U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Warrior Competition

U.S. Army units from across Europe converge to compete for the title of Best Warrior. The week-long event tests Soldier skills, endurance, fortitude and resourcefulness as well as intellectual and problem-solving capabilities. Officers, noncommissioned officers and junior enlisted Soldiers compete in separate categories and are evaluated on general military knowledge, physical fitness and common military tasks.

While some of the competition tasks are standard such as the Army Physical Fitness Test, written test, marksmanship, ruck march, land navigation and command sergeants major board; some of the challenges such as chemical defense and medical tasks - added to the stress of fitting everything into a few short days - makes the competition extra tough.

Winners in the NCO and junior enlisted categories will advance to represent U.S. Army Europe and Africa at the Army Best Warrior Competition at Fort Lee, Virginia.

For more imagery, videos and news visit our DVIDS feature page at: U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Warrior Competition

The Competitors

2021 U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Warrior Competitors.

EBWC - Imagery

EBWC Videos

Video by Steven Stover

AvengerCon VII: Joint Services Talent Recruitment

780th Military Intelligence Brigade (Cyber)

Jan. 4, 2023 | 29:32

Part of the AvengerCon VII presentations cleared for public release:

Presented by 2LT Brandon Cea and 2LT Gabriel Menchaca.

This research seeks to identify emerging trends, pinpoint challenges, and gain data-driven insights into the forces shaping the technical talent pipeline of national defense in the United States. Our research focused on the United States Army, which has one of the country's largest concentrations of engineers and technicians. The rapid advance of Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning, Quantum Computing, and Hypersonic Weapons has disrupted traditional approaches to national defense and policy. It is dramatically reshaping the technical talent landscape. Simultaneously, generational transition and foreign entities are forcing significant cultural changes. Individuals and organizations must hone 21st-century skill sets to dominate the modern battlespace. The technical talent pipeline is failing to provide sufficient quantities of leaders and calls for a stepping up of technical reskilling. In terms of stepping up to meet the foreign and domestic challenges of the 21st century, four themes have emerged: 1. Individuals must comprehend the current state of global competition and understand their individual and group responsibilities within that space. 2. Teams must be specialized while retaining the flexibility to create 'good enough' outcomes in multiple domains. 3. Companies must be incentivized through a call to action to take calculated risks and be on the creative bleeding edge of building and training this '21st-century skillset'. 4. The need for accelerated education development reform must manifest itself in giving younger generations more opportunities to contribute to the United States. An empirical investigation focused on the United States Army was conducted with the support of national industry, educational institutions, and government agencies. Three critical segments of national defense were interviewed relative to the talent pipeline: 1) participants, 2) builders, and 3) influencers. Based on responses to a series of questions using the DOTMLPF-P framework, this research presents an overview of some proofs-of-concept that could contribute to building out the generational technical talent pipeline if adequately scaled. Our research also explored individual motives and behavioral styles. These findings provide valuable insights into what educators, industry, and policymakers should address to upgrade the technical talent pipeline in the age of disruptive technologies to protect and ensure the United States' global leadership position.

Boiler:

AvengerCon is a free security event hosted every fall by Maryland Innovation and Security Institute to benefit the hackers of the U.S. Cyber Command community and the U.S. Army 780th Military Intelligence Brigade. The event is open to all service members and employees of U.S. Cyber Command and Department of Defense personnel supporting cyberspace missions. AvengerCon features presentations, hacker villages, training workshops, and much more.

The event is open to all service members and employees of U.S. Cyber Command and Department of Defense, and related partners supporting cyberspace missions.

The views expressed are those of the presenter, and do not reflect the official position of the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade, U.S. Cyber Command, the Department of the Army, or Department of Defense.