Wednesday, Jun. 29, 2011

RTB Soldiers sweep CAC competition

Fort Benning’s top warriors turned in another stellar performance this month at the 2011 Combined Arms Center event. Spc. Blaise Corbin captured the Soldier of the Year title, while the NCO honor went to Staff Sgt. Raymond Santiago. Both are assigned to the Ranger Training Brigade’s 4th Ranger Training Battalion. The competition was held June 13-17 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.

Corbin and Santiago now advance to the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command stage, set for Aug. 13-18 at Fort Eustis, Va. At stake there are spots in the the Army’s Best Warrior Competition Oct. 2-8 on Fort Lee, Va.

“They both are outstanding Soldiers and Rangers, as are all the Rangers and leaders in the RTB,” said Ranger Training Brigade Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Smith. “They live the Ranger Creed every day by setting the example for others to follow, and they are quiet professionals who demonstrate their expertise with actions, not words.

“I am extremely proud that we at the RTB have won the CAC NCO and Soldier of the Year, and I think they have a great shot at getting to the Army board and winning it.”

At Fort Leavenworth, Santiago and Corbin competed against Soldiers from 10 installations, schools and support activities within CAC. They were put through physical and mental tests of their Army aptitude, warrior skills, fitness and ability to conduct battle drills relevant to today’s operating environment.

The Fort Benning Soldiers dominated the Army Physical Fitness Test and were the only two to break 300 — Santiago scored a 349 and Corbin came in at 344.

“It feels good to win when you work so hard and everything falls into place,” said Corbin, 20, of Columbus. “None of my competitors were nearly as prepared as I was. We just beat them at everything because we practiced harder and longer than everyone else. “We’ve got to go to the next level now, and stay focused. You can’t get complacent or forget everything you studied the last few months.”

At 4th RTB, Corbin serves on a unit that plays an opposition force in support of D Company’s Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Leadership Course.

“Me and the guys in my platoon, we dress up like the enemy, and we perform these skits,” he said. “The students are graded on whether or not they observe everything we do correctly.”

The CAC, NCO and Soldier of the Year contenders faced two selection boards comprised of six senior sergeants major from across the Army. They had to answer questions about field manuals, regulations, programs, weapons and other issues.

“That was like a two-hour-long panic attack waiting to happen,” said Corbin, who’s only been in the Army a year. “The board is always the most difficult thing for me. We can run all day and do all kinds of physical stuff, but trying to memorize things and spit it out without stuttering is tough.

“(But) we both did a really good job on the boards. We spent a lot of time training for them. We knew that was our weak point. It turned out to be a lot of nervousness for nothing.”

The whirlwind ride, however, didn’t stop for Corbin after the June 17 awards ceremony. The following day, he got married. “It’s all right, though. I’m a stress junkie,” he said.

Meanwhile, Santiago now has three major pieces of hardware in 2011. He won the Fort Benning NCO of the Year showdown in May. At the Best Ranger Competition a month earlier, he and teammate, Sgt. 1st Class Mason Riepe, took home the Leandri Award as the top orienteering team. The pair finished third overall out of 50 teams in the annual event.

Santiago, who joined the Army a decade ago, has spent the last two years as a Ranger School instructor. He’s made two deployments to Iraq.

A father of five, the staff sergeant credits his family for inspiring him to compete and pushing him to study for the selection boards. In between training, he also prepared for the pre-Combat Diver Qualification Course this year.