Forward deployed unit takes on Cobra Challenge

Published Oct. 24, 2013
By 1st Lt. Jose Torres
1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillary Unit Movement Officer

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, recently participated in a Best Cobra Competition, a grueling four-day competition hosted by Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1-43 ADA at Isa Air Base, Bahrain. The 1-43 ADA is known throughout the Central Command Area or Responsibility as Task Force Cobra, and falls under the command of the 31st ADA Brigade here.

Each unit within Task Force Cobra was represented by a team consisting of one officer, one NCO, and one soldier. The primary focus of the competition was to challenge the teams' physical fitness and mental fortitude in a series of head-to-head challenges, determining who would take the title of "Best Cobra Warrior."

Competitors faced mental and physical tasks including ruck marching, urban orientation, litter carries, combat life saving techniques, weapons assembly and various warrior tasks and drills. Teams were then placed before a board of senior officers and NCO's, to include the task force battalion executive officer, the battalion operations officer, the command sergeant major, the operations sergeant major and the battery commanders first sergeants, who asked a series of questions to test the competitors military knowledge and its application in various situations. These events, combined with physical training sessions and little time for rest, pushed participants to their very limits.

The competition began with all teams setting up their tents in one unified effort; this event was timed and was the last time teams worked together throughout this competition.

On the first day competitors executed an Army physical fitness test while wearing their Army Combat Uniform. Following the APFT, the competitors conducted Warrior Task Training. Under extreme adverse physical conditions, Soldiers simultaneously executed 10 to 40 level tasks competing against both the other teams and the clock. Upon completion of the WTT events, Soldiers competed in the litter carrying race challenging each team to carry the average of their total team weight for a distance of five kilometers, all the while racing the other teams.

As night approached, teams were given a Defense Advanced Global Positioning System Receiver with 11 points to navigate to around the base.

The next two days focused on events such as the "King Cobra" and the "Snake Bite Sprint." These events focused on high stamina and cardiovascular fitness but also demonstrated and exercised the abilities of Soldiers to think outside of the box in order to accomplish tasks as a cohesive team.

The final day of the competition began with a 10-mile ruck-march, with each participant carrying 30 pounds. The ruck-march was unique in the fact that competitors were tied together at all times with a single piece of 550 cord. This event forced teams to coordinate every grueling step along 10 miles, a feat which truly demonstrated every team's tenacity and desire to win.

The culminating event of the Best Cobra Competition was the Best Cobra Board. This board wasn't the standard Army board; it was unique, as it tested soldiers, NCOs and officers alike. The board not only tested general military knowledge but challenged each competitor with real life scenarios, where decisions and leadership played vital roles in the actions they would take.

Taking home the title of "Best Cobra" was Warrant Officer Christopher Shackelford and the defending champions from the previous Best Cobra Competition, Sgt. Valeria Romero and Pfc. Demetrio Cervantes, from "Team Hyperion."