Best Warrior

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BALTIMORE – Fourteen competitors from throughout the Army National Guard are slated to battle it out in a physically and mentally challenging five-day competition to determine the Army Guard’s Soldier and Noncommissioned Officer of the year July 14-18 in locations throughout Maryland.

Hosted by the Maryland Army National Guard the 2025 Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition tests competitors on a variety of tactical and technical tasks including weapons proficiency, land navigation, emergency medical tasks, and combat casualty care. These tasks are completed over a grueling set of courses throughout the state that includes multiple timed ruck marches and the Army Combat Fitness Test.

Winners in the competition – one Soldier and one NCO – are named the Army Guard’s Soldier and NCO of the Year and will compete in the Department of the Army Best Squad Competition this fall. Runners-up in the Best Warrior Competition fill out the Army Guard squad competing in the Best Squad Competition based on their finish in Best Warrior.

Competitors in this year’s Army Guard Best Warrior Competition include:

Soldier Category
Spc. Adam Andrews - Rhode Island
Spc. Robert Ruiz-Rhoades – Pennsylvania
Spc. Jaden Hughes - Alabama
Spc. Logan Rutledge – Indiana
Spc. Alexander Thomson – Nebraska
Spc. Canyon Blassingame - Montana
Sgt. Michael Fouts – Arizona

NCO Category
Sgt. Kristopher Piwowarczyk - New Jersey
Staff Sgt. Miles Crawford – Maryland
Staff Sgt. Nicolas White – Georgia
Staff Sgt. Brandon Byrne - Wisconsin
Sgt. Luke Entz – Nebraska
Sgt. Matthew Lee – Montana
Sgt. Luke Cloward - Utah

Video Gallery

Video by Sgt. Alejandro Lucero

Interview with Cpl. Jade Hipkiss-Winder soldier with the 3rd Health Battalion, Australian Defense Force during Talisman Sabre

128th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

July 25, 2023 | 3:22

Cpl. Jade Hipkiss-Winder, a soldier with the 3rd Health Battalion, Adelaide, Australia, talks about her experience teaching a class to her American counterparts, the 144th Area Support Medical Company, Utah National Guard, and the importance of sharing different medical practices with allied countries during Talisman Sabre, Camp Rocky, Australia, July 25, 2023. Talisman Sabre is a large-scale, bilateral military exercise between Australia and the United States, which strengthens relationships and interoperability among key allies and enhances collective capabilities to respond to a wide array of potential security concerns. This will be the 10th iteration of the exercise. (Utah Army National Guard video taken by Sgt. Alejandro Lucero)