Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI May 12, 2010, Page 4 Transcribed by Dolores Mohr Kenyon
Barth Competes in ‘Best Sapper’ competition
Army National Guard Capt. Brian J. Barth competed in the “Best Sapper” competition designed to test the skills and knowledge of combat engineers. (Contributed Photo)
Jumping out of the back of a helicopter and into icy water at dawn with 90 pounds of gear for a swim across a pond is not a normal way to start the day. But for the son of a Neillsville couple, it was just a small part of one of the most intense 52 hours of his life.
Army National Guard Capt. Brian J. Barth, son of Robert and Kathleen Barth of Fairground Avenue, Neillsville, competed in the three-day event called “Best Sapper” to determine what two-man team would endure as the Army’s best combat engineers.
Barth was part of a team from the 724th Engineer Battalion at the Chippewa Falls Armory in Wisconsin.
“I am here to compete with the best engineers in the Army, and it is my goal to complete the competition,” said Barth, a 1993 graduate of Neillsville High School.
Day one kicked off with the 29 teams taking a non-standard physical fitness test consisting of five minutes each of push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups and a three-mile run. After the run, the teams competed in a round-robin phase that included knot tying and identification, various weapons assembly, mine identification and a manual breaching of obstacles while carrying a mannequin on a stretcher.
Day two started with a rucksack march in the dark. When the sun came up the teams performed a helo cast and poncho raft swim while pulling their 90 pounds of gear. When they finished the swim, the teams demonstrated their skills in a set of events for the Sapper Stakes phase of the competition.
They had to run an obstacle course, fire various weapons as quickly and accurately as they could, repel 90 feet down the face of a cliff, breach one door with explosives and another with a shotgun, build and detonate field expedient charges, and conduct room entry and clearance. A night navigation event through the woods took the teams into the final day of competition.
The teams ended the competition on day there with a close to 10-mile run. The run had a stake drive, bridge building, log cutting and a tire flip course that the teams had to complete before busting through a door for the final sprint to the finish line.’
Barth and his teammate spent a lot of time leading up to Best Sapper training for whatever challenges they might face.
“I did a lot of physical training, rucksack marches and running. I also studied knot tying, land navigation, rappelling and weapons training,” said Barth, a combat engineer with his unit.
For Barth, the amount of training leading up to the competition has prepared him for even what he might think of as the most difficult event.
“I believe that the ruck march will be the most difficult event for me because it is close to 15 miles,” Barth said.
Barth chose to participate in the grueling Best Sapper competition to challenge himself, and compete against some of the best soldiers in the Army.
“Competing here was my post-deployment goal. I also wanted to test my engineer skills and mental and physical abilities,” Barth said.
Becoming a member of the Sapper team took hard work and dedication, and simply competing proves that Barth, and the 57 other soldiers competing with him, have that extra drive and determination to do what it takes to be the best.
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