A group of soldiers stationed in Fort Hood, Texas recently competed for the title of “1st Cavalry Division Paralegal Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the Quarter.”
The 1st Cavalry Division Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Fort Hood has not held the competition in years, but decided that 2014 was a good year to revisit it and see who would come out on top.
The tasks that the members of the group of Army division paralegals were required to carry out as part of the competition included the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), a six-mile ruck march which had to be completed in under two hours, weapons qualification, a 500-word essay, a 25-question exam, an oral board and essay, and hands-on testing.
The NCO/Soldier of the Quarter award was specifically implemented for division paralegals as a way to provide soldiers with an opportunity to engage in friendly but spirited competition with one another with the objective of assessing their individual skills and ultimately designating one paralegal as the victor over the others.
The importance of competitions like this one, according to Sgt. Maj. Andria Robinson who is one of the event’s organizers, is to establish well-rounded soldiers through an emphasis on “professionalism, paralegal responsibilities, and technical and tactical proficiencies.”
First Team court reporter, and winner of the competition, Sgt. Crystal Taylor, said that the event was something that she and her comrades looked forward to because it was a great opportunity to compete and demonstrate individual skills and abilities before the NCO/Soldier of the Quarter Board. She says that competing before an official Army panel makes the soldiers even more competitive and brings out the best performances in everyone involved.
Although Taylor was the only one to walk away with the title, all of the paralegals and court reporters reveled in the “spirit of friendly competition.”
