New York Army National Guard Specialist Austin Manville, a Rochester resident, will compete to be the top enlisted Soldier in the entire 336,000-member Army National Guard in Nashville, Tennessee, in July.
Manville, a member of Charlie Troop of the 2nd Squadron, 101st Cavalry which is based at the Masen Avenue Armory in Buffalo, was the winner of the National Guard’s northeast region Best Warrior Competition held in East Lyme, Connecticut from May 9 through 13. Manville competed against junior enlisted Soldiers from the New England States and New Jersey.
He will now represent Region One at the national competition which begins on July 22 and runs through July 29. The winner there will compete against winners from the Active Army and the Army Reserve later this year.
The New York National Guard’s Best Warrior Competition was held from April 6 to 8 at the National Guard’s Camp Smith Training Site in the Hudson Valley near Peekskill. Manville represented the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, which is headquartered in Syracuse, but which has units located across New York.
The Best Warrior Competition tests a Soldier’s physical endurance, military knowledge, current events, and mental perseverance. Soldiers competed in the enlisted category and the non-commissioned officer category for sergeants and staff sergeants.
In 2021, New York Army National Guard Corporal Dakaotah Miller finished second in the Army National Guard’s national event.
During the grueling competition, Soldiers take the Army Combat Fitness Test, participate in a 12-mile timed march carrying a weapon and loaded pack, test their ability to navigate across country, demonstrate their proficiency in skills like emplacing a land mine, treating a wounded Soldier, or making a radio call. They also take part in a tactical stress shoot in which they move and engage target with their M-4 rifle.
Manville has served in the New York Army National Guard since 2018. He served as part of the New York National Guard response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His awards include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Armed Forces Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
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