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An area man has become the eighth person in United States Army history to hit a perfect score of 600 in the Army Combat Fitness Test during a branch competition for Noncomissioned Officer of the year at Fort Carson, Colorado.
That perfect score belongs to Staff Sgt. Logan Engel, of Jersey Shore, a finalist for the ultimate competition on June 20th at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he will compete to earn the title of The Noncommissioned Officer of the Year. This is the highest achievement all participants can attain. Engel was also this year's winner of the Security Force Assistance Brigade division.
In early May, Fort Carson held the branch competition. Finalists in a number of subordinate competitions around the U.S. can qualify for Noncommissioned Officer of the Year, or NCO of the Year.
The three-day event consists of a variety of tests, which are set to showcase each competing soldier's abilities and evaluate the participants' dedication and demonstration of commitment.
Engel excelled in each portion of the competition, most notably, his high score for the ACFT in the history of the competition.
"I feel really good that all that training has paid off," Engel said. "The biggest honor is being able to be the face of Fort Carson and The Security Force Assistance Brigade in the next competition."
The ACFT test at Fort Carson began in the early morning at 2 a.m. In full uniform, each contestant had to do a three-repetition maximum deadlift, standing power throw, hand-release push-ups, a sprint-drag-carry, leg tuck or plank and a 2-mile run.
In addition to the ACFT test, the three-day event includes a mystery event, a test on marksmanship, an unknown ruck distance, oral board evaluation and night time land navigation.
The purpose of the mystery event, Engel explained, "is to hit them with something to see how they adapt. This shows their leadership skills."
For the mystery event the instructors revealed a scenario: Competitors had to simulate how they would stop the bleeding and save the life of a person with a major leg wound.
"I used the tourniquet. Once the bleeding stopped, I used a skedco and pulled the (200 lb) casualty 300 meters back to the start."
Engel came in first for the mystery event.
Immediately after was the marksmanship test in which Engel and other participants had to hit a number of targets.
"You had to focus on breathing," he said. "You're really out of breath (and now) you have to focus on your fundamentals of marksmanship."
Engel also placed first in the marksmanship event.
Day two began at midnight the next day. The participants were instructed to carry a 55-pound rucksack with extra clothes, food, water and equipment, for a 12-mile distance.
Following the ruck, the soldiers were sent straight to a classroom where they answered a series of critical questions, which tested their general knowledge of Army history, weapons, and medical questions.
"After the ruck, you've burned around 10,000 calories because you're carrying so much weight. At Fort Carson, you have to deal with the elevation. We are 8,000 feet above sea level. (There are) mountains and rolling hills."
At the oral board evaluation, soldiers wore their ACU uniform. Each participant stood in front of 5 sergeant majors,
"They ask you situational questions," Engels said. "You have to have specific answers."
Engel answered the majority of 70 questions without fault.
On the last day of the competition, the participants performed their nighttime land navigation skills. At 2 a.m. in an unknown location in the woods, they were given a compass, a red lens headlamp and a map. With these tools, each contestant searched for five specific location points. They were given four hours.
Engel was able to successfully plot out 4 of the 5 points.
Participants of the extreme competition have trained extensively. Engel described that in order to prepare himself for the event, he began training 9 months in advance.
"I did two training sessions a day. Running and rucking with weight on my back. I was running 50-60 miles a week, doing cardio at 3 a.m., strength training every night after work, lifting and doing gym exercises." Engel continued,
"I had two goals this year. One was the max the ACFT. That's one goal down. The other is to become the best warrior (NCO of the year)."
Engel is the son of Leo Engel, of the 75th ranger regiment and special forces and Renna Engel, combat nurse. Logan currently works for the Security Force Assistance Brigade at Fort Carson, Colorado, where he helps the team out as an intelligence adviser.