1st Lt. Scott Ratzer, executive officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, uses a Broco torch to cut a rebar during the 4th Inf. Div. Best Sapper Competition held Dec. 14-15, 2016. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)
Staff Sgt. Antonio Hatcher, squad leader, 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, assesses Capt. Ryan O’Connor, commander, 62nd Sapper Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, and 1st Lt. Scott Ratzer, executive officer, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Eng. Bn., prepare a poncho raft during the 4th Inf. Div. Best Sapper Competition, Dec. 14-15, 2016. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)
By Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell
4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office
Fourteen Army engineers from the Mountain Post competed in a grueling competition Dec. 14-15, 2016, to determine which two-man teams would represent Fort Carson in the annual U.S. Army Best Sapper Competition at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in April 2017.
“The selection competition is used to ensure that the 4th Infantry Division sends the best qualified teams,” said Capt. Timothy A. Sybert, engineer officer, 4th Inf. Div.
Sgt. Cairo Prisco and 1st Lt. Daniel Butensky, Company A, 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conduct a poncho raft swim during the 4th Inf. Div. Best Sapper Competition, Dec. 14-15, 2016. The teams swam laps for 10-minutes while attached to 50-pound rucks sacks and M16 A2 rifles. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)
The 36-hour competition consisted of 11 events which tested mental and physical abilities and included a non-standard physical fitness test, drown proofing and poncho raft building, Talon tracked-wheel military robot and signal operations, knot tying, 15 1/2-mile ruck march, shooting tests, written exam, land navigation, demolitions and a 10-mile run.
“These are squad battle drills that we have to execute in wartime and we must be physically fit to accomplish our mission,” said Lt. Col. Carl Dick, commander, 4th Engineer Battalion. “This competition is very taxing and I think we have the right teams here to compete at the annual competition.”
Sgt. Cairo Prisco, Company A, 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, ties a required knot during the knot-tying event as part of the 4th Inf. Div. Best Sapper Competition, Dec. 14-15, 2016. At this station, each team member created seven knots within a two-minute window. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)
The teams selected were: Capt. Ryan O’Connor and 1st Lt. Scott Ratzer representing the 4th Eng. Bn.; Staff Sgt. Rodney Boemer, Sgt. Jonathan Wild, 1st Lt. Daniel Butensky and Sgt. Cairo Prisco representing the 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Inf. Div.
This will be Prisco’s second time competing in the annual competition.
“We (Prisco and former teammate) competed this April and placed 17th in the annual competition,” said Prisco. “So when 1st Lt. Butensky asked me if I wanted compete this year, I said of course. Soon after, we started preparing for the competition…we want to show that we are the best team to represent the division at the annual competition.”
The three two-man teams will represent Fort Carson and the 4th Inf. Div. during the six-day event in April 2017 as they compete against 47 other teams from across the Army and Marine Corps.
Engineers from across Fort Carson conduct a non-standard Army Physical Fitness Test during the 4th Infantry Division Best Sapper Competition held Dec. 14-15, 2016. The test included five minutes of pushups and situps, three minutes of pullups and a three-mile run wearing improved outer tactical vests. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)
Sgt. Cairo Prisco and 1st Lt. Daniel Butensky, Company A, 299th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conduct an urban building breech using a battering ram during the 4th Inf. Div. Best Sapper Competition, Dec. 14-15, 2016. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Diandra J. Harrell)