I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.

I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy, the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier. (excerpt from Soldier’s Creed)

It takes grit, endurance and a willingness to learn.

After three grueling days of mentally and physically challenging competition with some of the best of Oklahoma’s Army National Guard soldiers, Chase Foley emerged as Soldier of the Year at the 2021 Best Warrior competition.

The son of Tracy and Ronna Foley and a 2018 Kingfisher High School graduate, Foley enlisted in the Army National Guard in the summer of 2019 and completed basic training in June 2020.

After taking a semester off from Oklahoma State University for basic training, Foley returned to Stillwater in pursuit of a degree in applied sociology with an emphasis on law, crime and social justice.

Oklahoma National Guard recruits attend drills one weekend a month as well as a two-week training annually, Foley said.

It was at one of those drills of the 179th Infantry Regiment where Foley and members of his battalion were tested on their military knowledge, drill presentation and performance of an eight-mile rucksack march. (A rucksack contains gear weighing 35-60 pounds).

Having performed at the top of his unit, Foley was selected to represent his battalion at the 2021 Best Warrior competition held at Camp Gruber over a three-day period in March.

At the annual competition, soldiers perform a multitude of tasks which test their physical and mental capabilities under stressful conditions. There are two divisions - soldier and noncommissioned officer (NCO) - with one individual in each division awarded the top honor.

Each day started from 3 to 5 a.m. and presented different challenges.

The first day, Foley said, was a timed test of marksmanship using only iron sights (no scopes) on their military rifles at different distances and targets.

Next, land navigation exercises were performed, one during the day and the other at night. The soldiers were given only minimal tools to find certain points over a large terrain in a two-hour timeframe, he said.

“It took me an hour and 15 minutes during the day and I ran most of the time,” Foley said.

“During the nighttime exercise, we had a red lens flashlight…no night vision and one of the points was over two miles away, but I got second place.”

Day two consisted of physical fitness tests of push-ups, sit-ups and a two-mile run, followed by an obstacle course, Foley said.

“It was pretty tough, but not too bad,” he said.

One of the hardest tasks, he said, was the 40-foot Jacob’s ladder where his foot got caught and he almost fell.

“It was definitely nerve wracking,” he added.

The next exercise consisted of different Army warrior tasks, such as identifying points on an aerial map, clearing a weapon malfunction, evaluating casualties, field reports of the enemy, as well as other assignments.

In the evening the soldiers appeared before a formal board of commanding officers, where they were evaluated on their movements and stance, recitation of the Army song and soldier’s creed as well as a series of personal questions and others testing their military knowledge.

The final day tested their strength and endurance with a 12-mile ruck march. With a 37-pound rucksack, drinking water, full kit, load-bearing vest, helmet and M4 rifle, Foley said they had a maximum of three hours to complete the march.

“I took the lead, along with one other guy, and basically sprinted or jogged the entire way,” he said.

At one point when Foley was 30-45 minutes ahead of the group, he said, he took a wrong turn which added another one-and-a-half to two miles, but he still finished first with about five minutes to spare.

“The entire competition was points based and I wasn’t sure how I was doing,” he said.

Apparently it was pretty good – he was awarded Oklahoma National Guard Soldier of the Year.

His next challenge is to compete in May at the regional competition held in Camp Swift, Texas, against other Soldier of the Year candidates in surrounding states.

While he prepares for the next competition, he is also taking 18 hours of classes at OSU, preparing for final exams and working at the Atherton Hotel.

Although he stays pretty busy, Foley said he enjoys what he is doing.

“It is a lot of work, but also a lot of fun,” he said.

Having already gained a lot of knowledge and experience in the National Guard, Foley said a lot of what you learn is through trial and error.

“You have to apply common sense and if you don’t know how to do something, you learn and work on getting good at it,” he said.

As an example, Foley said he had never climbed a rope, but as he practiced he learned how and got much better at it.

“We are expected to learn and perform to the best of our abilities,” he added.

Foley will graduate from OSU in December and his plan for the future is to have a career in the National Guard as a helicopter pilot if he is accepted in the warrant officer flight training program.

“My goal is fly helicopters in the Army National Guard and eventually for the FBI or DEA,” he said.