Army Names 7th Army NCO, 1ID Soldier As Its 'Best Warriors'
(October 11, 2009) | 
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| WASHINGTON (ANS, Oct. 6, 2009) -- An NCO
academy leader in Germany and an intelligence specialist
from Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., earned top honors this past
week at the Army's 2009 Best Warrior Competition.
Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Beckman, U.S. Army Europe, was named
NCO of the Year. Spc. Clancy Henderson of U.S. Army Forces
Command won Soldier of the Year. |
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| Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston holds the sword along with NCO of the Year Sgt. 1st Class Aaron Beckman and Soldier of the Year Spc. Clancy Henderson as they partake in the ceremonial cutting of the cake at the 8th Annual Awards Luncheon at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting Oct. 5,
2009. |
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Sgt. Maj. of the Army Kenneth O. Preston announced the
winners Monday during the 8th Annual Noncommissioned Officer
of the Year - Soldier of the Year Awards Luncheon, part of
the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting
in Washington, D.C.
Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli recognized
all 24 men and women who represented their commands during
six days of tough competition last week at Fort Lee, Va.
Chiarelli honored the Soldiers at the luncheon as "the best
of the best." He admitted that the luncheon is his favorite
event of AUSA "because it celebrates the most important part
of our Army -- our people."
"It is especially meaningful to be presenting these awards
at such a pivitol time. Our nation and Army have been at war
for eight years -- the longest we have fought with an
all-volunteer force -- and I believe that distinction speaks
volumes of the men and women here today," said Chiarelli.
Twenty-four warriors representing 12 U.S. Army major
commands competed in the Army's Best Warrior Competition at
Fort Lee Sept. 27- Oct. 2. The competition tested the
Soldiers' skills, qualities and abilities through sergeants
major boards, tasks and battle drills, combatives, written
examinations, M-4 rifle qualification and day and night
Urban Warfare Orientation courses.
Sgt. 1st Class Beckman serves as senior small group Leader
at the 7th Army NCO Academy in Grafenwoehr, Germany for U.S.
Army Europe. Beckman has been in the Army for 12 years and
has deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has
attended the sapper school and the combat lifesaver course.
"For me, the driving force is the Soldiers that I serve
with, work with and work for," said the NCO from Venango,
Neb. "The fact that they showed the confidence in me to say,
'We want you to represent our company. We want you to
represent our academy. We all want you to represent our
major command."
Spc. Henderson serves as an all-source intelligence analyst
with the 193rd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Maneuver
Enhancement Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, at Fort Leonard
Wood. A native of Longmont, Colo., he has been in the Army
for two years and is currently attending the American
Military University, pursuing a degree in intelligence
analysis.
"I'm very excited to be able to be named the Soldier of the
Year," Henderson said. "I know that we have a great Army, we
have great leaders. I have great leaders and NCOs, and I'm
excited to be able to come out here and represent people
that I know are great and are well-trained and to represent
the best Army in the world."
Sgt. 1st Class Beckman and Spc. Henderson will be
spokespersons for the Army throughout the upcoming year.
"The NCOs and Soldiers I observed this week are nothing
short of inspiring," Preston said. "They endured an
exhausting week of physical and mental testing and
evaluation. I am very, very proud of all of them and they
are all winners." | |
Article and photo by Courtney Wittman
Copyright 2009
Reprinted from
Army News Service / Army News Service
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