For James Luby, training meant a few nights off. As Staff Sgt. Luby was preparing for one of the U.S. Army’s most grueling tests, his wife Angela took care of the couple’s first child, Marybet - just three weeks old at the time.
“I let [James] sleep at night those first two weeks,” said Angela Luby. “I had my mom here, so that was okay. But during the day, he was on diaper duty, definitely.”
Luby, a squad leader in the 3rd U.S. Infantry, the Old Guard stationed at Fort Myer, took top honors in the Soldier of the Year/Noncommissioned Officer of the Year competition two weeks ago. It’s the second year in a row an Old Guard NCO won the honor.
“I think it says a lot about the caliber of the soldiers in this unit,” said Sgt. 1st Class Jeffery Stitzel, who won the award in 2002, the contest’s inaugural year. This year’s Soldier of the Year, 24-year-old Spc. Russell Burnham, is a medic currently stationed at For Lewis, Wash. But he, too, will soon be stationed at Fort Myer.
The annual Soldier of the Year/NCO of the Year competition tests soldiers’ and sergeants’ mental and physical abilities and recognizes the top finishers selected from commands all over the nation and the world.
Beginning three days of tests at Fort Lee in Richmond, on Sept. 14 competitors completed the Army Physical Fitness Test, consisting of push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run. They also managed the mental and physical challenge of day and night land navigation courses, and tested their accuracy with M-16 rifles before writing graded essays on topics ranging from force protection strategies to what it means to be a leader.
“It’s a conglomerate of your mental and your physical abilities,” said Luby. “And that’s how it should be.”
After those events, the competition moved to Arlington, where the 24 participants faced selection boards who evaluated the competitors’ appearance, military knowledge and bearing.
VICTORY BROUGHT a whirlwind of activity for Luby and Burnham. Last week they shuttled back and forth between the D.C.-area and New York, where they appeared on several national television and radio programs.
“This is my first time in New York,” said Burnham in a telephone interview between shows. “It’s an experience, not just a trip.”
Just getting into the competition was an honor, said Burnham. One of a few medics in an infantry battalion, Burnham was indispensable for a while — he was denied the first three times he asked to enter. “I had to beg and plead and claw,” he said. “The fourth time, I was told I could go, and I never looked back. I feel honored because now I get to represent all those people that are in harm’s way.”
Back home in Arlington, friends and family watched intently. “I felt more happy that [Luby] won than when I won,” said Stitzel. “I’m so proud of him. I take no credit. It was him, he did it all.”
After the trip to New York, the two winners came back to the District to meet with various dignitaries, including Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers.
Later both Luby and Burnham will represent the Army at various sporting events, and in December they will accompany a USO tour of Iraq and Afghanistan.
But it was the television appearance that brought experiences that the two military men never thought they would have. “I had to go to the makeup room and get makeup put on. That was funky. That was unreal,” said Luby.
TV AND RADIO HELP fulfill the real mission for the two award-winners—representing the armed forces. “To me, I’m representing all those NCOs over there in Iraq, who couldn’t compete,” said Luby.
Representing those soldiers on duty overseas meant that victory in the competition proved humbling as well as an honor, said Stitzel, as he recalled winning last year. “By no means did I think I was the best NCO in the Army,” he said. “I was the best NCO in that competition.”
“Everywhere we go, people stop and tell us ‘Thank you’ for what we do,” said Burnham. “Regardless of what anybody feels politically on whether we should or shouldn’t be there, all they do is thank me for what we do.”
Burnham’s brigade is now training for deployment to the Middle East. The experience of being Soldier of the Year will take on new meaning if and when he is called overseas, he said. “It always helps me to know that when I go to war, I’m not being forgotten about back home.”