New York National Guard Soldiers Compete for Best Warrior Title at Camp Smith

Media Advisory

CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, CORTLANDT MANOR, NY (03/27/2019) — The New York Army National Guard's top eight Soldiers and Non-Commissioned Officers will compete in the state's Best Warrior Competition at the National Guard's Camp Smith Training Site here Wednesday through Saturday, March 27-30.

Members of the media are invited to visit Camp Smith on Thursday, March 28, at 1 p.m. to cover the stress shoot portion of the competition.

WHO: Seven New York Army National Guard Soldiers, including six men and one woman, from across the state.

WHAT: A competition testing the Soldiers' physical fitness, military knowledge, endurance, marksmanship, and land navigation skills. New York Army National Guard units send Soldiers who did well at their perspective unit-level competitions. Soldiers who win at the New York State event will advance to the regional level to decide who will compete against representatives of both the Active Army and United States Army Reserve. The competition is also structured to provide Soldiers with the opportunity to earn the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge.

WHEN: Media opportunity on Thursday, March 28, at 1 p.m.

WHERE: Camp Smith Training Site on Routes 6 and 20 in Cortlandt Manor, just north of Peekskill.

For access to this secure military facility, members of the media must contact Capt. Phyonne Reynolds at 518-949-1526.

Visual and Coverage Opportunities:

Visual imagery opportunities include Soldiers performing weapons qualifications during a "stress shoot" event, which tests their ability to engage silhouetted targets with pistol, rifle or shotgun while maneuvering, pulling a simulated casualty, and carrying weighted cans. Interviews with senior leaders and participants can be coordinated.

BACKGROUND:

New York Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition:

During the competition, enlisted Soldiers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) from across New York State will compete against each other for the Best Warrior title in Soldier and NCO categories.

The winners at Camp Smith will go on to compete against National Guard Soldiers in Region 1, which consists of eight eastern states. The winners of that Army National Guard competition, in turn, will face off against their counterparts from the Active Army and the U.S. Army Reserve.

The competition also tests the Soldiers' knowledge in the areas of military justice, current events and Army history, security and intelligence operations, military courtesy, leadership, counseling and how to deal with chemical and biological weapons. The participants negotiate land navigation courses by day and night, and take an Army Physical Fitness Test to determine who gets the top score.

Participants are quizzed by a board of senior sergeants who evaluate them on their ability to handle stress and military appearance. They are graded in their ability to handle hands-on military tasks, as well as their marksmanship ability with the M-4. The contestants must qualify with their assigned weapon and also score well during the "Stress Shoot" event that involves firing several different weapons.

Soldiers will also compete in a 12-kilometer road march carrying a 35-pound pack around West Point.

Camp Smith Training Site:

Camp Smith is the largest of three training locations owned by the state of New York and operated by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs for the New York National Guard. The 1,613 acre facility includes 126 acres housing 50 buildings, along with 229 acres of range and 1,256 acres of wooded training area. The site was first used by New York to train state militia in 1888. Camp Smith has been in continual use since then.

Soldiers can train on M-4 carbines, M-16 rifles, M-240B machineguns, M-9 pistols, and the M-14 sniper rifle at the existing ranges, and conduct infantry tactical training on the wooded hillsides. Along with units of the New York Army National Guard, Army Reserve, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the Corps of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, use the training facilities.

Camp Smith is also home to the headquarters of the all-volunteer New York Guard and houses patrol boats used by the New York Naval Militia.

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