FORT CARSON, Colo. – Eighteen of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s best Soldiers faced off March 24-26 in the command’s 2025 Best Warrior Competition for the coveted titles of Noncommissioned Officer of the Year and Soldier of the Year.

The NCO of the Year, Sgt. Bryce Anderson, signals collection analyst, 4th Space Control Company, 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, Fort Carson, and the Soldier of the Year, Spc. Giorgi Pasurishvili, information technology specialist, 4th Space Control Company, 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, Fort Carson, were announced during a state of the command address at Peterson Space Force Base, March 31.

Pasurishvili competed against six others two years ago to earn a spot on the USASMDC 2023 Best Squad. He returned this year against a larger cohort to earn the title of USASMDC’s Soldier of the Year.

“It feels good,” Pasurishvili said. “I learned a lot from the last competition, and I was able to do most of the tasks relatively easily. I learned that I can be more confident in my soldiering skills. I’m hopefully about to promote soon, so in knowing those soldiering skills, I can teach, develop and mentor new Soldiers coming in.”

He thanked his mentors, Staff Sgt. Luis Rios and Sgt. Jonathan Allen with the 1st Space Brigade, and encouraged other space Soldiers to compete in the future to hone the tactical side of their Army mission.

“We’re a space unit, right? A lot of the stuff we do is behind a desk,” Pasurishvili said. “If I get a week to go out and do soldiering stuff, experience myself and compete against people, why not do that? For me, there’s no reason for me not to do it.”

The competition, conducted at Fort Carson, consisted of the Army Combat Fitness Test, land navigation, Army warrior tasks and battle drills, 13-mile ruck march, water survival, obstacle course, weapons qualification, written common Soldier knowledge examination and essay, and appearance in front of a board consisting of command sergeants major and senior NCOs from across the command. 

“It was a big and arduous event, but the five winners all did exceptionally well,” said Command Sgt. Maj. John Foley, command sergeant major, USASMDC. “They all had challenges and they all had their strengths, but they worked together as a team. And it was very, very fun being around them the entire three days and watching them navigate through this to figure out how to solve the problems that they had in front of them.”

The remaining squad members who will represent the command in the U.S. Army Futures Command Best Squad Competition at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland, in mid-May are Staff Sgt. Craig A. Breedlove, executive assistant to the command sergeant major and commanding general’s driver, USASMDC, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama; Spc. William J. Reese III, human resources specialist, 2nd Space Company, 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, Fort Carson; and Pfc. Donovan Edgecomb, signals collection analyst, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade, Fort Carson.

Though not present at the awards ceremony due to attending Army Air Assault School, Anderson received the Meritorious Service Medal. Pasurishvili also received the Meritorious Service Medal, and Breedlove, Reese, and Edgecomb received the Army Commendation Medal.