FORT PICKETT, Va. –
Soldiers assigned to the Virginia Army National Guard’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion and the Staunton-based 116th Mobile Brigade Combat Team took top honors at the 2026 VaARNG Best Warrior Competition, held March 11 - 15, 2026, at Fort Pickett, Virginia.
Staff Sgt. Frederick Newton, assigned to R&R, and Spc. Javan Cooper, assigned to the 116th, were named Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Year after five days of intense competition. Newton and Cooper advance to the Region II Best Warrior Competition, scheduled for May 2026 at Camp Dawson, West Virginia.
The winners were announced at a ceremony, where Maj. Gen. James W. Ring, the Adjutant General of Virginia, Brig. Gen. Charles Martin Jr. and Command Sgt. Maj. Timothy Hawley, the VaARNG command team, and Command Master Sgt. John Nye, the VNG Command Senior Enlisted Leader, all thanked the Soldiers for their efforts, and thanked the support staff from across the VNG and sponsors who helped make the competition possible.
“You represent the best of what the Virginia National Guard offers,” Ring said during the awards ceremony. “Every single one of you are rising above the best by the fact that you participated within this competition, the fact that you’re here. Thanks for showing you’re willing to compete. Thanks for stepping beyond and being not an average Soldier, but a Best Warrior.”
“You guys are awesome, holy cow,” said Nye. “I can’t say that enough. What a bunch of absolute warriors.”
“I’m very proud of all of you for pushing through,” said Hawley. “I’m looking forward to taking our winners up to Camp Dawson in May, we’ll be right there with you.”
The competitors, representing each of the VNG’s major subordinate commands, were tested physically and mentally during five days of challenges, beginning with an expert physical fitness challenge. The Soldiers also conducted appearance boards, a combat water survival test, a kayaking event and live-fire ranges on the first two days of the event. A valor run, a ruck march, an AT-4 range and land navigation challenged the group’s strength, stamina and Soldier skills, while a written exam tested their Army knowledge.
The competitors were also treated to a “mystery event,” an outing at the Ward Burton Wildlife Foundation’s outreach facility near Blacksone, Virginia. There, the Soldiers rotated between archery, pistol shooting, ax throwing and skeet shooting stations.
The event culminated with a catered breakfast, courtesy of the Virginia National Guard Enlisted Association.
Martin said all of the competitors should take pride in what they accomplished.
“You raised your hand, and that makes you a leader,” Martin said. “So take those leadership qualities back to your units. You learn something whether you walk away with an award or not. Great job, each one of you.”
Complicating some of the already-tough events were some extreme weather swings, with the hottest temps of the year to begin, followed by a storm which brought heavy rains during the kayak event and eventually snow during live-fire ranges. That storm was followed by below-freezing temperatures for some early morning events like the valor run.
“The weather wasn’t great, but the events were good,” said Cooper. “My favorite event was probably the obstacle course. It’s probably my brother’s favorite event as well.”
Cooper is the older brother of Sgt. Carter Cooper, who was Virginia’s Soldier of the Year in 2024, as well as the Region II champ and competitor at the national level. He coached his older brother through this year’s competition, sharing lessons learned from his run through the competition.
“The competition was great,” Cooper said. “My brother got to do it a couple of years back, and he’s been preparing me for it. It was exciting to get out there and do what he did. Being able to win was massive, especially since people had big expectations for me.”
“I’m very proud of him,” said his brother. “I joined scouts first, and I knew that was the place we progress in our careers. Our platoon has gone back to back to back, this is the third year in a row. He’s better than me in a lot of different ways - there’s certain things he can do I can’t.”
For Newton, the competition was a chance to do something different and challenge himself, something he hopes other Soldiers will commit to for next year’s competition.
“For me it’s a chance to do more hard things, and a chance to get out of the office,” said Newton, who is looking forward to competing at the regional level. “It’s a good opportunity to keep going. Sometimes you get humbled, sometimes you learn about yourself, just don’t quit driving.”
Cooper is also looking forward to representing his state at Camp Dawson.
“Being able to represent Virginia and my battalion is huge,” he said. “I can’t wait to make them proud and do my best out there.”
Sgt. Bryan Davies, assigned to the Norfolk-based 1st Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment, was the runner up for NCO of the Year. Spc. Soren Guilloteau placed second for Soldier of the Year.
This year’s competition featured significantly more competitors and different and more challenging events than in years past, something for which Hawley thanked the event’s support staff.
“It took a lot of people to pull this thing off. It wasn’t just the G3 - every single MSC had an event they ran to make us successful,” Hawley said.
“To the commanders who came out, the sergeants major, the first sergeants: it’s you guys who push these young Soldiers to us to run through this competition, and what a competition it was,” Nye said. “Thank you for picking the best and sending them our way, and letting these guys compete. It was an awesome week.”