Fort Sill Drill Sergeant of the Year announced

Fort Sill, Okla. (KSWO) - Fort Sill awarded the 434 Field Artillery Brigade Drill Sergeant of the Year Friday.

Sergeant 1st Class Nicole Barnett is taking home the title and is the third woman to earn this title in Fort Sill’s history.

Barnett said she wants to be a voice, empowering other women to always stand strong.

”If you try to set yourself back mentally from doing something because of another person or something, take it out of your mind and do it,” Barnett said. “The more you step forward and do it, the better your are. You’ll be amazed with what you can accomplish.”

Benito Carrion is the runner up in the 434 Field Artillery Brigade’s competition and is the winner of Fort Sill’s Best Warrior Competition.

He said this is an incredibly demanding 5-day competition and it takes mental toughness to make it through.

“It is pretty physical, we were able to cover almost 30 miles on our feet just within three days,” Carrion said. “It’s a five day competition, but the real work is Tuesday to Thursday and that’s when most of our bodies take the most punishment.”

Barnett and Carrion will compete against other drill sergeants from post in the Fires Center of Excellence Drill Sergeant of the Year competition.

The next step will be the TRADOC competition.