Congratulations to SPC Dylan Waite, 36th Infantry Division for placing as the Second Runner-up, Best Soldier in the Region V Best Warrior Competition.

Soldiers competed for the title of Region V Best Warrior May 7-12, 2023 at Camp Crowder, Missouri. Soldiers from Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas competed to determine who will represent Region V at the 2023 National Best Warrior Competition. Participants tested their physical, mental, and psychological limits over a 5-day period. Each day warriors faced vigorous tests including the Army Combat Fitness Test, 12-mile ruck march, obstacle course, and stress shoot, among other events.

BEST WARRIOR WINNERS 2023

This year’s competition hosted twenty-six competitors. The Texas Army National Guard winners were SFC Ben Theiring of the 136th Military Police Battalion, 136th Maneuver Enhance Brigade, for the non-commissioned officer category; and SPC Dylan Waite, 1st Battalion, 143rd Infantry Regiment for the enlisted category; and for the Air National Guard, the winners were SSgt  Johnathan Nichols, 147th Air Support Operation Squadron, 147th Attack Wing, for the non-commissioned officer category; and SrA Jake Schlang of the 147th Air Support Operation Squadron, 147th Attack Wing, for the Air enlisted category.

Waite, Theiring, and Schlang will move on to represent Texas at the National Guard Bureau’s Region V competition on May 7-13, 2023, at Camp Crowder, Missouri. This will be the first time an Airman will move on to the Region V competition.