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High Desert Warrior June 1, 2018
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IMCOM Soldier advances to final level of Best Warrior Competition
By Ms. Brittany Nelson
(iMCOM)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Spc. Bryce Falgiani is the Soldier category winner of the 2018 Joint Base San Antonio Best Warrior Competition.
Falgiani will head to Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, this October, where he will test his mettle against the toughest Soldiers [E-4 and below] in the U.S. Army while representing the U.S. Army Installation Management Command.
At the JBSA level, he and his peers competed in a series of events over six days, including a 19 mile ruck, stress shooting, building a Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System [SINGARS] from scratch, and a reconnaissance mission to name a few. Fifteen Soldiers and NCOs attempted the grueling tasks.
Falgiani attributes this win to his military training and the honor of facing increasingly tougher competitors in the preliminary rounds of Best Warrior Competition.
“It’s the small things that have helped me, like learning how to pack a ruck the right way, it makes all the difference. If you put all the weight at the bottom that will mess up your back bad and you won’t make it far,” he said.
“This was a really hard competition that we just did and it says a ton about his character, because not everybody stayed in the competi- tion. He had to gut out a lot of really difficult tasks and he wouldn’t quit,” IMCOM Head Quarters’ Command Sergeant Major, Melissa Judkins, said. “He just kept going, exceling and exceeding, it tells you a lot about the individual.”
The name Best Warrior implies the physi- cal rigor associated with the challenges of the competition, but the rugged professional says the key to success is staying mentally tough when fatigue hits.
Lt. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, the commanding general of IMCOM, knows Soldiers do not avoid arduous circumstances, they thrive in them.
Photo Credit: Ms. Brittany Nelson (IMCOM)
Maj. Gen. John F. King, commander of U.S. Army North’s Task Force-51, pins the Army Commendation Medal onto Spc. Bryce Falgiani’s uniform. Falgiani won the Soldier category in the most recent Best Warrior Competition. He will be moving onto the final round at Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia in October 2018.
brought me in here. So, what started as working out one day a week turned into six days a week.”
Class instructor at Davidson Fitness Center, Ina Keazer De Aponte, understands the importance of the Strong B.A.N.D.S program.
“It is important to take care of our body, and the older you get, the better your eating habits need to be,” she said. “You need to be working out. Our body is like our house, so we need to take care of our house regardless of how old we are.”
Keazer De Aponte, an instructor for four years, taught the ripped class during Strong Weekend. The class consist of cardio, weight training and martial arts.
Strong B.A.N.D.S is also an opportunity to learn about nutrition, an important part of caring for our bodies.
Fort Campbell, in Kentucky, held a Fueling for Health class at the garrison’s Army Wellness Center. The Army Wellness Cen- ter has aided patrons including Army spouse Leah Hernandez.
“I think everybody should go through a nutrition class. Hav- ing the education on what you’re supposed to eat changes what it is you do eat,” Hernandez said. “It gives you a good sense of what you should be eating and what you shouldn’t.”
Hernandez has lost 20 pounds since utilizing services at the wellness center. She discovered a routine workout schedule is not enough to help with weight loss.
From STRONG, Page 10 “I used some of the different assessments at the center and as
it turned out, I wasn’t eating enough calories,” said Hernandez With the use of the center’s metabolic testing and nutrition and dietary information from the Fueling for Health class, Hernandez increased her calorie intake to 1,900 calories a day
and began to lose weight.
This year’s fitness movement educated and inspired many
patrons nationwide at garrisons. The participation grew by 40 percent compared to last year. Strong B.A.N.D.S will continue to spread fun fitness and health awareness next year.
Editor’s note: Marti Yoshida, Maria Yager and Angie Thorne contributed to this story.
“You really have to have a mentality that you aregoingtomakeittotheendanditisonlya couple of days. If you don’t have that mentality and you keep thinking ‘this will never end’ then you won’t make it,” Falgiani said.
The proud Soldier said wearing the IMCOM patch at the Department of Army competition will be an honor.
“It means a lot to represent IMCOM at the final level, because we did not have an IMCOM Soldier win at this level last year or the year
prior. It is nice that I can be the one to break that cycle, go forward and represent IMCOM,” Falgiani said.
As a Military Policeman at U.S. Army Gar- rison West Point, Falgiani has the confidence of IMCOM-Training, a Directorate of IMCOM which supports the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
“IMCOM is well-represented by Spc. Falgiani, whose performance was driven and inspired by all competitors,” Vincent Grewatz,
Director of IMCOM-Training, said.
Falgiani was awarded an Army Commenda-
tion Medal for his achievement.
“We had a really hard competition at the
IMCOM directorate level, the IMCOM level and this level. We are so excited, to have him win and go forward, it is phenomenal and exciting,” Judkins said.
Judkins went on to say the MP’s effort is the epitome of the rugged professionals IMCOM supports every day.
For more information go to www.irwin.army.mil