Written by ETV 10 Staff Writer
Sgt. Conlee Luke, a member of the Utah Army National Guard‘s 116th Engineer Company, 1457th Engineer Battalion, will be competing in the Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) category at the national level of the Army National Guard Best Warrior Competition.
Luke was named Utah’s NCO of the Year on March 9, 2013 at Camp Williams, Utah, following three days of day and night competition. After winning that competition, Luke had two weeks of individualized training to prepare him to represent Utah at the regional competition.
The Region VII Army Best Warrior Competition was held at Fort Carson, Colorado, April 5-7, 2013. The intense, three-day competition featured soldiers from Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. Each state or territory sent its very best representative to compete.
At the regional competition, Luke completed a number of tests including an obstacle course, physical fitness, a 6.5 mile road march with 85 lbs of gear and equipment, weapons expertise and shooting accuracy, land navigation, tactical communications, a graded media interview, written examination, review board in front of four sergeants major and a mission that involved problem solving, outdoor survival and a helicopter rescue.
Luke achieved the highest score in four of the events: obstacle course, road march, weapons accuracy and written examination. With his first-place overall finish, he now advances to the national competition that will be held in July in Little Rock, Arkansas. He will compete with seven other regional winners from throughout the United States.
Luke is a 2005 graduate of Emery High School and is a full-time student at Southern Utah University. He resides with his wife and son in Cedar City, Utah. He is the son of Eric and Janalee Luke, Ferron, and the grandson of Clyde and Doris Luke, Orangeville.
