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 Courtesy

NATO’s Role in Preventing Conflict-Related Sexual and Gender Based Violence

Natochannel

June 19, 2018 | 1:04

NATO and its partners are taking action to promote the role of women in peace and security. Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is often used as a weapon of war and can undermine NATO’s operations, but also conflict resolution and long-term recovery.
Since 2015, NATO has military guidelines that recognise and act upon the need to prevent and respond to conflict-related SGBV.
A recent workshop in Brussels brought together NATO personnel, international and field subject-matter experts, representatives of the United Nations, the European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society to discuss and evaluate the progress made by NATO in implementing the NATO Military Guidelines on the prevention of, and response to, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence as well as the work that still lies ahead.

Footage includes interviews with Clare Hutchinson, NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security, and NATO Gender Advisor Maj Stephanie Nicol, as well as b-roll from NATO’s workshop on military guidelines on the prevention of, and response to, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence.