Spartan Brigade Infantryman is USARPAC’s ‘Best Warrior’ NCO

  • Published
  • By Army Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Smith
  • 4/25 IBCT (ABN) Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  The Army's Best Warrior Noncommissioned Officer in the Pacific Command lives and works in Alaska.

Army Staff Sgt. De Gosh Reed, an infantryman team leader with the 1st Squadron (Airborne), 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, won best noncommissioned officer at the U.S. Army Pacific's 2013 Best Warrior Competition hosted June 10 to 14 at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

The competition tests competitors in several Soldier skill categories. The five-day event included a pre-combat inspection, a media Interview, an Army Physical Fitness Test, a written exam and essay, a command sergeants' major board, an M-16 zero and qualification, Warrior Task Testing, a mystery event, which was an Army body-fat tape test, a land navigation course, an urban orienteering course, and a combatives tournament.

Reed had the highest cumulative score, and bested eight other division-level NCOs from across USARPAC.

Reed, a former drill sergeant and mechanized leader's course instructor, said he did not have a lot of time to prepare for the competition, but his experience in the Army helped him win.

"It's not about specializing in any one thing. You have to be good across the board," Reed said. "Every major Soldier skill, you have to be proficient at. If you don't have proficiency, you're not going to be able to compete.

"The mystery event we did was like, 'Alright, now perform a tape test. Here's the book. Here's the form. You have 15 minutes. Do you understand your task? Okay, ready, go!', and there is no one to help you, so you have to know how to do that."

Reed does, however, have support from the home front.

Reed's wife, Jennifer, was really happy and proud of his achievement, she said. She flew to Hawaii to be there for him and to celebrate at the Army Commemoration Ball where he was honored as the NCO of the Year. While in Hawaii, the couple took advantage of the state's unique leisure opportunities.

"We went swimming with sharks," she said. "We went parasailing. We did a Sunlight Dinner Cruise. We went snorkeling with turtles. We went swimming with dolphins. We did everything you could think of. We tried to do it all."

As for the competition, Reed said the victory came as a total surprise to him and Jennifer. He said he kept a confident air about him, telling everyone he thought he won, but he truly didn't know until the final announcement on stage in front of about 800 people at the Army Commemoration Celebration.

Reed said he swore he heard another name called as the winner.

"When they call your name you're supposed to step forward and move to center stage. It took me a good half of a second to realize they had just said my name," Reed said as he laughingly recalled the moment.

The 1-40th Cavalry's command sergeant major, Command Sergeant Maj. Shane Pospisil, said Reed is a seasoned NCO, a quiet professional and a family man.
"When we were looking for volunteers, he quietly came up and said, 'Hey I would be interested in doing this,' and at first we were surprised because he has never been a showboat type of guy, and we were concerned because of the short notice," Pospisil said. "But I tell you, he was obviously a lot more prepared than we gave him credit for. He did excellent, both here at USARAK at [Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson], and then went forward to USARPAC in Hawaii and just crushed it."

It was a good year for USARAK Soldiers. Reed, along with Spc. Adam Christensen, with the 472nd Military Police Company, 793rd Military Police Battalion, 2nd Engineer Brigade, combined to win NCO and Soldier of the Year honors in the USARPAC competition.

The USARAK and USARPAC competitions were not the only times Reed had been recognized for his outstanding work. As a drill sergeant, Reed was twice selected as the drill sergeant of the cycle.

Continuing to better himself as a Soldier, a goal for Reed is to become a member of the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club. He will continue to test himself this October when he and Christensen travel to Fort Lee, Va., to represent USARPAC and compete for Best NCO and Soldier in the U.S. Army.