Post NCO/SoY compete for USAAC top honors                  Chris Rasmussen          Leader Staff

Spc. Janelle Fontela may not stand as tall, or weigh nearly as much as her male competitors, but the flutist with the 282nd Army “Victory” Band proved she has just as much heart. The only female competitor in the 2008 Accessions Command NCO/Soldier of the Year, and Fort Jackson’s Soldier of the Year, was runner-up following the three-day event that ended May 8 at Fort Jackson. “If I put my mind to something and set goals, I never quit,” Fontela said. “This was a tough competition. The hardest part was just keeping up a high level of endurance. Everything was one thing after another.” The competition began with a 50-question exam and was followed by rifle qualification at Range 19. After just enough time to eat an MRE, the five Soldiers and seven NCOs embarked on a land navigation course with warrior task testing sites along the way. The day was capped off with night land navigation. Competitors started early the next morning with an Army Physical Fitness Test before dressing in their Class A uniforms for an appearance before a board of command sergeants major and grilled on their Army knowledge. As runner-up, Fontela will compete in the Training and Doctrine Command competition in June in the event the winner Spc. Daniel Horner, Army Marksmanship Unit, Fort Benning, Ga., is injured and unable to compete.“Representing my unit, brigade and Fort Jackson gave me the drive to do the best I could,” Fontela said.  Staff Sgt. Brian Winters, a chaplains assistant with 120th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception) competed in the NCO portion of the competition, but the winner was Sgt. 1st Class Brian Eisch, Cadet Command. “It would have been great to win but I feel good about myself because I stuck it out,” Winters said. “Regardless of the results, you feel better about yourself when you stick through something.” Both competitors agreed that the land navigation/warrior task testing was the most challenging event. “The hot weather was definitely a factor and we had all of our gear on,” Fontela said. Warrior tasks included clearing buildings, combatives, deploying a Claymore mine and performing a fireman carry on a wounded Soldier. “The culmination of land nav and having a PT test the next morning was pretty tough,” Winters said.