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Fort Myer, Va. — Utah National Guard Sgt. Guy Mellor said growing up in a small town where his dad taught him to work on a farm taught him the work ethic that is the foundation to his winning the Army's Best Warrior Competition.
The Fayette, Sanpete County, native is a member of the 145th Field Artillery Battalion's B Battery in Manti and win's the Armywide competition after winning the National Guard Soldier of the Year competition in 2009.
Both competitions test a soldier's physical abilities, training skills and decision-making skills — including the ability to function after experiencing extreme fatigue and a lack of sleep. Mellor said he has spent about a year training for the Best Warrior Competition, and has competed in it once before.
For Mellor, the experiences of the competitions have been priceless. "The self development, the self improvement … (soldiers) take that experience back to their units, and they all become better soldiers."
Mellor said being named "best warrior" doesn't mean he believes he's the Army's best soldier. "It's hard to say that. I would say the best soldiers are the ones who are overseas." The sergeant has not deployed yet, and will spend the next year representing the Army in special functions because of his best-warrior status.
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