March 15, 2016 –
JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. - The 364th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), an Army Reserve unit headquartered in Marysville, Washington, held its annual Best Warrior Competition at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, March 2-5.
The BWC is an endurance event that assesses Soldiers’ performance in physically and mentally challenging events related to military knowledge and warrior training. Six Soldiers from the ESC’s subordinate units — the 654th Regional Support Group, 652nd Regional Support Group and the 96th Sustainment Brigade — competed in the event along with their sponsors.
After three days of events that pushed their limits both physically and mentally, Army Reserve Soldiers Spc. Daniel Kovitch of the 654th RSG and Sgt. Justin Morton of the 654th RSG came out as winners in their rank-based categories. Later in April, Kovitch and Morton will get to test themselves again in the 79th Sustainment Support Command’s BWC in hopes of further advancing to the Army Reserve level.
The unit’s BWC started with a standard Army Physical Fitness Test followed by a foot patrol mission through a mock urban-combat site. Rough terrain, bitter cold, slashing rain, and the noise of simulated gunfire and explosion added to the stress of the first day’s events. Additionally, Soldiers had to help a simulated casualty with first aid and use their field radios to request medical evacuation. The events are based on what a Solider might face during actual combat.
One of the competitors, Spc. Chrisangel Moronta, a 20-year-old culinary specialist from the 96th Sustainment Brigade’s 146th Transportation Company in Ogden, Utah, said he never thought about entering the BWC. “You don’t see a lot of cooks going out and doing stuff like this,” Moronta said. “It’s really cool. It’s like going through basic training again - redoing all the tasks you learned with muscle memory.”
Moronta said he devoted much of his personal time to prepare for the event. He works in his Re-serve unit one weekend per month but now his goal is to re-enter active duty. He entered the competition to prove to himself that he had the physical stamina to maintain an active-duty lifestyle.
“I’m trying to make a good impression here for myself, my peers and my bosses. I’m all in here,” said Moronta.
The BWC helps instill in Soldiers personal courage, self-confidence and self-discipline while promoting physical and mental resilience that carries over to other military pursuits.
Moronta takes some of those attributes over to his civilian life as a leader in his community and the Boy Scouts of America.
“I am a Scout Master in my community,” he said. “I get to teach young men things that I learned in my military training. The experience has been very beneficial for me.”
During the BWC, Soldiers also build esprit de corps and pride in not only their individual accomplishments, but also in the accomplishments of the unit as a whole.
“This is hugely important. This event is part of the overall spectrum of leadership training,” Command Sgt. Major Thomas Brashears of the 364th ESC said.
During the event, Soldiers also fired small arms and practiced taking their weapons apart quickly and properly.
At the end of the event, Moronta took runner up in his category.
“I have a passion for this. I love it,” he said. “Whether I win or not, I’m just honored to be here."