Sgt. Kendrick Gardner prepares to execute medley of songs and spoken creeds as his final task of the XVIII Airborne Corps NCO and Soldier of the Year competition, June 19. Representing the 44th Medical Brigade, Gardner left the panel of senior noncommissioned officers from such storied units at the 82nd Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division and 3rd Infantry Division, highly impressed with his poise and knowledge. The board was just one event of many that competitors faced in an effort to prove themselves the most tactically and technically proficient in the Corps.