Best Warrior

Photo Gallery

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 Steve Pindyski

Download

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst – Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) Military Competition - April 2025

USASA, Fort Dix

April 2, 2026 | 5:18

The U.S. Army Reserve Command conducted its selection camp at U.S. Army Support Activity-Fort Dix March 31 to April 3 for the U.S. Team, which will compete this summer in the Interallied Confederation of Reserve Officers (CIOR) Military Competition. CIOR is an annual reserve military competition consisting of NATO member states and other invited nations. In 2026, 34 countries will compete representing 1.3 million reserve troops. The competition, which has been held since 1957, is a military pentathlon testing service members in pistol and rifle marksmanship, land and water obstacles, and orienteering. CIOR is a team competition in which each member of the team must complete the competition events together. The three-day competition consists of pistol and rifle shooting on the first day, obstacle course and utility swimming on the second day, and orienteering with additional tasks like range estimation, map reading and hand grenade throwing on the third day. (Video captured by the U.S. ASA Fort Dix (TSC) Training Support Center / Steve Pindyski)