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

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Video by Staff Sgt. James Hobbs

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Urban Search and Rescue (JTF-CS/DCRF)

Joint Task Force Civil Support

May 5, 2019 | 5:02

Joint Task Force Civil Support (JTF-CS) provides mission command of the Defense CBRN Response Force (DCRF) during exercise Vibrant Response 2019 (VR - 19). The Vibrant Response command post (CPX) exercise took place at Fort Custer, Mich., and the Michigan State Emergency Operations Center in Lansing. Phase 1 of Guardian Response 19 (GR19) is a field-training exercise linked to VR19 where about 3,500 federal personnel trained in aviation, medical, engineering, logistics, and other life-saving tasks at Muscatatuk Urban Training Center and Camp Atterbury in Indiana. This exercise featured realistic venues and civilian role-players to simulate a demanding disaster environment under the guidance and direction of the task force commander. The annual GR19 helps participants of the VR19 exercise command and control in a realistic, challenging environment.