WAIKIKI – The U.S. Army, Pacific (USARPAC) announced the names of the top two U.S. Soldiers in the Pacific on Friday June 13th during the 239th Army Birthday Commemoration at Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Staff Sergeant Adam White, Scout Team Leader, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1-501 Infantry (Airborne), 4th Brigade 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska, won the USARPAC Noncommissioned Officer of the Year competition, selected among seven other Pacific unit competitors.
Specialist Thomas C. Boyd, Brigade Operations Specialist, Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 500th Military Intelligence Brigade, Hawaii, won the USARPAC Soldier of the Year competition, selected among seven other Pacific unit competitors.
“Winning this competition is a great testament to the leaders I’ve had that invested so much in me,” said White about being named the USARPAC Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. “The Soldiers I’ve led taught me what it was to be a good leader,” said the Alaska-stationed Soldier.
The Warrior Challenge is a USARPAC competition designed to find the best Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) and Soldier (junior enlisted) in the Pacific. Soldiers travel to Hawaii from Korea, Japan and Alaska to vie for the coveted title of best in the Pacific. The competition consists of scored events to include a written examination, an appearance in front of a command sergeants major board, M4 carbine qualification, pre-combat inspections, a physical fitness test, day and night land navigation, Army Combatives and a variety of demanding warrior tasks. At the end of the competition, points are tallied and the highest scoring NCO and Soldier are chosen as NCO and Soldier of the Year for USARPAC.
“A great deal of honor comes with being named the best Soldier in the Pacific” said Boyd about his selection as the best junior enlisted Soldier in the Pacific. “It is a great opportunity to go on and compete at the Department of Army level,” said the Hawaii-based Boyd.
The two winning Soldiers will move on to a Department of the Army competition held in October to determine the Army-wide NCO and Soldier of the Year winners. USARPAC competition planners looked closely at the Department of the Army contest to best prepare their contenders for the next level of competition.
“This competition is about being more than just a good Soldier in your job,” said White. “It’s about being a well-rounded and mastering the tasks it takes to be a complete Soldier and being resilient,” White added. Staff Sgt. White has been in the Army for seven years. He is currently working on his Bachelor’s degree from American University and plans to make the Army a career and retire as a Command Sergeant Major.
“I want to bring this training that I received at the competition back to my unit,” said Boyd of the competition. “I want to use what I learned to help others be great well-rounded Soldiers,” Boyd added. Specialist Boyd has already attended the University of California, San Diego where he graduated in 2008 with a dual Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History. In 2010, he earned a Master’s degree in War Studies at King’s College London He has been in the Army for almost three years and wants to complete his Chinese-Mandarin Bachelor’s degree and attend Air Assault School while reaching his primary goal of becoming an NCO in the U.S. Army. “I wouldn’t mind coming back to the competition to compete as an NCO once I earn that rank,” said Boyd. “But I think I would prefer to be a trainer that gets young Soldiers ready for the rigors of this competition,” Boyd added.
Submitted by USARPAC Media Relations