Wood to represent Missouri Guard at national Best Warrior Competition

Missouri National Guard Sgt. Brian Wood, top, fights for control of an Army combatives match with Staff Sgt. Cody Fields during a training session at Fort Leonard Wood. Wood spent a week training on post in preparation for the National Guard Best Warrior Competition Aug. 5-8 at Fort Benning, Ga. (Photo by Matthew J. Wilson)

By Matthew J. Wilson
Ngmo.pao@US.ARMY.MIL

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. - The Missouri National Guard will be represented Aug. 5-8 at the National Guard Best Warrior Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., by somewhat of a surprise contender. Well, at least he was surprised by his success.

"This has been a big honor for me - I definitely didn't expect to make it this far," said Sgt. Brian Wood, who will be competing in the best Soldier portion of the contest.

Wood, who lives in El Dorado Springs, wasn't supposed to get a shot at the national competition after taking second in Missouri in the Soldier portion of the Best Warrior Competition - a contest designed to physically and mentally challenge Guardsmen through a series of common Soldier tasks. But because the state winner was unable to attend the Best Warrior Competition regional in late April at Salina, Kan., Wood took his place.

Not content with just being there, Wood, who at age 39 had been recently promoted to sergeant, rose to the challenged and trumped the competition from Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to win the Region V title. Winning the region allowed Wood to advance to the national competition and taught him much about himself.

"I learned that if I'm in a competition, I can push myself harder than I probably thought I could before," he said. "I was hoping going into the regional that I could finish in the top three - I just figured physically, some of the younger guys would be much farther ahead of me and I'd have a hard time keeping up. But I proved I could at least stay in there with them.

"I also learned that I can stay calm in pressure situations," Wood said.

Although he won the essay-writing portion of the region competition, consistency in the other events is was what Wood called the key to his victory.

"I think slow and steady wins the race," he said. "There was no area I really excelled at - I was pretty flat all the way across."

Wood, who has been in the Guard for almost three years, hopes his approach can carry him through one more time.

"I want to win the national competition - that's my goal," he said. "I'm going to give 110 percent on everything and will probably need a little bit of luck."

Before he leaves Aug. 2 for the competition, Wood, who serves as an AH-64 Apache helicopter crew chief with Company C, 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion at White Air Force Base, has spent two weeks preparing for the competition. Wood trained the first week at Camp Clark near Nevada, and spent the second week at Fort Leonard Wood.

At Clark, Wood practiced improvised explosive device identification; reacting to direct and indirect enemy fire; reacting to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or high-yield explosive threat and first aid. At Fort Leonard Wood, he has trained in physical fitness, Army combatives, and media relations. He's also completed a mock Soldier board, where he is interviewed on anything from Army history to current events by three command sergeants major.

"I think my board should be a pretty strong event, just because I've been studying a lot," Wood said. "It's pretty tough when they can ask you just about anything. You have a lot to remember."

In his civilian job, Wood works for the Missouri Department of Transportation as a maintenance supervisor in El Dorado Springs.

Wood is supported in his military career by his wife, Kristin, and their four boys, Hunter, 17, Haden, 15, Logan, 14, and Conner, 10.