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PROVO -- A soldier with the Utah National Guard has just returned from a difficult and grueling competition with National Guardsmen across the country to become Soldier of the Year.
Specialist Guy Mellor, of Battery B of the 145th Field Artillery of the Utah National Guard, is just 21 years old and has only been a Guardsman for about three years, but his physical strength and mental toughness took him to compete with other top Guardsmen and earn the top prize.
"It was awesome to see how everyone was fighting to win the competition, and it was great to see I was able to come up with a win," Mellor said.
At Fort Benning, Ga., Mellor was one of seven soldiers who competed for 48 hours straight, with just one and a half hours of sleep. It was a competition of endurance in areas such as marksmanship, obstacle courses, throwing grenades and physical strength. It also included a 12-mile march with full gear.
Even with a trophy and some incredible resume material, Mellor, who is from the small town of Fayette in central Utah, is still very modest about winning.
"To me, the price is just seeing what I was able to accomplish, honestly it's not to say I'm the best soldier in the National Guard, because it's not true. There's a lot of other soldiers that are great and better soldiers out there fighting and doing what they are supposed to," Mellor said.
Mellor is now training for his next competition, representing the National Guard against the top reservist and active Army soldiers. It will be held next month at Fort Lee, Va.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
*Photo credit: Spc. Guy Mellor (left), from Utah's B Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Field Artillery Regiment was named Soldier of the Year and Sgt. Ryan Brubaker (right), from Montana's B Company, 1st Battalion, 163rd Infantry Regiment, took honors as the Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. Command Sgt. Maj. Victor Angry (center) presented the awards at the 38th annual conference of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States in Rochester, Minn. (Photo courtesy of SPC Ashley R. Baum, 128th MPAD, Utah National Guard.)
