116th IBCT conducts Best Warrior Competition - Jan. 7. 2024

The Virginia National Guard's Staunton-based 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team conducts a brigade-level Best Warrior Competition Jan. 5-7, 2024, at Fort Barfoot, Virginia. Spc. Carter Cooper, an 11B infantryman assigned to the Lynchburg-based 1st Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, took the honors as the top Soldier, and Staff Sgt. Austin Gillelan, a 92Y supply sergeant assigned to the Danville-based 429th Brigade Support Battalion, was the top noncommissioned officer. The competition began with a modified fitness assessment testing strength and endurance, followed by 12 different Army Warrior Tasks, a written test, a "mystery event" combining fitness and multiple AWTs and ended with a knowledge board. It was a tight competition, with just a few points separating the top NCOs. The winners will compete in the state-level Best Warrior Competition later this year.