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Best Sapper registration starts Saturday

Registration for the Army’s Fifth Annual Best Sapper Competition at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., begins Saturday for soldiers serving in the 21-series career field or for any soldier, sailor, Marine or airman who wears a Sapper tab.

The competition, sponsored by the U.S. Army Engineer School’s Sapper Leader Course and held in the rugged Ozark Mountains at Fort Leonard Wood, is scheduled for April 20-22, according to an Army press release.

Organized into two-man buddy teams, the competition’s concept is to not only determine the next “Best Sapper” team, but to challenge and test a service member’s knowledge, physical prowess and mental fortitude.

Last year, 30 teams registered for the competition — more than twice the number from the year before, the release said.

Capt. Doug Solan, Sapper Leader Course commander at Fort Leonard Wood and this year’s competition organizer, said in the release that competitors can expect many changes from last year’s competition.

“This year we changed more than half of the first day, almost all of the second day, and the third day will remain a mystery,” Solan said in the release.

Events will be posted at the Sapper’s Web site, www.wood.army.mil/sapper/BSC, at a later date, he said.

Last year, service members competed in several grueling events including helocasting, land navigation, mountaineering, U.S. and threat weapons, and — what engineers do best — blowing things up.

Two clues for success in this year’s contest: be in top physical condition and hone your technical know-how by understanding Field Manual 5-34 and the Sapper Handbook.

For information, contact the Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office at (573) 563-4145. To register, send an e-mail with competitors’ names and biography forms no later than April 1 to sean.m.carroll@conus.army.mil or submit requests at www.wood.army.mil/sapper/BSC/home.html.