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 Scott Sturkol

CWOC class 22-05 student completes cold-water immersion training at Fort McCoy, Part V

Fort McCoy Public Affairs Office

March 12, 2022 | 0:22

This short clip shows a service member, a student in the Cold-Weather Operations Course class 22-05, participating in cold-water immersion training March 7, 2022, at Fort McCoy, Wis. The training is part of the curriculum for CWOC. A large hole is cut in the ice at the lake by CWOC staff, then a safe and planned regimen is followed to allow each participant to jump into the icy water. Emergency-response personnel are also nearby in case they’re needed. As each student took the plunge into the icy-cold water, making sure they also went under water, their reaction was immediate. CWOC students are trained on a variety of cold-weather subjects, including snowshoe training and skiing as well as how to use ahkio sleds and other gear. Training also focuses on terrain and weather analysis, risk management, cold-weather clothing, developing winter fighting positions in the field, camouflage and concealment, and numerous other areas that are important to know in order to survive and operate in a cold-weather environment. (Video by Scott T. Sturkol, Public Affairs Office, Fort McCoy, Wis.)