the Guard wins from their experiences at this." For now, though, the focus for Calvi and Lopez is getting ready for the competition at Fort Lee. "Right now, am I ready? I'm very sore," said Calvi. "But, I would say I have a lot of things to improve. I've been humbled in this competition and I'm going to work on (those weak areas) to make them my strengths instead of my weaknesses." For Lopez, that means pushing himself further. "It's a pretty awesome feeling being able to represent the Army National Guard at the next level, he said. "I'm going to do my best." And that's what it takes. "Anyone can do it," said Calvi. "You just have that mindset to never quit and keep pushing yourself."
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