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 Chief Petty Officer Darren Moore

Sailors Help Community During Connecticut River Valley Navy Week

Submarine Readiness Squadron (SRS) 32

Sept. 22, 2025 | 0:50

250922-N-ME988-1036 WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (Sept. 22, 2025) Sailors assigned to assigned to the Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) and various other commands participate in a community outreach event with Journey Home in West Hartford, Conn., as part of Connecticut River Valley Navy Week, Sept. 22, 2025. Connecticut River Valley Navy Week is one of 15 Navy Weeks during the Navy’s 250th year celebration, bringing a variety of assets, equipment and personnel to a single city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the people it protects. Each year, the program reaches more than 140 million people - about half the U.S. population. (U.S. Navy video by Torpedoman's Mate Fireman Todd Edwards)