By Marti Yoshida
Public Affairs Office

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (April 7, 2019) — The opening ceremony for the 13^th annual Lt. Gen. Robert B. Flowers Best Sapper Competition was held Sunday at Training Area 160.

Forty-eight Sapper teams from across the Army’s Engineer Regiment will vie for the title of 2019 Best Sapper April 8-10 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Retired Lt. Gen. Robert Flowers, the 86^th Commandant of the U.S. Army Engineer School and 50^th Chief of Engineers, returned to Fort Leonard Wood for the ceremony, along with the 2018 Best Sapper defending champions, from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, who will be representing Team 1. Flowers, who played a key role in advocating for the authorized wear of the Sapper tab, provided motivational remarks for Sapper teams.

“I see a lot of familiar flashes and patches,” Flowers, who is the first and only honorary Sapper of the Engineer Regiment, said. “You don’t know me, but I know you. I’m here representing Sappers past to try to encourage you to do everything you can do through this competition to earn the pride that it takes to finish and the camaraderie of the competition.”

Flowers spoke about the Korean War Battle of Pusan Perimeter, urging competitors to keep in mind, “When the going gets tough and it gets hot, think about those Sappers who stayed there, fought it out and never quit.”

The U.S. Army Engineer School Commandant, Brig. Gen. Robert Whittle, welcomed Sapper Teams, who will travel 50 miles on foot in 50 hours, while completing engineer tasks throughout the physically and mentally demanding competition.

“You are already ahead of you peers just by being here,” Whittle said. “You stepped up and you’re willing to compete. This competition is going to test the bounds of your endurance. It’s going to test your capability to think under pressure.”

Whittle quoted the “Man in the Arena” from Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 “Citizenship in a Republic Speech,” saying, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena … ”

“Sappers you are about to enter the arena,” Whittle said. “This competition will reveal and build your character. Over the next 50 hours you will find out who you really are and who your battle buddy really is. Stay motivated. Never quit.”

USAES Command Sgt. Maj. Douglas Galick, added a message for Sapper Teams, “We’re here to see who’s best from among the teams sitting right here.”

“A few days from now when you don’t remember why you’re here, remember you’re here to finish every event,” Galick said. “You’re here to not quit. You’re here to take care of that Sapper on your left and right. You’re here to earn the right. The only way to earn the right is if you finish.”

Daily competition standings will be posted to #BestSapper Competition on Facebook and at the USAES web page:  https://home.army.mil/wood/index.php/units-tenants/USAES/Sapper/ss. Winners will be announced at 7:30 a.m. April 11 during a ceremony on Gammon Field here.

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2019 Best Sapper Team Roster:

Team 1: Defending Champions – 1^st Sgt. Robert Clark, Capt. Rudy Chelednik; 21^st Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Team 2: Sgt. 1^st Class Matthew Tullis, Staff Sgt. Joshua Newbury, 6th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

Team 3: 1^st Lt. Thomas Martin, 1^st Lt. Daniel Holloran, 92^nd Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia

Team 4: 1^st Lt. Joshua Aaron, 1^st Lt. Zach Bailey, Regimental Engineer Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Grafenwoehr, Germany

Team 5: Staff Sgt. Brendan Gilbert, 2^nd Lt. Timothy Olson, 54^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Vicenza, Italy

Team 6: Capt. Erwin Marciniak, 1^st Lt. Jeremy Matsumoto, 299^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado

Team 7: 1^st Lt. Dushan Marinkovich, Staff Sgt. Dakota Van Petten, 65^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Team 8: Sgt. 1^st Class Bradley Miller, Staff Sgt. Rafael Agosto, 35^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Team 9: 1^st Sgt. Joshua Pagan, Sgt. Dylan Ledbetter, 588^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado

Team 10: Capt. Blake Ritchey, 1^st Lt. John Sinclair, 326^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Team 11: Staff Sgt. Timothy Mackey, Staff Sgt. Nicholas Hawkey, 23^rd Brigade Engineer Battalion, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington

Team 12: Capt. Arnulfo Ahumada, 1^st Lt. Garrett Seiden, 84^th Engineer Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Team 13: 1^st Lt. Zach Cohen, 1^st Lt. Andrew Warner, 54^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Vicenza, Italy

