APRIL 1, 2022 – Warriors of the 32d Army Air and Missile Defense Command took on the challenge of the Blackjack Squad and Warrior Competition which ran from March 26 through March 31, at Fort Bliss’ McGregor Range.
Each year the Blackjack Squad and Warrior Competition brings together competitors representing the four brigades and over 10,000 Soldiers of the 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command to compete against each other in the spirit of friendly competition to decide who will represent 32d AAMDC at FORSCOM Best Warrior.
However, this year is different because the grading criteria is based on the performance of the squad element rather than competitors’ individual scores.
“I think teamwork is a big part of the competition because everyone specializes in different areas,” said 1st Lt. Chad Verdier, air defense artillery officer, 3-43 ADA Bn. “I have one person in my team who’s an armorer, so I know he’ll able to help us out when it comes to weapons related tasks and another who’s really squared away and always motivating us to perform to our full potential.”
With the new focus on squad-based events, the competition challenges the competitors’ warfighting capabilities as individuals and as teams working together toward a common goal.
“We changed the competition from last year because last year was more about the individual, the soldier and NCO of the year,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jerry Jacobitz, command sergeant major, 32d AAMDC. “This year we kept in line with the Sergeant Major of the Army’s initiative, which is really our initiative as noncommissioned officers, the ‘this is my squad’ initiative. Shifting from just focusing on the individual to the team is in line with where we’re going as an Army.”
Traditionally, events in the competition center on common soldiering tasks and skills like marksmanship, first aid, land navigation, physical fitness, CBRN familiarization, small team tactics and a board testing general military knowledge. However, this year while many of these events still require individuals to tackle the challenges alone, they are graded as team events.
“Without teamwork, there’s no way that we could’ve completed certain events like the 12-mile ruck march as easily as we did,” said Spc. Hunter Whaley, air and missile defense crewmember serving with Bravo Battery, 5-5 ADA. “I think I’ve got some strong competitors. I wouldn’t consider them weak by any means, and I think they’re a good challenge and they keep me motivated for sure.”
The winners of Blackjack Best Squad and Warrior Competition 2022 are: Officer of the Year- 1st Lt. Chad Verdier, air defense artillery officer, 3-43 ADA BN, Warrant of the Year- Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael Chitwood, air and missile defense tactician, 1-62 ADA, NCO of the Year- Staff Sgt. Nicholas Diaz, CBRN specialist, 32d AAMDC, Soldier of the Year- Spc. Michael Johnson, Nodal Network System Operator-Maintainer, 4-5 ADA and Career Counselor of the Year- Staff Sergeant Ciaira McCloud, career counselor, 108th ADA BDE.
The winning squad from 2022’s Blackjack Best Squad and Warrior Competition hails from 31st ADA Brigade and consists of Staff Sgt. Devon Denmark, air and missile defense crewmember, Sgt. Isabelle Sweeney, wheeled vehicle mechanic, Spc. Hunter Whaley, air and missile defense crewmember, Spc. Blake Williamson, air and missile defense crewmember, Pfc. Andrew Puente, avenger maintainer, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joe Le, air and missile defense systems tactician and 1st Lt. Otis Smith, fire control platoon leader.
Story by Sgt. Ian Vega-Cerezo
32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command