WEBVTT

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(men yelling)

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- [Fred] In the heat of the North Carolina summer,

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40 soldiers and noncommissioned officers

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compete in the 2017 Army Reserve Best Warrior Competition.

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While these warriors will go through the competition

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relying on their own strength and skill,

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for Private First Class Scott Smullen,

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his achievements will be in part to his leadership

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pushing him to rise above the rest.

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- The old saying, it takes a village to raise a child,

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comes to mind.

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Everybody from the 325th of my battalion

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have been great and super supportive,

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whether it's getting me time on the range,

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getting me running through sticks lanes,

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getting me some medical experience,

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getting me to CLS classes,

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getting me combative certified.

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Things like that and that certainly takes

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a lot of man hours, a lot of time, a lot of effort.

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And that's why I love competitions like this

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'cause we're all about readiness in the Army Reserves.

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And being able to train

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as much as we do for things like this,

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and being able to participate in things like this,

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and train, it certainly makes you more ready

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to carry out your mission.

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- [Fred] When not competing to be the best,

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he is a full-time student

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at the Stevens Institute of Technology,

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and is on the road

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to receive his Bachelor's in Civil Engineering.

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While all the competitors are at the top of their game,

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PFC Smullen feels his willingness to learn and determination

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is what sets him apart from the pack.

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- When you're coming from the civilian sector,

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everybody's bringin' different things to to the table.

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I feel like it's the exact same thing

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when you come to a competition like this.

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You kinda get this convergence of knowledge,

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and this convergence of experience,

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and it's great to pick up what you can from that,

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and kinda learn from everybody that's around you

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and have this great team environment,

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where it's everybody against the competition.

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It feels like not everybody not against one another.

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- [Fred] Reporting from Fort Bragg,

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I'm Army Sergeant Fred Brown.