Team 14: Sgt. 1^st Class Jason Grieco, Staff Sgt. Scott Rahn, 4^th Security Force Assistance Brigade, Fort Carson, Colorado

Team 15: 1^st Sgt. Brandon Reid, Sgt. Gary Coggins, 1^st Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Riley, Kansas

Team 16: Staff Sgt. Lucas Tucker, 1^st Lt. Sabin Vaira, 27^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Team 17: Capt. John Baer, 1^st Lt. Terence Hughes, 39^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Team 18: Capt. Christopher McCrobie, 1^st Lt. Jonathan Moll, 101^st Engineer Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard

Team 19: 1^st Lt. Joseph Pellicano, Sgt. John McNulty, 101^st Engineer Battalion, Massachusetts Army National Guard

Team 20: 1^st Lt. Ryan Reid, Staff Sgt. Michael Desimone, 8^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas

Team 21: 1^st Lt. Matthew Cushing, Staff Sgt. Joseph Borman, 9^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia

Team 22: Staff Sgt. Jose Esquivel, 1^st Sgt. Robert Delira, 37^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Team 24: 1^st Lt. Michael Tummolo, Sgt. Samuel Weinstein, 82^nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Team 25: Staff Sgt. Ryan Knox, Staff Sgt. Wayne Taylor, 19^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Knox, Kentucky

Team 26: Staff Sgt. Derrick Baker, Staff Sgt. Jose Carrillo, 31^st Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Team 27: Staff Sgt. John Maxwell, Sgt. Thomas Barone, 127^th Airborne Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Team 28: Sgt. 1^st Class Stephen Olson, Sgt. David Wilson, 6^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska

Team 29: 1^st Lt. Tristan Godbold, 1^st Lt. Adam Thompson, 27^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Team 30: 1^st Lt. Seamus Bann, Sgt. 1^st Class Jacob Schroeder, 4^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado

Team 31: 1^st Lt. Caleb McNeill, Sgt. Mathew Barton, 92^nd Engineer Battalion, Fort Eustis, Virginia

Team 32: 1^st Lt. Parker Scaggs, 2^nd Lt. Jacob Roberson, 41^st Engineer Battalion, Fort Drum, New York

Team 33: 1^st Lt. Dustin St. Arnaud, Sgt. Garrett Foskitt, 52^nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado

Team 34: 2^nd Lt. Gabriel Hammock, Staff Sgt. Ronald Thomas, 11^th Engineer Battalion, Camp Humphreys, Republic of Korea

Team 35: 1^st Lt. Zachary Gould, 2^nd Lt. Martin Figueroa, 84^th Engineer Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Team 36: 2^nd Lt. Stephen Hiles, 1^st Lt. Edward Muro, 39^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Team 37: 1^st Lt. Tim Henry, Pfc. Jonathan McCarthy, 39^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Campbell, Kentucky

Team 38: 1^st Lt. Brian Crigler, 1^st Lt. William Hooker, 10^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia

Team 39: 2^nd Lt. Quinn Gutierrez, Staff Sgt. Neemia Tiapula, 54^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Vicenza, Italy

Team 40: 1^st Lt. Trevor Wilson, 1^st Lt. Alexander Marinos, 46^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Drum, New York

Team 41: 1^st Lt. Timothy Soderlund, Staff Sgt. Derick Elizardo, 2^nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Bliss, Texas

Team 42: Capt. Benjamin Poth, 1^st Lt. Luke Lysher, 20^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas

Team 43: Staff Sgt. Andres Vasquez, Staff Sgt. Kelby Crain, 37^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Team 44: 1^st Lt. Sean McGivney, 2^nd Lt. Joseph Garner, 29^th Brigade Engineer Battalion, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii

Team 45: 1^st Lt. Raphael Garcia, Spc. David Jimenez, 20^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas

Team 46: 1^st Lt. Joshua Greenberg, 1^st Lt. Matthew Salazar, 20^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas

Team 47: Spc. Shane Grice, Spc. Steven Harding, 4^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colorado

Team 49: Spc. Adrian Jimenez, 1^st Lt. Calvin Kiesewetter, 5^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Team 50: 1^st Lt. William Miller, 1^st Sgt. Erik Bonnett, 20^th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas

Editor’s note: There is not a Team 23 or Team 48.